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A Brief History of Second Language Writing Issues at CCCC
Second language writing first became an issue at CCCC in the mid 1950s as a result of the post World War II influx of international students in US higher education. With the rise of TESOL as a separate profession, however, L2 concerns began to decline at CCCC in the early 1960s. After the creation of TESOL organization, L2 writing sessions disappeared from CCCC for almost a decade. (For a discussion of the early history, see Matsuda, 1999, 2000.)
The advent of open admissions brought an increasing number of L2 writers into US higher education, and L2 writing sessions began to appear again on CCCC program beginning in 1976. Developments in second language studies also provided theoretical and pedagogical insights for basic writing specialists, but the field of basic writing was concerned primarily with native-English-speaking basic writers and not with second language writers.
In 1980, the first Special Interest Group on ESL, chaired by Carolyn Chiterer Gilboa of Herbert H. Lehman College, CUNY, was established. Then, in the fall of 1980, CCCC approved the creation of the first Committee on ESL writing, which continued to meet until 1986. The Committee, which included L2 writing specialists such as Alexandra Rowe Krapels, Alice M. Roy and Joy M. Reid, among others, sponsored a number of workshops.
In 1990, CCCC hosted a workshop entitled "Essential Skills and Knowledge for Teaching ESL Students," which was chaired by Linda Laube Barnes. Barbara Kroll served as the associate chair. Other workshop leaders included Liz Hamp-Lyons, Alice Wahl Lachman, Martha C. Pennington, and Alexandra Rowe Krapels.
The second CCCC Committee on ESL was established in 1992 with Tony Silva as the chair. The committee developed a list of ESL writing resources for CCCC members. However, the Second Committee was not allowed to continue beyond the first four-year term. For this reason, Silva established the Special Interest Group (SIG) on Second Language Writing in 1995. The group's primary concerns at these meetings were the marginalized status of second language writing issues at CCCC meetings and strategies for including L2 perspectives into CCCC activities.
Although SIG members were aware of the need to help composition teachers become more informed about the presence and needs of L2 writers, the group was increasingly frustrated because the SIG, by its very nature, attracted only those who were already interested in L2 writing issues. In order to reach out for the composition specialists who are not necessarily familiar with L2 issues, the idea of L2 writing workshop was proposed at the 1996 meeting. However, the initial proposal was not accepted for presentation in 1997. Paul Kei Matsuda took over the workshop operation and chaired two workshops--one in 1998 and another in 1999. The 2000 workshop was led by Colleen Brice and attracted about 20 people.
At the end of the 1998 meeting, Matsuda was elected as the new chair of the Special Interest Group. To address the needs of those who come to SIG meetings rather than continue to lament the lack of interest among CCCC members in general, Matsuda changed the format of SIG meetings to address the needs of L2 writing specialists who attend CCCC. The 1999 SIG meeting in Atlanta focused on differences between composition studies and second language studies, featuring Vai Ramanathan and Terry Santos as guest speakers. The SIG also hosted an informal business meeting on Saturday to plan activities for the following year.
For CCCC 2000 in Minneapolis, Kevin Eric De Pew joined Matsuda as a co-chair. The 2000 SIG meeting, entitled "Issues in Contrastive Rhetoric," featured Carol Severino and Ulla Connor as guest speakers. Severino presented her critique of an uncritical appropriation of contrastive rhetoric, and Connor discussed her responses to recent criticisms of contrastive rhetoric and suggested future directions for the field.
At the informal business meeting for the L2 writing SIG, organized by De Pew, the group discussed possible topics for the next SIG meeting, and decided to have Matsuda present the CCCC Statement on Second Language Writing and Writers, which was adopted by CCCC Executive Committee at its November 2000 meeting and endorsed by TESOL Executive Board in March 2001. An additional presenter will be invited to present on the efforts to integrate L2 perspectives into CCCC from a historical perspective.
In addition to the SIG and workshops, the need for an institutional structure that can influence CCCC organization was felt, and Matsuda requested to form a committee. In the fall of 1998, the CCCC Executive Committee approved the establishment of the CCCC Committee on Second Language Writing and appointed Matsuda as the chair. Committee members include Akua Duku Anokye, Christine Pearson Casanave, Helen Fox, Tony Silva, Guadalupe Valdés, and Bob Weissberg. (For a detailed discussion of these developments, see Matsuda, 2000, chapter 5.)
In November 2001, the CCCC Executive Committee voted unanimously to reconstitute the Committee on Second Language Writing. Linda Harklau and Shondel Nero joined the Committee as additional members.
Last update on February 25, 2002
References
Matsuda, P. K. (1999). Composition studies and ESL writing: A disciplinary division of labor. College Composition and Communication, 50(4), 699-721.
Matsuda, P. K. (2000). ESL writing in twentieth-century US higher education: The formation of an interdisciplinary field. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Purdue University.
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