Alan Hirvela, Ken Hyland, and Rosa M.

Manchón
2 Dimensions in L2 writing theory and
research: Learning to write and writing
to learn
1 Introduction
As noted by Cumming in his contribution to this Handbook (Chapter 3), “L2 writing
is inherently multi-faceted, involving multiple issues and orientations that may not
even be commensurable with each other” (pag. 65). The present chapter explores
the multi-faceted nature of L2 writing from the perspective of three complementary
orientations to its study, which are referred to in the literature as “learning-to-write”
(LW), “writing-to-learn-content” (WLC), and “writing-to-learn-language” (WLL), re-
spectively (Manchón 2011a). Each of these three orientations is ultimately related to
the variables of purposes of learning and teaching writing, on the one hand, and to
the contexts where L2 writing is learned and taught, on the other. In addition, each
one puts emphasis on a different facet of writing: writing itself and written texts in
LW, readers and contexts of use in WLC, and language in WLL (see Ortega 2011).
The study of the LW dimension has been privileged in L2 writing theory, empir-
ical research, and pedagogical thinking. This orientation encompasses theoretical
and empirical efforts aimed at advancing disciplinary understandings of the vari-
ous facets (personal, social, educational, socio-political, ideological, cognitive, and
linguistic) of writing in an additional language. As a rule, the body of knowledge
accumulated on the LW perspective derives from studies on L2 writing as practiced
in a range of “second” language contexts, including mainly academic and work-
place settings (see chapters in Part II, this volume).
L2 writing has also been approached from the perspective of the way in which
the act of writing itself may be instrumental in learning something else. The WLC
perspective investigates L2 writing as a vehicle for the learning of disciplinary sub-
ject-matter in the content areas, mainly (although not solely) in “second” instruc-
tional settings. At the heart of the WLC perspective on L2 writing is the assumption
that students ultimately use writing to show mastery of content knowledge, as well
as to maximize their learning through the resources that writing provides, a trans-
fer effect that is more fully discussed in a later section. In contrast, the WLL orien-
tation is a much more recent addition to L2 writing research preoccupations and it
represents a crucial area of study in the research agenda on SLA-L2 writing interfa-
ces, as elaborated in more detail in Chapter 26. This approach explores L2 writing
as a site for language learning, mostly (though not solely) in “foreign” language
instructional settings. It includes the analysis of the language learning benefits
that may potentially result from the act of writing itself, as well as from the process-
ing of written corrective feedback on one’s own writing.