The authors of this collection of 11 essays address the very real gap that exists between SLA and second language (L2) or foreign language writing. Manchón uses a unique organizational structure that grounds and helps guide the reader through the complicated and, at times, difficult to understand arguments that surround these issues, and this organization is one of the strengths of this text. The book is divided into four sections. The first section consists of a single introductory chapter; the second section (Part 1), “Learning-to-Write and Writing-to-Learn: Mapping the Terrain,” has three chapters; the third section (Part 2), “Learning-to-Write and Writing-to-Learn: Research Insights,” has six chapters; and finally, the fourth section has one concluding chapter.
Manchón’s introduction sets the stage for the text. As she states from the beginning, the purpose of the collection “is to advance our understanding of written language learning in an additional language (L2)” (p. 3). The authors included achieve this by looking at how L2 learners express themselves through writing (i.e., learning-to-write [LW] and writing-to-learn [WL]) and how writing in a L2 furthers development in other areas (i.e., writing-to-learn content [WLC] and writing-to-learn language [WLL]). Manchón further recognizes the compartmentalization typically associated with these different perspectives and argues for a more comprehensive theory and pedagogy of L2 that incorporates these differences. For the remainder of the chapter, she focuses on explaining the overall organization and then provides a breakdown of each essay. For the novice, the grounding information included in this introduction—such as terms and acronyms used in the field—is key to understanding the essays that follow in both middle sections.
The three essays that make up Part 1 are likewise crucial to a thorough understanding of the essays that follow in Part 2. The authors of these essays address different aspects of SLA, including the research and pedagogy surrounding LW, WL, WLC, and WLL. These essays alone give the reader a comprehensive overview of the scholarship being done in both SLA and L2 writing. Because of their comprehensiveness, they serve as a road map for Part 2’s essays, which exemplify the theories and pedagogies presented in this section.
The chapters in Part 2 provide empirical research in areas such as how genre knowledge or switching between languages impacts LW and WLC (chapters 5 and 6), the concept that LW and WL are inseparable (chapter 7), student and teacher perceptions on form-focused feedback and the potential for writing in an WLL context (chapters 8 and 9), and the learning potential of writing in a foreign language class for heritage language students (chapter 10). This research is interesting and provides different views surrounding SLA and L2 writing. It should be noted, however, that even though the first two sections help readers orient themselves with regard to acronyms and terms, they might find it necessary to return frequently to these first four essays for refreshers, as some of these essays frequently use terms and jargon familiar only to an insider in the field of SLA.
The essays, overall, provide the reader with different views dealing with issues and concerns of SLA and L2. They also serve to bring together the fields of SLA and L2 writing in new and exciting ways by recognizing the importance of the agency and identity that writers bring with them and of the writerly voices they already possess in the target language.
