This study aims to increase knowledge of pausal behavior
in L1 and L2 writing during the online process of writing and to contribute to
the field of L2 writing fluency. Previous research has shown that fluency is
closely related to pause length and location, and that writing has much
individual variation; this variation has been neglected when defining pauses. Here,
however, the pause length is defined at a personal level by means of the Hidden
Markov Model. The online data were gathered from eleven Finnish university
students studying French and six French speaking Erasmus students. The results show
language-related differences in the pausal behavior in L1 and L2 writing. The
individual pausal behavior varied between students, which confirms the
relevance of using individual pause lengths in experimental studies.