The global dominance of academic English and the increasing importance
of developing an ability to effectively communicate in writing have put
a strain on second language education programs worldwide. Faced with
time-consuming and copious commenting on student drafts and inspired
by the promise of computerized writing assessment, many ‘educational
technology enthusiasts are looking to AWE as a silver bullet for language
and literacy development’ (Warschauer & Ware, 2006, p. 175). This
chapter examines the state of the art of AWE, discussing its current affordances and demonstrating that, as is, it is not a silver bullet for meeting
the writing needs of learners and teachers. Nevertheless, if carefully conceptualized at the earliest design stage, AWE can realize its full potential
in writing classrooms in general and in L2 research writing in particular.
The global dominance of academic English and the increasing importance
of developing an ability to
effectively
communicate in
writing
have put
a strain on second language education programs worldwide. Faced with
time-consuming and copious commenting on student drafts and inspired
by the promise of computerized
writing
assessment,
many
‘educational
technology enthusiasts are looking to AWE as a silver bullet for language
and literacy development’ (
Warschauer
& Ware, 2006, p. 175). This
chapter examines the state of the art of AWE, discussing its
current
affordances and demonstrating that, as is, it is not a silver bullet for meeting
the
writing
needs of learners and teachers.
Nevertheless
, if
carefully
conceptualized at the earliest design stage, AWE can realize its full potential
in
writing
classrooms
in general
and in L2 research
writing
in particular
.