complexity theory in language learning and teaching

Things are lot more complex than we think:

What is complexity theory?

For Newton, the universe was rationalistic, deterministic and of clockwork order; effects were functions of causes, small causes (minimal initial conditions) produced small effects (minimal and predictable) and large causes (multiple initial conditions) produced large (multiple) effects.

Predictability, causality, patterning, universality and ‘grand’ overarching theories, linearity, continuity, stability, objectivity, all contributed to the view of the universe as an ordered and internally harmonistic mechanism in an albeit complex equilibrium, a rational, closed and deterministic system susceptible to comparatively straightforward scientific discovery and laws.

From the 1960s this view has been increasingly challenged with the rise of theories of chaos and complexity. Central to chaos theory are several principles ...

Research Methods in Education

And these ideas are being applied more and more to education:
Complexity theory and school improvement: some possible connections

"Language is not a static rule-governed system":

Complexity Theory: A New Way to Think

Diane Larsen-Freeman
University of Michigan

It was pure good fortune that I encountered Complexity Theory (CT) some years ago. It originates in the physical sciences, and I am a mere dilettante in them. However, from the beginning of my acquaintance with CT, I quickly realized that it had much to offer applied linguists. It challenged my concept of language as a static rule-governed system, maintaining instead that “the act of playing the game has a way of changing the rules”

(PDF) Complexity theory: a new way to think

The leading light in the field is Diane Larsen-Freeman:

She is renowned for her work on the complex/dynamic systems approach to second language development.

Diane Larsen-Freeman - Wikipedia
Larsen-Freeman, Diane | University of Michigan School of Education

With some nice videos to explain things a little:

Diane Larsen-Freeman at The New School - YouTube
Diane Larsen-Freeman: Including all Students: A Complex Systems Perspective (JALT2018) - YouTube

And she's written lots - with a review here for some professional development for teachers:
Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching by Diane Larsen-Freeman: Book Review - YouTube

And more:
Complexity Theory and Language Development: In celebration of Diane Larsen-Freeman | Edited by Lourdes Ortega and ZhaoHong Han

To finish, here's a definition of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory as applied to language learning:

In 1997, Larsen-Freeman published an article in which she claimed that second language acquisition should be viewed as a developmental process which includes language attrition as well as language acquisition.[8]

Second language development is mainly studied by applying dynamical systems theory. Language is considered to be a system which includes many subsystems such as linguistic system, phonetic system. Dynamic systems are interconnected, nonlinear, adaptive, open, sensitive to initial conditions. Variability is seen as an inherent property of development and it is not viewed as measurement error, therefore from a dynamic systems perspective variability in the data is analysed and considered valuable information.

Complex Dynamic Systems Theory - Wikipedia
.
.
.

film noir

It's a difficult thing to define but Simple Wikipedia is helpful:

Film noir movies were mostly made from the early 1940s to the late 1950s in the United States, and they were usually filmed in black-and-white. The term "film noir" comes from the French term for "black film" or "dark film". Film noir movies include many different genres of movies, such as gangster movies, police movies, and detectivemovies.

Film noir movies were often filmed so that there were many dark shadows in the movie, even on characters' faces. The Hollywood film noir movies were influenced by German film directors such as Fritz Lang, who used dramatic lighting techniques. Another influence on film noir movies was 1930s French books or movies about heroes who would die at the end of the story or stories with sad endings. 

Film noir - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here's Fritz Lang:



M - How Fritz Lang Shaped the Modern Movie - YouTube

Yes, it's very creepy:
"M" Fritz Lang movie trailer - YouTube

But back to Hollywood:



Top 10 Film Noirs - YouTube

It is a difficult thing to define:
Defining Film Noir - YouTube

Here's a list which takes us beyond the 1940s and 50s:

Then and now, the best examples of this genre continue to evoke humanity’s eternal fear of social disruption

The 100 Best Film Noirs of All Time - Slant Magazine

And this is where it gets interesting:

In the 1960s and 1970s, there were movies like The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and Chinatown(1974), which were influenced by the film noir movies from the 1950s.

In the 1980s and 1990s there were movies that were a bit like film noir movies, like Fargo (1996). In the 2000s, there are also movies that are like film noir movies in some ways. For example, there are films such as Memento (2000) and Sin City (2005).

There are also science fiction movies that look a bit like film noir movies because they look dark and they have a lead character who does some bad things, such as Soylent Green (1973); Blade Runner (1982), which starred Harrison Ford...

Film noir - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



The Space Age Film Noir Known as Bladerunner - YouTube

Or, a trailer:



Blade Runner 30th Anniversary Trailer - YouTube

And, so, we can call this a 'film noir':

Film noir movies are often shot in cities at night, and the stories often take place in bars, nightclubs, gambling clubs, casinos, and cheap hotels. This makes film noir movies look very dark, because the scenes are shot at night, or inside dark places like a bar or hotel.

Film noir movie scenes often have a lot of shadows, such as the shadows of window frames, blinds, or stair banisters. There are also often dark shadows on the movie scenes, even on the faces of the actors. All of the shadows and darkness make the film noir movies feel mysterious and stressful.

The characters in film noir movies are often motivated by greed, jealousy, or revenge. The characters in film noir movies are often private detectives or police officers who are investigating crimes committed by bad criminals and gang members such as murder, gambling or prostitution. In film noir movies, there are often stories about robberies, heists, extortion of money (which is called "blackmail"), or murder.

In film noir movies, even the heroes or lead characters are often bad or partly bad in some way. For example, the hero of a film noir movie may help an innocent man or woman who is being threatened by a criminal, or rescue a woman from a criminal gang. Yet the hero or lead character may also do bad things, such as commit crimes, hurt or threaten people, or tell lies.

Often, the hero or lead character of a film noir film will be bitter, sad, lonely, or depressed, because of bad things that happened to them. The person watching the movie has to decide if they think that a hero who does both good and bad things is a good person or not. The stories from film noir movies can make the audience think about how people should act, or how people should make choices in their life. This is one of the things that people like about watching film noir movies.

Film noir movies are not happy movies. In happy movies, like romance movies, people fall in love, get married, and live happy lives. In film noir movies, sad things happen. A good man with a wife might need money for their rent, and borrow the money from a criminal gang leader, because the good man has no other way of getting the money. Then the bad gang leader might force the good man to do bad things to pay back the money. Maybe the bad gang leader will threaten to hurt the good man's wife. Then the good man has to decide between protecting his wife or doing a bad crime.

People who watch film noir movies like to see stories about people who have to make hard choices, or people whose lives have sad things happen in them. Real life is not a romantic comedy; people often have to make hard choices or have sad things happen.

Film noir - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

To finish:

Director David Fincher followed the immensely successful neo-noir Seven(1995) with a film that developed into a cult favorite after its original, disappointing release: Fight Club (1999) is a sui generis mix of noir aesthetic, perverse comedy, speculative content, and satiric intent.^[113]

Film noir - Wikipedia



Se7en (1995) - Trailer HD Remastered - YouTube
Seven (1995 film) - Wikipedia



Fight Club Film Noir - YouTube
Fight Club Trailer - HD - YouTube
.
.
.

how a conference call really works

It's very difficult to make a conference call - and the problems are not always English problems:




A Conference Call in Real Life - YouTube
.
.
.