Reflecting on the Cognitive–Social Debate in Second Language Acquisition

Abstract

Firth and Wagner's (1997)call for a more socially and contextually situated view of second language acquisition (SLA) research has generated a great deal of discussion and debate, a summary of which is offered in this reflective commentary. Given the individualistic, cognitive origin of the SLA field, such controversy is entirely understandable. With different ontologies and epistemologies, the two views, individual/cognitive and social/contextual, have had little impact on each other. These days, a theoretical pluralism prevails. Eventually, their differences may, though it is not clear that they will, be settled empirically. Another possibility is for there to be a reframing of our understanding, and I offer chaos/complexity theory as one means for doing so. Indeed, the solution the SLA field has perennially adopted when there are conflicting views is to seek a larger frame, one that acknowledges the contributions of each perspective. More specifically, I expect that it will be the point where the two perspectives intersect that will prove to be the most productive for future understanding of SLA, and I believe that there is a new consensus around this point that is emerging.