Intentionality and Complex Systems Theory: A New Direction for Language Learning Psychology

This chapter examines the combined potential of the constructs of intentionality and Complex Systems Theory, as a new theoretical direction for language learning psychology. The chapter begins with theoretical discussion of the properties of complex systems. This leads to the definition of a Complex System of Intentions, a conceptual model for understanding intentionalities that are present at individual, small group and societal levels, as well as their interrelations. Following that, key properties of the system are illustrated by juxtaposing empirical data from two research projects in Norway and Greece. First, we document the emergence of a ‘performance intentionality’ in learners’ interaction in an English L2 classroom in Norway. Next, we discuss how a ‘competition intentionality’ in a private language school in Greece emerged from interaction with the state school system, and we document its effects on language learning activity. In both cases, a data-driven analysis is used to demonstrate the emergence of the intentionalities and their generative effects, i.e., the ways in which they recursively shaped the system from which they had emerged. We conclude by revisiting the organisational openness of the system, and the processes of emergence and morphogenesis that were traced in the data, and by connecting them to Complex Systems Theory, while exploring the implications of a complexity outlook for language learning research.