Writing is one of the most challenging skills for a language learner to acquire due its sheer complexity, and language teachers are faced with a demanding task in the teaching and testing of writing. This book presents relevant conceptual and theoretical frameworks of second language writing research and sheds light on the implications of the recent research findings in a clear and practice-oriented style. In this way, it is intended as a companion book for language teachers who include writing as a part of their courses, in particular, new teachers as they embark on their teaching careers.

What should language and writing teachers do about giving students written corrective feedback? This book surveys theory, research, and practice on the important and sometimes controversial issue of written corrective feedback, also known as “error/grammar correction,” and its impact on second language acquisition and second language writing development. Offering state-of-the-art treatment of a topic that is highly relevant to both researchers and practitioners, it critically analyzes and synthesizes several parallel and complementary strands of research — work on error/feedback (both oral and written) in SLA and studies of the impact of error correction in writing/composition courses — and addresses practical applications. Drawing from both second language acquisition and writing/composition literature, this volume is the first to intentionally connect these two separate but important lines of inquiry.

This book critically analyzes and synthesizes parallel and complementary strands of research on error/feedback (both oral and written) in second-language acquisition (SLA) and on the impact of error correction in second-language writing (SLW).

Input and Evidence: the raw material of second language acquisition is an empirical and theoretical treatment of one of the essential components of SLA: the input to language learning mechanisms. It reviews and adds to the empirical studies showing that negative evidence (correction, feedback, repetitions, reformulations) play a role in language acquisition in addition to that played by ordinary conversation. At the same time, it embeds discussion of input within a framework which includes a serious treatment of language processing, including the problem of modularity and the question of how semantic representations can influence grammatical ones. It lays the foundation for the development of a truly explanatory theory of SLA in the form of the Autonomous Induction Theory which combines a model of induction with an interpretation of Universal Grammar, thereby permitting, for the the first time, a coherent approach to the problem of constraining induction in SLA.

Bringing together current research, analysis, and discussion of the role of corrective feedback in second language teaching and learning, this volume bridges the gap between research and pedagogy by identifying principles of effective feedback strategies and how to use them successfully in classroom instruction. By synthesizing recent works on a range of related themes and topics in this area and integrating them into a single volume, it provides a valuable resource for researchers, graduate students, teachers, and teacher educators in various contexts who seek to enhance their skills and to further their understanding in this key area of second language education.

This book is a pioneer attempt to bridge the gap between the fields of second language acquisition (SLA) and second and foreign language (L2) writing. Its ultimate aim is to advance our understanding of written language learning by compiling a collection of theoretical meta-reflections and empirical studies that shed new light on two crucial dimensions of the theory and research in the field: first, the manner in which L2 users learn to express themselves in writing (the learning-to-write dimension), and, second, the manner in which the engagement in written output practice can contribute to developing competences in an L2 (the writing-to-learn dimension). These two areas of disciplinary inquiry have up until now developed separately: the learning-to-write dimension has been the cornerstone of L2 writing research, whereas the writing-to-learn one has been theorized and researched within SLA studies, hence the relevance of the book for exploring L2 writing-SLA interfaces.