Complex Systems Theory (CST) has been called upon in many different fields as a means of examining phenomena in a way that makes interconnectivity and emergence central to research. For applied linguistics, CST offers the possibility of encompassing both language and learning. In doing so, the theoretical orientation needs to be fully integrated into the research process through research methodology. This paper describes a qualitative microethnographic method, Lexical Trail Analysis, which draws on the concept of emergence. It is an analytic method that enables us to see the longitudinal development of words and their patterns. It is applied here in a case study of the development of one second language user's lexicogrammatical patterns (formulaic sequences, collocations, idioms, etc.). Her word patterns are traced as she prepares for a university entrance test and later, once she enters the university. Her use of patterns involves adaptive imitation, a complex process of perceiving, imitating and adapting patterns to suit new communicative goals.
Complex Systems Theory; second language learning; Sociocultural Theory; emergence; formulaic sequences; collocation; vocabulary acquisition; imitation
