Adapting a Framework for Designing and Teaching an Online Academic Writing Course for L2 Writers

Abstract

The internationalization of US writing programs and the steady increase of online learning in higher education present challenges for writing programs and instructors in developing and teaching online academic writing courses, particularly courses for international multilingual/second language (L2) writers. Anecdotal accounts of the experiences of the emergency transition to online learning in spring 2020 due to the COVID19 pandemic highlighted many of these challenges, including skepticism of the effectiveness of online teaching and the general unpreparedness to carry it out. The aim of this chapter is to introduce an adapted framework for designing and teaching online L2 writing courses based on Casanave’s ( Controversies in second language writing: Dilemmas and decisions in research and instruction (2nd ed.) [Ebook]. The University of Michigan Press, 2017) and informed by an exploratory study of instructor and student perceptions of their online writing courses.