Feature Article
Motivation and Complex Systems
Theory: An Exploratory View ofthe Motivation of Four Japanese
University Students
Julian Pigott
University of Warwick
This paper introduces the results of an innovative, exploratory investigation into the L2
motivation of four Japanese university students combining thematic analysis of interview dataand complexity thought modeling. The cognitive focus of many existing conceptualizationsof L2 motivation, it is argued, addresses only one aspect of motivation’s multifaceted
nature. The results of the study presented here indicate that motivation is contingent oninterpersonal interaction and social and circumstantial context, including critical life events
such as the transition from high school to university. The paper finishes by examining someof the implications of a complex systems perspective for ELT practice and research. One
implication is that language learning and the motivation that underlies it might usefully
be viewed holistically as a phenomenon intertwined with the individual learner’s paththrough life, rather than primarily as an outcome to be systematically engineered throughmotivational teaching practice.
ᮏ✏࡛ࡣࠊ࢖ࣥࢱࣅ࣮ࣗࢹ࣮ࢱࡢ୺㢟ศᯒ࡜」㞧ᛶᛮ⪃ࣔࢹࣝࢆࡶ࡜࡟ࠊ4ேࡢ᪥ᮏே኱Ꮫ⏕ࡢ➨஧ゝㄒᏛ⩦࡟࠾ࡅࡿືᶵ௜ࡅ࡟㛵ࡍࡿ᩾᪂࡞ணഛㄪᰝ
ࡢ⤖ᯝࢆ⤂௓ࡍࡿࠋࡇࡇ࡛୺ᙇࡍࡿࡼ࠺࡟ࠊ➨஧ゝㄒᏛ⩦ࡢືᶵ௜ࡅ࡟㛵ࡍࡿ᪤Ꮡࡢᴫᛕ໬◊✲ࡢከࡃࡣࠊືᶵ௜ࡅ࡜࠸࠺ࡶࡢࡢከ㠃ⓗᛶ㉁ࡢࢃࡎ࠿୍
㠃࡟ࡋ࠿↔Ⅼࢆ࠶࡚࡚࠸࡞࠸ࠋᮏ✏ࡢ◊✲⤖ᯝࡀ♧ࡍ࡜ࡇࢁ࡛ࡣࠊືᶵ௜ࡅ
ࡣ௚⪅࡜ࡢ஺ὶ࡜♫఍ࡸ⎔ቃ࡜࠸࠺ᩥ⬦࡟౫Ꮡࡋࡓࡶࡢ࡛࠶ࡾࠊࡑࡇ࡟ࡣ㧗ᰯ࠿ࡽ኱Ꮫ࡬ࡢ㐍Ꮫ࡜࠸ࡗࡓࠊே⏕࡟࡜ࡗ࡚ 㔜኱࡞ฟ᮶஦ࡶྵࡲࢀࡿࠋᮏ
✏ࡢ⤊ࢃࡾ࡛ࡣࠊⱥㄒᩍ⫱ࡢᐇ㊶࡜◊✲ࡢࡓࡵࡢ」㞧ᛶࢩࢫࢸ࣒࡬ࡢᒎᮃࡢ
♧၀ࢆ᳨ウࡍࡿࠋࡑࡢ♧၀ࡢ୍ࡘ࡜ࡋ࡚ࠊゝㄒᏛ⩦࡜ࡑࡢ᰿ᗏ࡟࠶ࡿືᶵ௜

27

PigottࡅࡣࠊࡸࡿẼࢆ㉳ࡇࡉࡏࡿᩍ⫱ᐇ㊶ࢆ㏻ࡋ࡚య⣔ⓗ࡟ᵓ⠏ࡉࢀࡓࡶࡢ࡜ぢࡿࡼࡾࡴࡋࢁࠊಶࠎࡢᏛ⩦⪅ࡢே⏕ࡢṌࡳ࡜⤖ࡧࡘ࠸ࡓ஦㇟࡛࠶ࡿ࡜ぢࡿ࡯࠺ࡀ᭷┈࡛࠶ࢁ࠺ࠋ

If effective language learning depends on “using language for real-life purposes”(Branden, 2006, p. 15), English language education in Japan clearly faces
significant challenges: the majority of Japanese people satisfy their day-to-day
communicative needs in Japanese. Yet, a child entering elementary school in2012 who continues on to university will have no choice but to study English
for nine years of his/her life. In such an environment, it is perhaps inevitablethat some students may at times be “coping with the ‘imposition’ of having tostudy a foreign language” (Lantolf, 2000, p. 12) rather than actively learning it.
Adding to this problematic situation is the tendency for compulsory classes tofocus on preparing students for university entrance exams rather than providing
opportunities to foster practical skills. Although Berwick and Ross’s (1989)
description of the Japanese classroom as a “motivational wasteland” (p. 206) may
be extreme, this paper takes the position that this far-from-ideal context needs
to be “brought in” to a holistic, situated consideration of motivation, rather than
excluded with a view to maximizing the statistical reliability of a given, universal
construct. It is to a critique of such constructs to which I now turn.
Critiquing the Mainstream L2 Motivation Paradigm
Mainstream L2 motivation research constitutes a voluminous body of work.
Motivation has been tackled from various perspectives: its connection to a drive
to integrate with a target language community (Gardner, 1985); its relationshipwith classroom context (Crookes & Schmidt, 1991); its effect on task-processing(Kormos & Dörnyei, 2004); how it impacts groups (Dörnyei & Murphey, 2003);
and how it relates to the self-concept (Dörnyei, 2005). Much of this research
has adopted a reductionist view of motivation, using the statistical analysis ofquestionnaire data as the de rigueur means of investigation. Principled empiricalresearch has therefore taught us a great deal about the motivation of the average
language learner of a particular sample in terms of how he or she is composed of28

Motivation & Complex Systems..., OnCUE Journal, 6(2), pages 27-47

motivational “components.” However, as Larsen-Freeman and Cameron (2008)
observe, data from a sample “may often describe a process or a functional relationthat has no validity for any individual” (p. 145). There is increasingly mainstream
acceptance (Chalhoub-Deville, Chapelle, & Duff, 2006) that this fundamental
limitation of quantitative methodology, in addition to the superficial natureof the data-set, numerical rather than narrative descriptions, and the artificial
nature of the research setting, justifies the wider use of qualitative methodologies
operating within post-positivist or relativist conceptual paradigms.
An effective way to illuminate the manner in which motivation interacts
with, or emerges from persons-in-context may be a bottom up approachinvestigating particular learners in particular contexts. It has been suggested that
fresh conceptions of motivation will ideally result in a more “dynamic conceptionof the notion of motivation that integrates the various factors related to thelearner, the learning task and the learning environment into one complex system”(Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011, p. 89). The current study takes up this challenge toview motivation in terms of complex systems theory.
Complex Systems Theory and Motivation
Complex systems theory (CST) is an umbrella term for a number of theories
from the mathematical and physical sciences devised to explain the behaviorof theoretical, physical and biological systems in which there are “multiple
interactions between many different components” (Rind, 1999, p. 105); thatis, systems that are extremely complicated. The behavior of such systems cannot
necessarily be understood by the analysis of lower-level constituents: reductionist
explanation has been found to be untenable both practically and theoretically.
The rationale for the use of CST in the social sciences is the idea that there issome value to understanding psycho-social phenomena through the metaphor of
the complex system. Like their physical counterparts, psycho-social ‘systems’ canbe seen to display change, emergence (sudden system-wide change), phase shifts(sudden changes in system behavior) and non-linearity (i.e., a affects b and at thesame time is affected by b).
The application of complexity theory to L2 motivation is in its early stages.
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Dörnyei (2009) draws on complexity theory to look anew at motivation-related
cognitive processes; in a position in line with a CST view, Ushioda (2009) argues
that the person-in-context, rather than context-independent, abstract variables,
should be taken as a basic unit of understanding. Theorists, she argues, shouldview students as real persons, not theoretical abstractions, taking a holistic viewof the relationship between learner, learning outcomes, classroom environment
and wider social context.
A CST perspective requires a fundamental reconsideration of the aims ofresearch. The measurement of causal relationships between abstract variables isabandoned in favor of a holistic description of change, context, timescales andvariability in order to understand “how the interaction of the parts gives rise to
new behavior” (Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008, p. 231). The holistic focus ofa CST approach and the necessarily exploratory nature of research at this earlystage clearly favor innovative qualitative modes of inquiry.

Analysis
Since a great deal of published research is conducted within a quantitative
paradigm, it seems appropriate to give a brief account of the concepts of reliability
and validity and how they are to be understood in a qualitative approach.
Reliability, in the sense of consistency of measurement, is irrelevant to aqualitative, exploratory study seeking “to elicit the responses of…[participants]…
at a specific time and place and in a specific interpersonal context” (Finlay, 2006,
p. 320); replicating the study, even using the same participants, would lead todifferent data being elicited. In a similar way, validity, in the sense of measurementof objective truth, is considered a problematic concept, since truth and objectivity
are slippery concepts when applied to data formed from opinions, recollections,interpretation and evaluation. Instead of reliability and validity, “relatability”(Bassey, 1981), or “the extent to which the details are sufficient and appropriate
for a teacher [or researcher] working in a similar situation to relate his decision
making to that described…” (p. 82) is a more relevant ideal characteristic ofqualitative research. The researcher needs to explain clearly the justification for the30Motivation & Complex Systems..., OnCUE Journal, 6(2), pages 27-47

procedures followed, and supply a sufficient amount of data in the presentation of
the research so that the reader can make an informed opinion as to the degree towhich the analysis and conclusions drawn are coherently formulated, persuasive
and justified. If this is done sufficiently well, it is hoped that the research will
resonate with readers’ own experiences, knowledge and thinking (Elliott, Fischer,& Rennie, 2010), thus enriching the collective understanding of a particular
phenomenon.
Participants
Sampling was opportunistic, the only stipulation being that participants were
proficient enough in English to discuss motivation-related issues in sufficientdetail. This can naturally be expected to self-select participants with higher
motivation, but this is seen as unproblematic since it is not the intention of thisstudy to draw statistically supported generalizations about a larger population.
Interviews were conducted in the spring term of the academic year 2010-2011 at
a private university in the Kansai region. Participants were members of a twiceweekly, second-grade, intensive academic writing class (taught by the author)
intended to prepare them for a six-month study abroad trip to Canada. The
researcher informed the students that he would like to conduct interviews inorder to learn about their experiences of, and motivations for, learning English.
Four students volunteered to be interviewed. Participants had roughly similarlevels of English, with paper-based TOEFL scores at that time ranging from 470(Satomi) to 497 (Machi) (pseudonyms are used throughout this paper). Theirprofiles are as follows.
Kensuke (20, male): An ex-yankee (delinquent youth), Kensuke changed
his outlook towards life and behavior on the occasion of his friend’s mother’s
death when he was in high school. A serious student with a penchant for intense
discussion, he plans to become an English teacher in the future.
Machi (22, female): Machi’s path to university was unconventional by
Japanese standards: she took two years out between high school and university.
At the time of her interview her goal was ultimately to study gender studies in
Norway.
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Satomi (20, female): Satomi is a quiet member of the class. A hesitant speakerof English, she has the tentative ambition to work in the area of environmental
protection in the future.
Shiro (20, male): Shiro is a softly spoken student whose interest in English
was sparked by an early study-abroad encounter. He is currently considering
whether he might be able to put his English to use as a teacher in the future.
Procedure
Written, informed consent was obtained from students prior to the commencementof the interviews, detailing that the research would be anonymous, and that
all recordings, transcripts and research notes would be stored under password
protection. Individual interviews were conducted in a university classroom at amutually agreeable time, recorded on two IC recorders. Interviews were loosely
structured in order to facilitate a relatively deep exploration of salient concepts.
They started with the question ‘Why did you decide to study abroad in Canada?’
Subsequently, various motivation-related issues and the participants’ experienceof the Japanese English education system were discussed. Core questions were as
follows:• What do you want to accomplish in Canada?
• Tell me about your experience learning English at junior high school andhigh school.
• How do you feel about English education in Japan?
• What is English for you?
If the participants were struggling to express something in English, they wereasked to repeat it in Japanese for clarification (at the time, or through re-listening
to the recording).
Transcription and Analysis
Interviews were transcribed, then coded according to procedures set forth in
Gillham (2005):
1. Sections deemed relevant to motivation were highlighted, and copied
to a spreadsheet in the form of a matrix which facilitated examination of32

Motivation & Complex Systems..., OnCUE Journal, 6(2), pages 27-47

participants’ statements.
2. Excerpts were arranged (and rearranged through an iterative process) into
themes through repeated reading of the relevant sections of the transcripts
and listening to the recordings in order to identify salient trends in thedata.
By printing out this matrix on multiple pages I was able to get a table-sized
overview of the entire data set, which could then be rearranged into moresatisfactory categories. With the relatively small amount of data I felt it was
unnecessary to utilize more sophisticated, computerized aids to data organization
and analysis.
In the CST overview, particular features of the data covered by the thematic
analysis were interpreted in complexity terms. Deductive use was made of a 16step process called complexity thought modeling (CTM) (Larsen-Freeman &Cameron, 2008) which was developed to allow researchers to conduct thought
experiments making use of complex systems ideas and tools. Given the nascentnature of a complex systems approach to the understanding of motivation, it wasconsidered preferable to use this existing, albeit not yet widely-used, framework
as a basis on which to conduct the analysis. It is shown here in reduced form,
modified for the purposes of this study:
1. Identify components of the system (agents, processes, subsystems).
2. For each component, identify time scales and levels of social and humanorganization.
3. Describe relationships between components.
4. Describe how the system changes over time, including possible emergenceor self-organization across time scales and/or levels of human organization(adapted from Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008, pp. 70-71).
During the analysis, it became apparent that the difficulties in applying CTM
to motivational phenomena were considerable, given that thinking about one
aspect of a complex system entails simultaneously considering multiple otheraspects. For this reason, the results are presented under headings broader thanthose included in the CTM procedure, yet still non-mutually exclusive: timescales, relations between components, system change, and context dependence (see33

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Complex Systems Theory Analysis).

Thematic Analysis
Four themes of consequence for an understanding of the motivation of theparticipants were identified:
1. English is a means to an end.
2. Motivation comes from outside the classroom.
3. Motivation is contingent on circumstances, changing over time.
4. Resentment and resignation towards English education in Japan.
In the following sections, transcriptions are presented in modified form
omitting false starts, extended pauses, and potentially confusing language use. In
excerpts in which the researcher participates, the abbreviations ‘I’ (interviewer)and ‘P’ (participant) are used. Japanese is shown in italics. Unless indicatedotherwise, excerpts are not translated.
English is a Means to an End
Participants give various reasons for studying English: the desire to talk to aforeign friend (Shiro); because it may potentially be useful in a future career as a
researcher hoping to reach a wider audience by publishing in English (Satomi);
to study gender issues in Norway (Machi); or to find employment as an English
teacher (Kensuke). The data suggest that participants view English as a tool to
be used toward what might conventionally be called both instrumental andintegrative ends. It can also be viewed as a means through which to achieve
personal growth or, in humanistic terms, self-actualization (Rogers, 1961). For
example, as Satomi says:
English is a way of communicating with foreigners. If I can communicate,
I can widen my perspective. If I can widen my perspective I think there
are many things that I think I can deal with, and have less trouble in life
[translated from Japanese].
Satomi’s motivation to learn English is tied to other motivations, such as
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Motivation & Complex Systems..., OnCUE Journal, 6(2), pages 27-47

the desire to widen her perspective and “reduce trouble in life”. This intertwined
nature of L2 motivation can be seen among the other three participants too.
Kensuke’s motivation, for example, is closely connected to his career plans.
K: When I was young I wanted to be a teacher. My father is a Japanese
language teacher so I was influenced by him.
I: Can you give more information? Why a teacher?
K: Because I hate desk work all the day and I really like to take care ofchildren and I’m not good at English but I want to be an English teacher
because [there are less employment opportunities for] math teachers andscience teachers and history teachers…and recently elementary schools
started to teach English, so [the] Japanese government [is] looking for
more English teachers.
Not only is Kensuke’s motivation entwined with other motivations andthe sociocultural context, but sufficient knowledge of them appears to be aprerequisite for a deeper understanding of his L2 motivation, as opposed to asuperficial description in terms of existing psychological constructs.
In addition to the more pragmatic reasons for learning English such as future
career plans, some of the respondents appear to derive genuine satisfaction frominteraction in English.
Machi: Speaking [to] other people and making them understand my English
is interesting for me.
Kensuke: If I inform my information to foreign people I will become very
happy and glad because I can notice that I can speak English, I can talk toforeign people with my ability.
However, this is not a linguaphile’s love of English; the fundamental
enjoyment appears to derive from sharing information and ideas with people
and/or the gratification of progress towards an instrumental end. Thus, both in35

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terms of the long-term future goals and short-term interpersonal interaction,
motivation to learn English appears to be grounded in social and circumstantial
context, intertwined with other motivations, and aimed toward supra-linguistic
ends.
Motivation Comes from Outside the Classroom
Participants appear to have been motivated by various types of stimulating
encounters outside of class. Shiro, for example, is motivated by his friendshipwith an American teenager.
I want to speak English well. I want to be a good speaker of it, because when I
was a seventh [or] eighth grade I made a friend in America so I want to speakwith him and his family.
In Machi’s case, the stimulating encounter was with one of her father’s books
on gender issues in Norway. She subsequently became interested in the idea ofstudying there, and the motivation to learn English developed as part of thisprocess. Combined with this ‘pull’ was a ‘push’ in the form of dissatisfaction withher circumstances in Japan.
I am bored to study in Japan and I want to study gender in Norway...andin Norway I have to talk in English. Norway is very [progressive] in genderpolicy so I am interested in it. I am very bored in this country so I want to go
abroad to study something. Kyoto is too close to my family. I want to [livefarther away] from my family.
Satomi’s motivation to learn English is, in part, contingent on her interest inpreserving the local scenery in her hometown. If she were to publish research in
English rather than limiting herself to Japanese, she reasons, she would be more
empowered to preserve local scenery.
These observations indicate that motivation to learn English can spring froma wide variety of issues unrelated to those with which teachers commonly concern
36Motivation & Complex Systems..., OnCUE Journal, 6(2), pages 27-47

themselves. Interestingly, none of the participants identified the classroom as asource of motivation.
Motivation is Contingent on Circumstances, Changing overTime
The participants’ perception of English and motivation to learn it appears tochange over time along with changes in maturity and circumstances. Shiro’s
original motivation to learn English was to communicate with his foreign friend( James) better. However, at the age of 20—at a time when many students of his
age are thinking about future careers—his friendship with James is no longer the
only reason to learn English.
S:

I:
S:

I said my main motivation is James...but maybe that changed recently…
if I can speak English I may [get] a good job with English. If I hadn’t
had the experience with James and his family I think I [wouldn’t havestudied] English hard.
Right, so he was a factor.
Yes…the most important factor...mmm maybe not important, but if I
hadn’t met him I would [have taken] a different course [at university]for example mathematics.

Like researchers, Shiro struggles to make sense of the nature of his
motivation. Another example of the contingent nature of motivation can be seen
with Kensuke, for whom a change in circumstances accompanying the move touniversity resulted in dissatisfaction with his English proficiency.
I:

When you came to university, you started to become interested in
speaking?
K: Yes.
I: Why?
K: Because I noticed that I couldn’t speak English. In my major I must use
English…[all the time] so now I feel kuyashii [mortified] because I can’t
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speak English well.
This motivational change is presumably one of many accompanying themove to university: changes in lifestyle, study requirements, personal freedom,living arrangements, relationships with peers, and more besides. A holistic
understanding of the interplay of these changes can enrich our understanding of
Kensuke’s motivation to learn English.
Resentment and Resignation toward English Education inJapan
To researchers familiar with Japan, students’ views towards English education
will come as no surprise. Two responses to the question “How do you feel about
English education in Japan?” are shown with two examples below:
Shiro: I think the system of English education is not good. Because teachers
teach students grammar we come to understand the grammar but we can’t use
it in speaking. It makes no sense.
Kensuke: When I was in junior high school and high school I hated [English]
because I must study it for exams so I didn’t enjoy it.
Reservations about teaching methodology and a pervasive focus on testing
are common to all participants. However, Machi’s disaffection is particularlyinteresting because she takes issue with students being required to engage inthe ‘pretense’ of learning. She recounts with bitterness the glorification of test
achievement she saw in her high school and, with reference to her current
university classes: “Students are very bored; they don’t study; …[they just cometo school for] tests...I think university [should be] to study…but they don’t…”
Machi’s case is illustrative of the demoralizing effect that test-centerededucation can have on some students. It is no surprise that her L2 motivation
is sustained primarily outside of school. Incidentally, such criticisms are by nomeans limited to English education. With reference to his favorite subject,38

Motivation & Complex Systems..., OnCUE Journal, 6(2), pages 27-47

history, Kensuke states, “I just memorize for exams so I didn’t learn the real…
terrible [process] of war.”
This observation reminds us that the problem of an over-emphasis on
testing is by no means limited to English education. It may however be easier toautomatically equate test results with learning in other subjects; with English,
failure to learn practical skills is manifestly obvious no matter how well thelearner does in tests.

Complex Systems Theory Analysis
The four themes identified above provide the foundation for the subsequent CSTinterpretation in terms of: time scales, relations between components, systemchange and context dependence.
Time scales
Larsen-Freeman and Cameron (2008) note that “[c]ertain events widely
separated in linear time may be more relevant to meaningful behavior now
than other events which are closer” (p. 241). The data suggest that participants’years-old experiences and long-term plans are integral aspects of L2 motivationin the present, their influence operating over timescales that dwarf shorter-term
perspectives of the task, lesson, or curriculum. This may caution researchers/
practitioners against taking an overly short-term view of teaching and learning;
only when there is a degree of congruence between long-term aims and short-term(often test-related) objectives so pervasive in the current educational landscape, ismotivation likely to emerge in the classroom.
In Japan, university entrance is commonly understood to have a negative
washback effect on pedagogical practice in junior high school and high school(Murray, Gao, & Lamb, 2011). For the participants, pre-university classes
appeared to either dull their motivation or to be irrelevant to it; they relied
instead on motivational sources beyond the classroom. A CST perspective might
support the proposition that the focus on entrance exams is inherently a barrier
to learning for many students — that many learners who succeed at English do
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so despite, rather than because of a focus on tests. Although entrance exams arepotentially a long-term influence, they are aimed principally toward university
entrance rather than English proficiency itself. Further, any influence they havesuddenly ceases to exist upon matriculation. As a motivational influence they
are therefore unlikely to compare favorably with more deeply-held, consistentpersonal motivations such as day-to-day communicative need, an integrativeorientation, or other identity/self-related motivations. Language learning would
more ideally be sustained by this second group of motivation types that, by theirvery existence, make language learning a worthwhile activity.
From a theory-building perspective, the way in which such long-lasting,situation-specific, institutional influences such as university entrance are, bydefinition, excluded from the universal motivation constructs surely severely
limits such constructs’ utility in explaining L2 motivation in Japan in general, letalone the motivation of individuals.
Relations between Components
The concept of non-linearity in complexity theory maintains that a substantial
perturbation to a system may sometimes have no lasting influence on its trajectorybut, conversely, a small perturbation may at times lead to substantial system-widechange. In line with the concept of non-linearity, the participants appear to beamong the minority who are able to sustain L2 motivation regardless of the vast
amount of time spent in drudgery in the high school classroom. At other times,
seemingly inconsequential events—such as Machi’s chancing upon a book on
gender studies in Norway—held longstanding consequences for motivation.
Perhaps the most important implication of non-linearity to pedagogy is tocall in to question the notion that a teacher can be held responsible for a student’s
motivation to a significant degree, i.e. that motivating is something that theteacher “does” to students. It could even be argued that a CST view renders thevery idea of compulsory English education in the current environment in Japanas a substantial perturbation to the system that is unlikely, en masse, to have a
proportionately significant effect in terms of proficiency gains; in layperson’s
terms, it might be a waste of time for many of the students involved.
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Motivation & Complex Systems..., OnCUE Journal, 6(2), pages 27-47

A CST view may support the contention that the best way for teachers todeal with this situation would be to deemphasize institutional barriers to learning
such as an excessive focus on test results, a transmission-based view of teaching
and learning, compulsory attendance and segregated course subjects. Relevant
concepts include the humanistic notion of self-directed learning (Rogers, 1961),
critical pedagogy (Shor, 1992), and problem-based learning (Barell, 2007).
Rather than focusing on inducing change that the teacher wants to see, as per
current motivational thinking (Dörnyei, 2001), these paradigms attempt to set
conditions in which students take charge of their own learning.
From a theoretical/methodological perspective, the way in which a CSTview requires a consideration of multiple, disparate contextual factors may makeit a rather intimidating paradigm within which to work. In its defense, CST
advocates might argue that there is not, nor should we expect there to be, an easy
way to arrive at a deep understanding of psycho-social phenomena.
System Change
In CST terms, a “phase shift” refers to significant change in system behavior suchas Kensuke’s resolve to study English harder at university. Such change can bevisualized as a change in the direction and/or velocity of movement in a journey
through a multidimensional “state-space” (in Kensuke’s case, the high-schooluniversity transition). The idea of phase changes and state spaces may prove to
be useful heuristic tools for visualizing how motivation-related aspects of thelearner system exhibit change as learners go through life finding themselves indifferent places with different needs and plans for the future. As Larsen-Freeman
and Cameron (2008) explain:[M]otivation might…help keep the learning system moving across its state
space, avoiding attractors such as preference for watching television overdoing homework. In classrooms, the action and intentions of the teacher may
work…[to]…control parameters that take the system of learners and teacher
forward to new learning experiences (p. 54).

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A less conceptually intimidating concept through which to make sense of
Kensuke’s realization would be the ‘critical event’ (Flanagan, 1954): a substantial,
unplanned, perhaps surprising personal experience with consequences forEnglish-learning (adapted from Webster & Mertova, 2007, p. 77).
Whichever metaphor is utilized, an understanding of change will be
contingent on an understanding of context. In the case of the participants, thetransition to university life appears to have been a positive one in terms of L2
motivation. For others, it is no doubt positive in that it frees them, to a degree,
from an oppressive system which compels them to study, or pretend to study,
something of little relevance to their everyday lives. It may be the case that an
event-specific category such as the high school-university transition is a more
useful conceptual dimension of L2 motivation in certain contexts than a more
traditional category such as the ideal L2 self (Dörnyei, 2005).
Context Dependence
According to a CST view of psycho-social phenomena, the learner cannot be
separated from context for the purposes of measurement or explanation. The
context of most relevance to teachers is naturally the classroom context. The
thematic analysis reminds us that the classroom may play a relatively minor
contextual role for some; if learning is disconnected to the more fundamental
needs outside of the classroom, motivation is unlikely to emerge.
One of the advantages of a CST approach may be that its holistic focus
will encourage researchers to examine the hidden ideologies which govern
conventional views of psycho-linguistic phenomena. For example, a great dealof writing on motivation takes an entirely uncritical view of the notion that itis acceptable for students to be motivated into liking English. A CST view will
hopefully help researchers to question the assumptions they hold regarding
language education, including the powerful axiomatic belief that English is a
panacea and that compelling students to study it is ethically unproblematic.
From a theoretical perspective, heterogeneities such as personality and ability
may underlie motivation, but they do not seem to be at the forefront of the lived
reality of motivation among these learners. Instead, motivation appears, at least42

Motivation & Complex Systems..., OnCUE Journal, 6(2), pages 27-47

to an extent, to be a function of context. In addition, individual circumstancesand experiences may at times be unpredictable, unexpected, or even completely
random. For example, in the interviewers that this researcher has conducted,
most of which are not presented here, the proportion of successful English
learners who attribute their motivation to a chance intercultural encounter at an
early age is intriguingly high.
Limitations of the Study and Future Research Directions
In its reliance on interview data alone, the preceding analysis is tentative andexploratory. The inclusion of novel conceptual and methodological ideas andthe slightly convoluted use of two analytical frameworks cut into the space thatwould ideally be reserved for the foregrounding of transcript data. This, in turns
means that the process behind the claims was less transparent, and the claims
themselves less coherently supported and persuasively argued than would ideallybe the case. It is hoped that future CST-influenced research can develop a more
finely tuned focus of investigation and a more concise procedure and format for
the investigation of motivation and presentation of research results, respectively.
Doing so would maximize the practical use to those researching motivation in
Japan and elsewhere.
One particular aspect of motivation which researchers may wish to investigate
further is its contingency on critical events and the contexts in which they occur.
Within general educational psychology, for example, numerous studies address
how elementary school and junior high school negatively affect the motivationof incoming students (Shunk, Pintrich, & Meece, 2007). The transition to
university in Japan may be an interesting backdrop against which to investigate
the circumstantially and socially contingent nature of motivation.
In general terms, a CST approach appears to guard against overspecializationin both a theoretical and practical sense. It suggests the importance of maintaining
sensitivity to the context of learning and critical awareness of the limitations ofuniversal approaches or quick fixes to theoretical or pedagogical issues. It will
be interesting to see whether a CST approach can be developed, or whether a
CST perspective is inherently antithetical to any type of standardization beyond
43

Pigott

its use as a heuristic prism for the reinterpretation of complex phenomena. A
starting point for researchers wishing to find out would be to try to engineer
Larsen-Freeman and Cameron’s (2008) CTM procedure into something a little
more user-friendly.

Conclusion
This paper began by arguing that much existing L2 motivation research is
conducted within a cognitive/positivist paradigm, limiting its scope forstudying motivation as a socially situated, multifaceted phenomenon. Complex
systems theory concepts such as non-linearity, system change, and contextinterdependence proved useful in explaining the unique motivations of thefour participants. They aided understanding of how, for example, the chance
discovery of a book on women’s rights in Norway could have a disproportionately
large influence on one participant’s motivation, while something seemingly as
important as six or more years of compulsory English lessons could be largely
irrelevant to the motivation of the same participant. They also helped to explain
how motivation is grounded in contexts such as the influential transition fromhigh school to university life.
However, the results indicate that understanding motivation empirically,
as a multifaceted, socially situated phenomenon is far from straightforward. It
remains unclear whether the methodology used here can lead to the developmentof a concrete set of practical procedures of general use to researchers. The CST
paradigm is brimming with challenges, both to existing conceptualizationsof phenomena within applied linguistics and to researchers who may struggle
with new terminology, research aims, and methodologies. It is perhaps a little
early to proclaim, as does Van Geert (2007), that it is “the quintessential future
approach to human action, cognition and behavior, including language” (p. 47).
For researchers who wish to move beyond reductionist explanations of complex
social phenomena, however, it appears promising.

44

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Julian Pigott teaches at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto and is currently studying
for a doctorate in applied linguistics at the University of Warwick. julianpigott@gmail.com.

Received: September 15, 2011
Accepted: August 25, 201247