Since Swain and Lapkin suggested that language-related episodes (LREs) indicated a high correlation between the role of learner output and second language learning, the literature on the Output Hypothesis has remained inconclusive about the affect of production on L2 acquisition. Responding to calls by Izumi and Bigelow (2000) and Shehadeh (2002) for an agenda that makes acquisitional research central to the study of comprehensible output, this dissertation examines language-related episodes in the verbal protocols of 10 ESL writers and their affect on writing development. Results from this semester-long study show that the language-related episode is a juncture for output and acquisition regardless of the learner's L2 proficiency. The study proposes that the language-related episode impacts the learner's attempt to cohere the emerging L2 text by analyzing learner LREs for changes in 1) lexical and syntactic modifications, and the 2) length of LREs as continuous or discontinuous episodes. This analysis indicates that lexical and syntactic modifications lead to sentence coherence and that sentence to paragraph coherence coincides with extended language-related episodes.
Drawing on the results of this dissertation, discussion addresses the features and frequency of language-related episodes in L2 writing development and suggests its importance as a research tool in taking the field forward.
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