Written Discourse Analysis and Second Language Teaching

The analysis of written discourse as a research approach in applied linguistics is a relatively recent phenomenon. Nonetheless, its insights and applications have been influential in a variety of second language (L2) teaching contexts (Connor & Kaplan, 1987; Polio, 1997, 2001, 2003). However, it is also fair to say that some controversy-both philosophical and methodological-surrounds the theory and especially the pedagogical applications of written discourse analysis in L2 classrooms.