Abstract
Over the past 40 years, second language educators and assessors have come to the realization that investigating the process of writing can shed light on language teaching, learning and assessment practices (Odendahl & Deane, 2018). What L2 writers do and think while writing can provide links between the task, the related construct and the cognitive mechanisms the learners engage in. In assessment contexts, such information can help language testers to ensure that performance-based score inferences are truly linked to not only the linguistic knowledge of examinees, but also to the functions of mental architecture intended in a specific task (Purpura, 2013). Recent advances in technology have provided the researchers with innovative tools for investigating L2 writing processes in different contexts. This paper provides a brief review of L2 writing process research by presenting the most influential theoretical approaches to the conceptualization and investigation of writing process in L1 and L2, followed by a review of some representative empirical research. Recognizing the need for investigating writing processes under assessment conditions, the paper attempts to delve more deeply into this topic by examining the existing L2 process research in assessment contexts, paying particular attention to the role of technology and assessment techniques.
Highlights
Studies of second language (L2) writing performance and development are taking new directions to respond to findings from research in writing ability and cognitive theories (Deane, 2011; Michel et al, 2020; Roca de Larios et al, 2008)
Recognizing the challenges involved in the investigation of L2 writing process in assessment contexts, the purpose of this paper is to review the literature on L2 writing process by first presenting the theoretical models of writing process, reviewing the methodology and major findings of representative L2 empirical research based on early theoretical frameworks, and examining the more recent L2 writing process research in assessment contexts
In order to review the literature on L2 writing process, this paper presented an overview of the major theoretical frameworks and approaches to the conceptualization and investigation of writing process
Summary
Studies of second language (L2) writing performance and development are taking new directions to respond to findings from research in writing ability and cognitive theories (Deane, 2011; Michel et al, 2020; Roca de Larios et al, 2008). Unlike the product-oriented approach to writing, which focuses on the final product of the writing task, the process-oriented approach considers the linguistic aspects of writing (e.g., knowledge of grammar), and the cognitive and metacognitive aspects that involve the necessary phases a student goes through to produce a text. These phases can include brainstorming, planning, generating ideas, and revising and reflecting on one’s own work (Odendahl & Deane, 2018). This includes both the strategies that have a clear physical representation (e.g., writing words on a paper), as well as the underlying cognitive and metacognitive processes that guide and form the actual witting process
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