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
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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
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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
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are journalists being too aggressive towards interviewees?

There have been demonstrations in London:
Extinction Rebellion protests: youth activists break down in tears at Heathrow as demonstrations over climate change continue in London | London Evening Standard

One of the demonstrators has been interviewed:
Guy News Interview With Robin Boardman Pattison - YouTube

And one interview didn't last too long:
Extinction Rebellion activist 'stomps' out of Sky News after clash with Adam Boulton - Mirror Online
Posh eco-warrior who stormed off Sky News in strop after being called 'incompetent & middle class' is globe-trotting 'poet' from £17,500-a-year boys' school

Another young person has been interviewed:
Sky News Jayne Secker interviews Kirsty Archer - Google Search

With the interviewee providing her own comment:
Why I went viral on Twitter after talking about being evicted on Sky News | Kirsty Archer | Opinion | The Guardian

The question being asked today:

Are journalists being too aggressive towards interviewees – particularly young ones – on live TV?

Part of the problem, it seems, is that young people in particular are often used to discussing points online

Robin Boardman-Pattison on Sky News (Photo: Screen still)

Robyn Vinter

Friday April 19th 2019

A change in the law is putting an end to “revenge evictions” – an ordeal experienced by nearly half of renters who make a formal complaint about their landlord, according to Citizens Advice. Being celebrated as a victory for housing campaigners, the end of section 21 was a big discussion point this week and attracted even more attention after a live TV interview with one tenant went awry.

Kirsty Archer, a young activist who was issued an eviction notice after complaining to her landlord about problems with the property, was invited on to Sky News to talk about her experience. The resulting interview, which circulated online, amassing thousands of comments and shares, showed a visibly uncomfortable Archer being grilled by Sky News presenter Jayne Secker – who also happens to be a private landlord.

Asked what she would do after being evicted, Archer began to respond: “On average, it costs about £2,000 to-”

“That’s not the landlord’s fault, though, is it?” interrupted Secker, who then complained that tenants do not know how to change a lightbulb or turn on the boiler and asked Archer whether she “is equipped with all the skills necessary to rent”.

Though clearly flummoxed by the direction the interview was taking, Archer responded calmly: “That’s a bit patronising, really.”

‘Aggressive’ and ‘unprofessional’

A lot of people on social media agreed, and the next day Secker issued an apology for getting the “tone and content” of the interview wrong.

On Wednesday, Sky News editor-at-large Adam Boulton was lambasted as “aggressive”, “unprofessional” and “bullying” for his interview of a climate-change protester. Boulton told Robin Boardman-Pattison, of climate-change group Extinction Rebellion, that he sounded “like a right-wing fascist” and that protesters are “a bunch of incompetent, middle-class, self-indulgent people who want to tell us how to live our lives”.

The clip, which again attracted thousands of comments and shares, ended with Boardman-Pattison getting out of his seat and walking off set. Yet this time reactions were divided, with some viewers praising Boulton for his frankness and suggesting that Boardman-Pattison wasn’t clear in the message he was trying to get across.

“It’s one thing to ask tricky questions or challenge a spokesperson, but it’s another to attack, patronise or insult them, which definitely occurred in both of these instances,” says Jess Gross, media trainer and director of PR agency Hotwire. “We are definitely seeing more of this, as fewer and fewer interviews are mapped out days in advance, with spokespeople given appropriate direction on a particular segment,” she adds.

Sky News Jayne Secker interviews Kirsty Archer (Photo: Screen still)

‘Debate is changing’

However, Peter Barrett, media trainer for PR agency Infinite Global, says the onus is on the interviewee to prepare for anything. “The nature of public debate is changing. We are seeing grass-roots organisations gaining national broadcast prominence on a variety of issues: Brexit, diversity issues, climate change, housing. Such individuals and groups are invariably ill prepared for the harsh reality of broadcast interviews,” he says.

Part of the problem, it seems, is that young people in particular are often used to discussing points online and rarely have face-to-face discussions with people on the opposite side of a debate. “Under bright studio lights and against the finger-jabbing of experienced broadcasters, it is extremely difficult to remain calm and master your arguments,” points out Barrett.

Media training, normally carried out by former journalists, can help in understanding the formula of live interviews. Virtually every chief executive, politician and spokesperson has had some form of such training, enabling them to get their message across.

Marverine Duffy, a former Sky News anchor and director of journalism courses at Birmingham City University, says it is important that anyone invited on live TV “does their research on the news organisation they are going to be questioned by, and the programme on which they are going to appear.”

‘Ignore the question’

Mike Best, broadcast journalism lecturer at Leeds Trinity University and a former director of broadcasting at ITV Yorkshire, agrees, adding: “One of the simplest ways of achieving [your aim] is to ignore the question you are asked and answer with your key message.”

It is not only inexperienced interviewees who suffer from presenters overstepping the mark. Journalist Nichi Hodgson was subjected to derision and aggressive questioning by TalkRadio’s James Whale last year while recalling being sexual assaulted. Even with a decade’s experience and countless live interviews about sex and relationships, she was “completely unprepared” for the tone of the interview, and left “angry and upset”. She says it wasn’t until the next day, when Whale was roundly criticised on social media, that the radio station appeared to notice that something had gone wrong.

Hodgson suggests that broadcast journalists need to learn to switch between grilling professional politicians and spokespeople, and speaking to people who are not as well trained or who are sharing their personal experience. “Your skill as a presenter is to take the conversation somewhere else or end the interview,” she explains.

Most people would agree that it is preferable for broadcasters to give interviewees too tough an interrogation than an easy ride but, with many young people now having social media followings bigger than news channels’ viewerships, it might not be long before producers are unable to find anyone willing to put themselves through a grilling.

Are journalists being too aggressive towards interviewees – particularly young ones – on live TV? - inews.co.uk
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populism

What is 'populism'?
POPULISM | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary

It's not clear:
Populism - Wikipedia
Populism - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here are a couple of pieces:

Last modified on Mon 3 Dec 2018 11.45 GMT

What is populism?

That’s a vexed question. Populism is usually described as a strategic approach that frames politics as a battle between the virtuous, “ordinary” masses and a nefarious or corrupt elite.

It can be used by politicians who are either left- or rightwing, and occasionally neither

How to spot a populist | News | The Guardian

Here's a video from the BBC:

What is populism, and what does the term actually mean?

What do Donald Trump, Jeremy Corbyn, and Rodrigo Duterte have in common?

Despite their differences, each man has been labelled a populist

What is populism, and what does the term actually mean? - BBC News.

BBC Radio 4 is also looking at the issues (note: from 12:12)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00045lq
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critical thinking

This blog has looked at critical thinking before:
Jay Doubleyou: english for academic purposes: critical thinking
Jay Doubleyou: questioning and problem-solving
Jay Doubleyou: complexity
Jay Doubleyou: socratic method
Jay Doubleyou: socratic method pt 2

And more:
Jay Doubleyou: discussing issues in the classroom
Jay Doubleyou: paulo freire and the tabula rasa
Jay Doubleyou: philosophy in the classroom
Jay Doubleyou: the trivium method of critical thinking and creative problem solving

A new book has just come out:
How To Write Critical Thinking Activities (Training Course For ELT Writers Book 4) eBook: Paul Dummett: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

Here is Paul Dummett again:



(1) Paul Dummett - The What, Why and How of Creating Critical Thinking (CT) Activities - YouTube

Here's more from National Geographic, publishers of the Life coursebook:
Welcome to Life, Second Edition | Life 2e
A global survey of critical thinking in the ELT classroom | National Geographic Learning: In Focus

Plus the authors interviewing each other:
Critical Thinking in Life | NGL Life

But other publishers are also interested - including Macmillan:
Critical thinking in the EAP classroom
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what is 'woke'?

How would you describe the young Royals?
woke prince harry meghan markle - Google Search

Its very much in the news:
The more the word 'woke' is used as a slur and a joke, the more we need it | Life and style | The Guardian
Woke brands and enduring customer values | Opinion | Research Live
Brands struggle to make "woke" marketing work for them
The Spectator Podcast: woke corporations and an apology from Rod Liddle | Coffee House

What does it actually mean?
Urban Dictionary: woke
Woke - Wikipedia
Woke | Definition of Woke by Merriam-Webster
woke | Definition of woke in English by Oxford Dictionaries

Plus a little here:
How woke are you? Find out what it means as word is added to dictionary
What Does "Woke" Mean? There's More To The Slang Term Than You Think
How 'woke' went from black activist watchword to teen internet slang

And what other such new language is there?
Jay Doubleyou: mle > multicultural london english
Jay Doubleyou: veganized idioms
Jay Doubleyou: how new words are born

And in your own language?
The global influence of English in the creation of neologisms
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