Blurb:

The relationships between learner agency, metacognition, affordances, and learner autonomy can be understood as a dynamic and complex system. I argue that theories of dynamic systems and complexity (Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008) hold potential for providing new lenses to understand the concept of learner autonomy in the context of CALL and MALL. The major focus of this chapter is the adoption of an ecological perspective informed by the concept of complexity (van Lier, 2004, 2010) to explain the evolvement of the complex concept of learner autonomy within MALL environments. The chapter investigates the concept of learner autonomy in young language learners in French immersion programs in Canada. Building on an ecological approach informed by complexity theory, this chapter demonstrates that the key elements influencing language learning—such as learner agency, metacognition, affordances, identity, and self-regulation—work in synergy within a larger system to allow the emergence of learner autonomy in the MALL environment.