An argument for globalized L2 writing methodological innovation

Abstract

In this paper, I present an argument for L2 writing methodological innovation to embrace the idea of ‘globalized L2 writing’, which entails focusing on different (types of) research questions and using these to draw on research methods from other fields. I use the term ‘global’ to refer to the cross-disciplinary nature of this endeavor, and the important contribution of diverse global perspectives and global knowledge to researching linguistic phenomena, along the lines of ‘Global Englishes’ and the ‘Global South’. Globalized L2 writing requires re-conceptualizing L2 writing as a global phenomenon that is paradigmatically unbounded and dynamic. It is both socio-political and open to expansion, and it is unrestricted by Western ideologies such as those proscribing imitation. I highlight two L2 writing methodological problems that offer opportunities to re-conceptualize L2 writing and recommend alternative L2 writing methodologies with associated research questions.