Applied ELT: A Paradigm Justifying Complex Adaptive System of Language Teaching?

In an endeavor to reflect on the advent of Applied ELT paradigm pioneered by Pishghadam (2011) in the area of second language education, this article delves into the unexplored nature of this emerging paradigm via a contemporary complexity-driven voice. The crux of the argument addressed in this article suggests that Applied ELT is a pragmatic manifestation of complex adaptive system of language teaching. To set the grounds expressly for such enquiry, firstly it draws on both premises and axioms associated with complexity theory and its existing literature in the circle of second language research. It then tracks down the evolutionary course of the new developed paradigm of Applied ELT within the realm of second language education and also elaborates the cornerstone and manifold tenets of this paradigm sufficiently. Finally, the article attempts to critically elucidate and rationalize the recent emergence of Applied ELT paradigm through the lens of complexity theory. To broaden our thinking and understanding about the potential and multi-directional influence of ELT field, the article ends by calling for a reshaped educational direction for ELT position in second language education.