Second language composition instruction: developments, issues, and directions in ESL

Abstract

To be effective teachers of writing, English as a second language (ESL) composition professionals need an understanding of what is involved in second language (L2) writing. They need coherent perspectives, principles, models – tools for thinking about second language writing in general and ESL composition in particular, and for analyzing and evaluating competing views. This chapter attempts to supply some of these tools by focusing on approaches to ESL writing instruction – identifying what they are, what they are not, and what they might be. In particular, this chapter offers for consideration: (1) an interpretation of (and brief commentary on) developments in ESL composition instruction during the period 1945–1990; (2) some tentative models meant to provide a coherent context for understanding, describing, and evaluating approaches to the teaching of L2 writing; (3) an evaluation of existing approaches in terms of these models; and (4) suggestions, growing out of this evaluation, for future directions in ESL composition theory, research, and practice.