The title of my talk makes two references. The first is to the series of "What-if's" that Lynne Cameron and I posed in our 2008 book. For example, in paraphrase, "What if there is no real distinction between performance and competence?" "What if the learners and the process of learning cannot usefully be separated?" and so forth. I believe that affirmative answers to these conditional questions have been central not only to Complex Dynamic Systems Theory-informed-research, but also to a variety of other theoretical perspectives.
While the positions that these theories stake out are not without their detractors, I submit that Applied Linguistics as a whole has embraced them. Nevertheless it is appropriate that Applied Linguists, with their problem-orientation, should also insist on answers to the "So what's".
Going beyond the 30 aphorisms that I claimed were implications of a CDST way of thinking regarding language, learners/learning and teaching (Larsen-Freeman, 2017), I discuss some broader contributions. These include adopting a common discourse across disciplines, moving from a western way of thinking to a more intercultural one, and maintaining ecological mutualism and a systems perspective.
I conclude by pointing to issues that CDST might consider in the future.
