Understanding Learner Beliefs With Complexity Theory: Insights From Academic Presentation

ABSTRACT Despite the recognized importance of learner beliefs in second and foreign language learning, research specifically exploring EFL learner beliefs about academic presentations remains limited. Moreover, few studies have approached learner beliefs as a complex system. Drawing on complexity theory, this study employed a multiple‐case study design involving six EFL learners in EAP settings. Data were triangulated from classroom observations, semi‐structured interviews, stimulated recalls, presentation slides, and self‐reflection documents. The findings conceptualize learner beliefs and practices as an integrated complex system (i.e., belief‐practice system). Within this overarching framework, the subsystem of learner beliefs is heterogeneous, that is, it is composed of diverse yet interacting types of beliefs (i.e., task‐, person‐, and strategy‐related beliefs), all unified by a core audience‐centered orientation. Rather than existing in isolation, these components are intrinsically interconnected. Specifically, the study finds that strategy‐related beliefs (peripheral) emerge from the interaction of task‐related and person‐related beliefs (core). Although practices generally align with the belief subsystem, we also identify three key mechanisms underlying divergence between beliefs and practices: (1) external contextual pressures, (2) internal cognitive and operational constraints, and (3) internal psychological tensions. Synthesizing these findings, the study proposes a complex model explaining the dynamic interplay among learner beliefs, practices, and contexts. The study concludes by advocating for pedagogical approaches, suggesting that targeted instruction can help learners consciously develop and refine their beliefs about effective academic presentation.