Second language acquisition and writing: a multi-disciplinary approach

Writing is a complex activity whose components and sub-components involve a ction on a number of levels. It is multifaceted, requiring proficiency in s everal areas of skill and knowledge that make up writing only when taken to gether. Research into writing has mirrored this complexity and has develope d concurrently in a number of disciplines - in psychology and the cognitive sciences, text linguistics and pragmatics, applied linguistics and first a nd second language education. This special issue of Learning and Instruction is a collection of four pape rs that represent different aspects of current research into writing in a s econd language. They do not cover the full range of research into this area of writing, but serve as examples of the depth and breadth of study in thi s one particular part of the field. They are introduced here within the con text of a discussion of current interests in writing research and each of t he papers will be presented within the research area into which it most rea sonably fits. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.