Heliyon (Jun 2023)
The need for ecological nested models as emerging theoretical frameworks in the investigation of affective variables in L2 education
Abstract
As an emotionally dynamic process, language learning is marked by fluctuations in students' affective constructs (e.g., enjoyment, playfulness, boredom). Thus, clues supporting an ecological perspective on behavioral trends and changes in language learners' emotional constructs driven by relational person and contextual components may be discovered. Therefore, an ecological approach enriched with the nested ecosystems model and complex dynamic system theory (CDST) can facilitate the investigation of dynamics of language students' affective constructs. These are first categorized and analyzed on the microsystem scale concerning students' motivation, beliefs, linguistic factors, cognitive factors, affective factors, and classroom context. Then, they are analyzed in 3 ecosystems including meso-, exo-, and macrosystems, each revealing an invaluable dimension of the reality of the emergent dynamicity of the variables. The present paper first draws attention to the dynamic nature of L2 learners’ emotional factors and raises awareness of the ecological dynamic system theory. Then, it reviews the existing ecological studies of L2 affective variables and summarizes the findings. It ends with several conclusive remarks and suggestions for the future line of research.
