“Remember: Writing is a slow process”

Abstract Study abroad (SA) scholars have called for greater investigation of writing development during SA and, particularly, for research on curricular features that afford the writing growth of students including Spanish heritage language learners (SHLLs). Responding to this gap, the present study documented the Spanish writing pedagogies employed by an island program in Madrid, Spain that served 13 U.S. university students, including six SHLLs, in spring 2023. Through inductive, qualitative analysis of interviews, field notes, and program artifacts, the study described stakeholders’ evaluations of the strengths and limitations of writing pedagogies. Students and instructors emphasized the value of process-based composition assignments with low-stakes writing components; portfolio assessment; and timely instructor written corrective feedback. SHLLs particularly valued writing by hand as a way to address their perceived need for improvement in orthographic accuracy. Results are discussed in terms of the potential of meaningful writing assignments for curricular developments in SA writing instruction.