Summary and Conclusion
For English L2 writers, the process of writing in an academic environment is challenging. I used to tell my students that the only way to improve their writing is to keep writing--thinking that with enough practice in writing and revision (involving problem solving and reflection), they would eventually acquire the fundamentals, or at least the standard, required of academic discourse. Although the process approach to instruction, characterized by practice, collaboration, and the opportunity for revision, may be suitable for most English L1 writers, it is apparent that many L2 writers do not have the necessary linguistic ability to reap the benefits of the approach. As Yau (1991) points out:
[A]lthough we should not cripple our students' interest in writing through undue stress or grammatical correctness, the influence of second language factors on writing performance is something we have to reckon with and not pretend that concentrating on the process would automatically resolve the difficulty caused by these factors. (p. 268)
Kern (2000) also mentions that process-oriented teaching does not acknowledge the influence of sociocultural context on individual processes. He has characterized it as inattentive to "learners' understanding of links between form and communicative conventions that will allow them to construct meanings in ways that are appropriate within the immediate academic context as well as the larger societal context" (p. 182). [-14-]
Feedback is of utmost importance to the writing process. Without individual attention and sufficient feedback on errors, improvement will not take place. We must accept the fact that L2 writing contains errors; it is our responsibility to help learners to develop strategies for self-correction and regulation. Indeed, L2 writers require and expect specific overt feedback from teachers not only on content, but also on the form and structure of writing. If this feedback is not part of the instructional process, then students will be disadvantaged in improving both writing and language skills.
In order to learn more about L2 writers' use of language in the process of writing, we need to apply to L2 writing the research methods utilized in exploring the composing process in L1 writing, such as think-aloud protocols. We also need to understand how students compose in both their native languages and in English to understand more about their learning strategies (especially in monitoring errors), the role of translation, and transfer of skills. Certainly, ethnographic research in L2 writing that examines the writing process, along with the acquisition of communicative competence, will help to create a more comprehensive theory of L2 writing.