The Future of L2 Writing

I thought that the discussion about ideology and critical thinking in Ch. 6 of Cassanave's book was interesting. I agree with the argument that all writing is social, political, and ideology. It seems patronizing and offensive to me to say that L2 students are "not ready" for critical thinking and that women are uncomfortable with it. That argument just serves to maintain a status quo which marginalizes minorities and women. Moreover, I don't think that EAP can be excused from social, political, and ideology issues. Critical thinking  is an expectation in many academic disciplines, so it is required for successful writing in that community. Critical thinking may be more of a Western concept (I'm not entirely convinced of this) but without it international students would have to accept all of the other Western ideas learned in a U.S. education without questioning them. I believe that we should lay out the opportunities of critical thinking to our students but let them decide what their specific learning goals are. Instruction needs to be more of a negotiation.

As for the future of L2 writing scholarship, I think that there is more than one pathway to becoming an L2 writing specialist. Studying in a PhD program under any of the scholars mentioned would be a great learning opportunity, but I don't think that it is necessary. There are many excellent practioners in all levels of education preparing themselves by searching out the research and strategies that will best meet the needs of the students before them. I believe that L1 and L2 scholars need to work more closely together to meet those student needs and to offer more heterogenous learning experiences. I don't think that the categorizations of students into language categories is particularly helpful. Rather, teachers should work together to change instruction so that it can meet the needs of diverse students in the same classroom in ways that students can learn from one another and develop the communication skills necessary for living in a global society.