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Cognitive individual differences in the process and product of L2 writing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2023

Gisela Granena Open the ORCID record for Gisela Granena [Opens in a new window]
Gisela Granena*
Affiliation:
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
*
Email: ggranena@uoc.edu
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Abstract

This paper examines how research in second language acquisition has approached the study of cognitive individual differences in the process and product of L2 writing from a theoretical and empirical perspective, paying special attention to the three empirical studies included in this special issue. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section examines the cognitive abilities that have been investigated in L2 writing research, among which working memory stands out as the most widely studied. The second section synthesizes the findings reported by the empirical studies in this issue in relation to the role of working memory in L2 writing behaviors and outcomes. The last section suggests future lines of research that can broaden the current scope of research on writing and cognitive individual differences, mostly centered on the components of the working memory system. This research has important theoretical implications, as little is known about how different cognitive individual differences are implicated in writing, as well as pedagogical implications, as the findings can inform about optimal performance and learning conditions for learners with diverse cognitive ability profiles.

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Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 45 , Special Issue 3: Individual differences and L2 writing: Expanding SLA research , July 2023 , pp. 765 - 785
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© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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