Process approaches in ESL/EFL writing instruction

Abstract

Process has been an important and sometimes contentious concept in both first language (L1) and English as a Second Language/English as a Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) writing instruction. This article attempts to resolve this contention by defining process approaches and examining their role in ESL/EFL writing instruction. The article first discusses three different meanings of process, showing that the term is not the name of a writing theory, and then describes the two main elements of process writing pedagogies, awareness and intervention. The ESL/EFL writing literature is analyzed to show how process approaches have been accepted in ESL/EFL composition. Finally, this article discusses some problems in implementing process writing pedagogies in ESL/EFL writing instruction. © 1994.