Chapter 11. Reflections on the learning-to-write and writing-to-learn dimensions of second language writing

This final chapter explores main themes in the book and offers readers some critical points to ponder. I first highlight the intellectual and disciplinary influences which converge into the three dimensions that motivate the book – learning to write (LW) and writing to learn content (WLC) or language (WLL) – and which also cohere with broad professional and contextual locations for each. I then turn to possible interconnections among the three dimensions. In some cases, LW, WLC, and WLL can become dividing lines that feed into compartmentalized professional or scholarly cultures and create misalignments between teacher and student understandings of the value and roles of second language (L2) writing. More often than not, however, the present collection demonstrates that the three views of LW, WLC, and WLL are closely related and can synergistically support instruction as well as enhance research insights. I then reflect on the importance of authenticity, needs, and writerly selves in the conceptualizations of LW, WLC, and WLL offered by authors across chapters. I close my reflections with some questions that are likely to spur future research capable of deepening our understanding of capable of deepening our understanding of the roles that L2 writing instruction plays in uniquely supporting the synergistic learning of writing, content, and language.