The writing center and second language writers

Abstract

Writing centers (or writing labs) have been part of the higher education landscape since the 1930s (Murphy & Law, 1995). They have been regarded as separate from the classroom, a unique space for writers working on their writing. Originally, they were primarily identified with remediation, an impression that unfortunately lingers even today (Carino, 1992; North, 1984a). In the late 1970s and 1980s, writing centers (WCs) saw a shift that paralleled the shift in composition studies more generally, with greater emphasis on facilitating the writing process, on liberatory practice, writer ownership of text, and collaborative approaches to instruction (Brooks, 1991; Lunsford, 1991). Many WCs embraced the peer tutoring model, pioneered by Bruffee (1984), who maintained that tutoring is best seen as an interaction between peers who share similar backgrounds, experience, and status, one that creates a different and powerful context for learning. WC pedagogy as inquiry dates perhaps to the publication of Muriel Harris’s Writing One-on-One (1986) and to Stephen North’s call for serious writing center research (North, 1984b). There are now numerous guides to WC practice (Capossela, 1998; Gillespie & Lerner, 2004; Rafoth, 2000), a lively research community, and two dedicated journals (Writing Center Journal, Writing Lab Newsletter). It was not until ten years ago, however, that attention turned to the second language (L2) writers who were beginning to use—often Journal of Second Language Writing 13 (2004) 165–172