Understanding learner agency as a complex dynamic system Sarah Mercer * Institut fu¨r Anglistik, Heinrichstr. 36/II, A-8010 Graz, Austria Received 15 November 2010; revised 12 February 2011; accepted 17 August 2011 Available online 28 September 2011 Abstract This paper attempts to contribute to a fuller understanding of the nature of language learner agency by considering it as a complex dynamic system. The purpose of the study was to explore detailed situated data to examine to what extent it is feasible to view learner agency through the lens of complexity theory. Data were generated through a series of in-depth interviews and narratives over a two-year period with a single, female tertiary-level EFL learner. The data were then analysed in a grounded manner taking a complexity perspective. The findings illustrate how agency can be conceived of as a complex dynamic system composed of a number of constituent components; each of which is itself a dynamic complex system. In particular, motivation, affect and self-regulation emerge as the ‘controlling’ components of this learner’s agentic system. The paper ends by discussing the findings in respect to pedagogy and future research. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Complexity theory; Dynamic; Agency; Motivation; Psychology 1. Introduction Two major developments within Second Language Acquisition (SLA) have led to an increased interest in the concept of learner agency. The first concerns the prominence of the concepts of learner-centeredness and autonomy; both of which emphasise the role of the learner as an active key agent in language learning processes (Benson, 2001: 17). As opportunities for self-directed learning proliferate given the growth and advancements in various technologies and easier possibilities for travel, it has become increasingly important for learners to feel a sense of agency in relation to such contexts in order to make the most of the learning opportunities they potentially represent (Benson, 2001; Gremmo and Riley, 1995; Murray, 1999). The second development in SLA reflects the growing recognition following the ‘social turn’ (Block, 2003) of more socio-constructivist understandings of learners which acknowledge the agentic interaction between learners and their environments and learning contexts. Learners are viewed as agents who “actively engage in constructing the terms and conditions of their own learning” (Lantolf and Pavlenko, 2001: 145), in whatever communities of practice they engage with, whether these are situated inside or outside formal language learning contexts. Research employing such a perspective has also revealed the central role played by agency, which can be both constrained and facilitated by * Tel.: þ43 316 380 2486/2488. E-mail address: sarah.mercer@uni-graz.at. 0346-251X/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.system.2011.08.001 www.elsevier.com/locate/system Available online at www.sciencedirect.com System 39 (2011) 427e436