On Second Language Writing brings together internationally recognized scholars in a collection of original articles that, collectively, delineate and explore central issues with regard to theory, research, instruction, assessment, politics, articulation with other disciplines, and standards. In recent years, there has been a dramatic growth of interest in second-language writing and writing instruction in many parts of the world. Although an increasing number of researchers and teachers in both second-language studies and composition studies have come to identify themselves as...

In this original volume, eighteen researchers from different parts of the world reflect on their own research projects, providing insights into key methodological issues in research on second language writing. By offering a glimpse into the process of constructing and negotiating knowledge in the field--the messy space of situated practices of inquiry--it helps to demystify the research process, which can appear in published studies and in introductory methodology guides to be neater and more orderly than it actually is.

Taking a broad conception of research as inquiry that emphasizes the...

Eighteen researchers from different parts of the world reflect on their own research projects, providing insights into key methodological issues in research on second language writing. By offering a glimpse into the process of constructing and negotiating knowledge in the field--the messy space of situated practices of inquiry--it helps to demystify the research process, which can appear in published studies and in introductory methodology guides to be neater and more orderly than it actually is. Taking a broad conception of research as inquiry that emphasizes the situated and constructed...

This is a collection of papers covering a wide range of topics, including: structural linguistics and systematic composition teaching to students of English as a foreign language; cultural thought patterns in intercultural education; and issues in ESL writing assessment.

The POLITICS OF SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING: IN SEARCH OF THE PROMISED LAND is the first edited collection to present a sustained discussion of classroom practices in larger contexts of institutional politics and policies. Contributors focus on the policies on assessment, placement, credit, class size, course content, instructional practices, teacher preparation, and teacher support. They examine politics in terms of the relationships and interaction between second language writing professionals and colleagues at the program, department, school, college, and university levels and beyond....

Theory has been used widely in the field of second language writing. Second language writing specialists-teachers, researchers, and administrators-have yet to have an open and sustained conversation about what theory is, how it works, and, more important, how to practice theory. PRACTICING THEORY IN SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING features fourteen essays by distinguished scholars in second language writing who explore various aspects of theoretical work that goes on in the field. The key issues addressed in PRACTICING THEORY IN SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING include the nature of theory in second language...

In recent years, the number of nonnative speakers of English in colleges and universities in North America has increased dramatically. As a result, more and more writing teachers have found themselves working with these English as a Second Language (ESL) students in writing classes that are designed primarily with monolingual, native-English-speaking students in mind. Since the majority of institutions require these students to enroll in writing courses at all levels, it is becoming increasingly important for all writing teachers to be aware of the presence and special linguistic and cultural...