Welcome

The 14th Symposium on Second Language Writing
Learning to Write for Academic Purposes
November 19-21, 2015
AUT University, City Campus, Auckland, New Zealand

Photo by STEVE

KIA ORA KOUTOU KATOA
KO Nancy Tarawhiti TAKU INGOA
KO TENEI TE KARANGA KIA KOUTOU KATOA
ME TO HAERE MAI KI TE WHENUA O AOTEAROA O TE RA TAU HAU E NGA RI, MOI HO ANA KOUTOU, KO TENEI TE KAINGA O TE MIDDLE EARTH
HE MIHI O AOTEAROA AROHA TENEI KIA KOUTOU KATOA
NO REIRA HAERE MAI, HAERE MAI, HAERE MAI KOUTOU KATOA*

The importance of the theme is underscored by the increasing number of L2 writers studying and working in educational and professional settings where epistemologies and expectations may be quite different to those they have grown up with.

The particular academic purposes that L2 writers encounter as students and as working professionals can vary according to the contexts and settings in which writing for academic purposes is undertaken. These can be broadly categorised as follows:

Educational contexts and settings where teaching and learning take place

• Schools (e.g. primary and secondary; public and private institutions)
• Pre-tertiary (e.g. foundation programmes; private language schools)
• Tertiary (e.g. university, polytechnic, college)

Workplace contexts and settings where L2 writers are employed

• Training institutions (e.g. teachers’ colleges)
• Teacher/academic professional activities (e.g. writing books, articles, reports, conference papers; reviewing, assessing and examining)

In educational contexts, issues associated with learning to write for academic purposes can be viewed from both the L2 learners’ and teachers’ perspectives. In workplace contexts, they can be seen from both the L2 writers’ and assessors’/gate-keepers’ perspectives.

Whenever academic texts are produced, some form of assessment is expected. It may be offered in a formative sense (responding to the work in progress) or in a summative sense (test, assignment or examination grades; acceptance of a text for publication or presentation). Issues associated with the assessment of L2 writers’ texts or with L2 writers assessing texts may also be considered relevant to the theme.

While the symposium invites proposals on any aspect of second language writing, those that address one or more aspects of the theme will be particularly welcome.

The Auckland organizing committee is particularly proud to be hosting the 2015 symposium as it is the first time the event has come ‘downunder’. We are also pleased to be able to showcase our beautiful city—‘the city of sails’—and hope you will have time to see other parts of the country as well.

John Bitchener, 2015 Symposium Chair
Paul Kei Matsuda, Founding Chair

Key Dates (New Zealand Time)

Keynote and Plenary Speakers

There will be 3 keynote speakers and each of these will address both parts of the theme (‘learning to write for academic purposes’ and ‘advancing theory, research and practice’) in relation to the contexts and settings they are familiar with. The keynote speakers for SSLW 2015 are:

Ken Hyland, University of Hong Kong, China

Rosa Manchón, University of Murcia, Spain

Paul Kei Matsuda, Arizona State University, USA

In addition, there will be a number of 30 minute plenary presentations and each invited speaker will deliver a hands-on, practice-focused address on an ‘issue’ that L2 students and practitioners encounter in the contexts and settings they are familiar with. The plenary speakers for SSLW 2015 are:

Jennifer Hammond, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

Sara Cushing Weigle, Georgia State University, USA

Rosemary Wette, Auckland University, New Zealand

Tony Silva, Purdue University, USA

Neomy Storch, Melbourne University, Australia

Christine M. Tardy, University of Arizona, USA

Brian Paltridge, University of Sydney, Australia

John Bitchener, AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand

Dana Ferris, University of California, Davis, USA

Icy Lee, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Abstracts for keynote and plenary sessions are available here.