Using Dialogue Journals to Enhance Students' Writing Ability and Willingness to Orally Communicate

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of using dialogue journals to enhance students' writing ability in terms of fluency and accuracy. The participants were 45 first-year students at a university in Phuket, Thailand. Each participant was required to write a dialogue journal entry once a week for 15 weeks. Participants then exchanged journals with peers and asked to read and respond to the entries. A pre- and post-writing test and a questionnaire soliciting attitudes toward their use of dialogue journals served as instruments for data collection. The findings indicated the significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores in the participants' overall writing performance (p < .01); moreover, the participants reported having positive attitudes toward the use of dialogue journals. In addition, the participants were required to complete the two questionnaires of writing apprehension and willingness to communicate before and after the study. The results showed that the participants' writing apprehension significantly reduced while their willingness to communicate in English significantly increased after the implementation of dialogue journals (p < .01). Pedagogical implications for effective EFL writing instruction and promoting learner-centered learning and teaching in the Thai context through the use of dialogue journals are proposed.