Learning to Write in a Second Language: Two Decades of Research

The empirical studies reviewed in this article show that over the past two decades research on learning to write in second languages has expanded and refined conceptualizations of (a) the qualities of texts that learners produce, (b) the processes of students' composing, and, increasingly, (c) the specific sociocultural contexts in which this learning occurs.Research has tended to treat each of these dimensions separately, though they are integrally interrelated.Certain recommendations for instruction follow from this inquiry, but the conclusiveness and comprehensiveness of such recommendations are constrained by the multi-faceted nature of second-language writing and the extensive variability associated both with literacy and with languages internationally.