Dialogue Journal Writing Research Articles

Effect of Dialogue Journal Writing through the Use of Conventional Tools and E-mail on Writing Anxiety in the ESL Context

ESL/EFL Anxiety has been reported as one of the foremost factors affecting ESL learners’ performance. Hence, identifying methods to assist language learners to alleviate their ESL anxiety deserve to be considered by the educators. This study compared the effect of dialogue journal writing (DJW) through two different modes of learning and teaching: conventional (using pen and paper or Microsoft Word) and online (using e-mail) on the writing anxiety. Forty-two students from an intact class undergoing the TESL program participated in the study. After going through seven weeks where students wrote their dialogue journals (using two different tools) in dyadic groups, pre and posttest writing anxiety questionnaire (Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory) showed statistically no significant difference between groups in terms of writing anxiety, however mean scores revealed that e-mail group’s writing anxiety have been alleviated greater than their counterparts in conventional group. It shows e-mail has potential in assisting students in lowering their anxiety towards writing.

A POST-PROCESS APPROACH: E-MAIL DIALOGUE JOURNAL WRITING AND ITS IMPACT ON QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS' WRITING

E-mail Dialogue Journal Writing as a form of post-process approach provides students with the opportunity to communicate and collaborate with a native speaker, thus, receive authentic language input which develops their literacy skills. Despite its remarkable potentials, E-DJW practices have been rare in Asian contexts at school-level. In an attempt to bridge this gap, the present study was set out to address the impact of E-DJW on the quality and quantity of students' writing development. The findings of the study revealed that there was a lot of topic extension between the parties in the dialogue journal writing activity and the content of the writings was principally improved. A progress was also observed in the length of the entries, though not steadily. This study hopes to raise both students' and teachers' awareness of E-DJW as a writing activity which provides students with a non-threatening environment which fosters learning and makes them aware of the purpose of writing. Keywords: E-mail Dialogue Journal Writing (E-DJW), writing quality, writing quantity, post-process approach

An Analysis of Language Function Patterns Used by Elementary School Students in Internet-based Dialogue Journal Writing

An Analysis of Language Function Patterns Used by Elementary School Students in Internet-based Dialogue Journal Writing

Effects of Using Dialogue Journal Writing on Reflective Writing and Problem Behaviors of Children with Mental Retardation.

Effects of Using Dialogue Journal Writing on Reflective Writing and Problem Behaviors of Children with Mental Retardation.

English Class or Speaking about Everything Class? Dialogue Journal Writing as a Critical EFL Literacy Practice in an Iranian High School

This qualitative study, employing an ethnographic research method, investigates how dialogue journal writing, which allows teachers and learners to engage in ‘written conversation’, may provide an opportunity to bring critical pedagogy and foreign language education together in a productive way in the context of a critical literacy practice. The data consisted of informal written interviews and more than 600 journal entries written by 30 16-year-old high school students in Tehran. The results were qualitatively analysed in search of themes relevant to empowerment as a critical educational value and critical writing as a critical literacy practice. The study revealed that writing dialogue journals as a language education activity in EFL pedagogy may empower learners and provide them with opportunities to express their ‘voice’. It further revealed that dialogue journal writing led to gains in critical self-reflective EFL writing ability.

Word Processing with Speech Synthesis and Word Prediction: Effects on the Dialogue Journal Writing of Students with Learning Disabilities

Five students, ages 9 and 10, with learning disabilities and severe writing problems wrote in dialogue journals to their teacher. They used a standard word processor during baseline phases and a word processor with speech synthesis and word prediction features during treatment phases. The special features had a strong effect on the legibility and spelling of written dialogue journal entries for four of the five students. During baseline, the writing of these four students ranged from 55% to 85% legible words and 42% to 75% correctly spelled words. All four increased their percentage of both legible and correctly spelled words into the 90–100% range.

The Effectiveness of Dialogue Journal Writing in Improving the Writing Skills of Young Deaf Writers

Various claims have been made for the usefulness of dialogue journal writing for improving the writing of less proficient users of English such as deaf writers of English or speakers of English as a second language. However, the bulk of the research has focussed on either student attitudes towards writing or very limited samples of student writing. In a one year project involving the exchange of dialogue journals between 204 pairs of deaf and hearing students in 10 public school districts, the authors sought to evaluate the utility of dialogue journals for improving the writing skills of the deaf writers. The age of the correspondents ranged from 10 to 18 years old in grades 4 through 12. Among the deaf writers, the average hearing loss was 89 dB in the better ear with a range of from 45 dB to 120 dB. The journal entries of 153 of the deaf students were evaluated for both changes in content and syntactic complexity. When the pair of writers maintained a relationship over time, there was an improvement in the quality of the writing of the deaf student and a change in the nature of the contents of the deaf student's entries. Results suggest that for some young deaf writers an exchange of dialogue journals with hearing peers can both improve the writing skills of the deaf writer and develop a relationship between the correspondents. Suggestions for implementing such a program are included.

“Why You Call Me Emigrant?”:Dialogue-Journal Writing with Migrant Youth

“Why You Call Me Emigrant?”:<i>Dialogue-Journal Writing with Migrant Youth</i>