Педагогикалық жоғары оқу орны мен білім беру ұйымдары

82 

 

they could be used for diverse purposes such as class starters and as a vehicle for posing and solving 

problems, summarizing important aspects of a lesson; to monitor students’ progress in the class, and 

giving students the opportunity to write to each other about concerns and questions raised in the 

class, among others purposes. Even though journal activity presupposes short quick writing tasks 

this does not necessarily mean that students are not given enough time and space, that could 

contradict writing to learn approach. The accent here is made on frequency of tasks, not an amount 

within each entry.  

More importantly, journals were places where students could try out their expressive voices 

freely without fear of evaluation. This was one of key aspects in the present action research project 

since I evaluated the process as a whole and students received the highest grade for having 

completed the task and encouraged students to write on a regular basis without being coerced by a 

grade that measured technical aspects of the language such as syntax, grammar, or punctuation, 

what is relevant in learning to write approach. In contrast, writing to learn activities do not have to 

abide by the rules that govern formal writing, nor be submitted for evaluation. As Wright argued, 

“Short daily writing tasks have the potential to lower students’ aversion to writing and boost their 

confidence in using the written word” [10, 1]. In general, the amount of writing that is expected, 

however, and the time allotted for writing to learn activities needs to reflect students’ current levels 

of writing fluency. Students continue to learn to write as they write to learn, improving their writing 

fluency by writing every day.  

The primary purpose of the research was to explore journal writing as a means to help 

develop student voices in an EFL classroom. Voice here means the representation of learners’ own 

ideas, opinions, knowledge and experiences, whereas journal writing is an activity where students 

are assigned to lead special notebooks with the entries on particular topics connected to the class. 

During my investigation I tried to address the following two questions: “Does the use of journaling 

contribute to the development of students’ voices in an EFL classroom?” and “How can journal 

writing help develop students’ voices in an EFL classroom?” 

Although considerable research has been devoted to journal writing and student voice, less 

attention has been paid to the description of the connection of these two ideas. In this study I made 

an attempt to investigate whether the development of voice took place in journal writing activity, or 

at least to describe the activity and suggest recommendations of how it could be used in order to 

achieve positive results in students’ language and mental progress. Likewise, the work and its 

results are important in the Kazakhstani context, since there is no similar research on students’ 

voice as well as on journal writing. Above all, the work has its own implications in the world of 

EFL since there is a gap on investigating voice through the practice of writing journals.   

 

Above all, the analysis of the literature has also explored that there is a gap in describing 

voice development in journal writing activity. Most of the studies were revealing the progress in 

other spheres such as vocabulary or grammar, while the notion of expressing students’ own views, 

ideas and feelings were merely touched buy not completely covered or investigated. The reasons for 

this might be of different kind, e.g., it could be quite difficult to describe the development of 

thinking skills or ideas. Nevertheless, this study aims to fill in this space by making attempt to 

provide detailed description of voice expressed in the journals. 

 

Results and Analysis 

There were 31 students who participated in this Journal Writing Activity (JWA) and 29 of 

them agreed to take part in the inquiry. Students were assigned nine official topics during the 

lessons and 252 entries were expected to be analyzed. However, mainly due to the absence in the 

class, 212 assigned entries were collected. In total, however, 239 entries were collected because of 

additional entries, which participants wrote outside the classroom.  

In general, the study showed that journal writing activity contributed to student’s exploration 

of voice, which was expressed in different ways. Also students’ perceptions of the activity turned 

out to be positive, which still did not prevent them from giving some valuable comments on how 

the task could be improved. 

 

The r

built categ

higher thin

connection

expressive

that other 

consisted f

of voice. T

patterns or

were made

of the outc

were obser

Expr

The a

student in 

and creativ

describe it 

were in the

put in the b

journals in

The 

beginning 

took the ac

when it co

and ideas. 

(ST16). An

whom you

no one can

all, the asp

Even

present ou

researchers

opportunity

results of th

gories. Apar

nking leve

n to error-co

ness and cr

researchers

from analys

The student

r questions 

e during the 

comes. In g

rved more o

ressiveness

analysis of 

journal wri

vity [10]. T

was difficu

e journals. O

brackets. Fo

n order to ma

students  d

of the activ

ctivity quite

omes to the 

For some, 

n enormous

u can say so

n’t interfere

pect of creat

n though th

utcomes all

s. Likewise

y to practice

he study app

rt from the 

ls the clas

orrection. M

reativity. Th

s talked abo

sis on creat

ts’ feedback

occurred  t

data analys

general, the

often than ot

s and Creat

literature h

iting activit

This was th

ult and the 

Only the ca

or some cat

ark that the 

demonstrate

vity it was n

e seriously 

category o

journals ha

s desire “to 

omething A

e” them, an

tivity with th

he stream o

low seeing

, Johnson [6

e any degre

peared to be

counting  o

ssroom man

Moreover, th

he separate 

out but that

tivity, forma

k on the act

throughout 

sis period w

e results pro

thers types 

tivity 

as showed t

ty [4, 24-13

he first aspe

process wa

ases when t

tegories the 

case took p

ed very va

ot even exp

and their e

of stream of

ad become t

be heard” (

ANYTIME!”

d “can thro

he defined c

f conscious

g in them 

6, 1-25]  de

ee of control

Figure 1. W

83 

e more exten

of particula

nagement  a

here were f

sub-section

t has been 

atting, topic

tivity in the

the analysi

were used as

oved previo

of higher-o

that there w

30]. Wright

ect that was

as of subjec

he mistakes

cases were

place in each

arious and 

pected to see

entries were

f conscious

the best frie

(ST12) and

” (ST21), o

ow out ever

categories h

sness was d

the eviden

efined studen

l and allow 

Writing journ

nded due to

ar pre-taugh

aspect was

found and d

n was devot

not widely 

c selection, 

e interview 

is. Finally, 

s supplemen

ous expectat

rder thinkin

was somethin

t wrote abo

s remarkab

ctive kind. T

s could inte

e taken as th

h or almost 

extraordina

e that repres

e full of sin

sness, stude

end, to who

d the presenc

r where stu

rything that 

had really cl

demonstrate

nce for pro

nt’s voice a

express the

nals extract

o a weak rep

ht expressio

s slightly c

documented

ted to the d

defined so

and resear

was used t

the researc

ntary help fo

tions and th

ng.  

ng unique a

out the conn

le about th

The exampl

erfere mean

he base for 

each entry.

ary forms 

sentation. M

ncerity and 

nts presente

om they cou

ce of “some

udents “can 

was inside

lose relation

ed by not a

oving the o

as an activit

eir feelings 

s 

presentation

ons connect

covered mo

d some evid

description 

o far. This 

cher’s own

to explain s

cher’s own 

or explanati

he cases of

and individu

nection betw

he data. An 

les were tak

ning the corr

some others

.  

of creativ

Most of the p

expression.

ed very dee

uld reveal th

ebody or so

always spe

e” them (ST

nship to the

all of the st

observation

ty that gave 

[9,7]. 

 

n in initially

ted to three

ostly in its

dence of the

of the field

sub-section

 perception

some of the

field notes

ion of some

f evaluating

ual for each

ween voice

attempt to

ken as they

rection was

s the whole

ity. In the

participants

 Especially

ep thoughts

heir secrets

omething to

eak out and

T21). All in

e voice. 

tudents, the

ns of other

learners an

y 

e 

s 

e 

d 

n 

n 

e 

s 

e 

g 

h 

e 

o 

y 

s 

e 

e 

s 

y 

s 

s 

o 

d 

n 

e 

r 

n 

84 

 

One of interesting observations were that the participants used ellipses quite often which may 

be a result of frequent use of social network where teenagers use them almost every time instead of 

a period, or might point on conversational character of language.   

The results of Costellanos’ [3] inquiry on journal activity also revealed that students reacting 

to the themes produced forms of art like songs and poems, and experienced the journal as a means 

to express themselves with absolute freedom to write about something they like or know about and 

to say how they feel about it.  

Students’ opinions 

According to students’ opinions one of distinguishing points about the journals is that they 

give a rare opportunity to express themselves. Because of different reasons students mentioned that 

they do not have a chance to talk about their problems, worries, feelings. Some writers said that the 

journal was a tool which helped to understand themselves and their classmates better. It is crucial 

that researchers identified voice in very similar way. When it comes to the difficulties students have 

come across during writing the entries, the main one was that they were lack of vocabulary and 

ideas to write. Even though this was expressed by the minority it means that still the activity should 

be preceded by some discussion and field study.  During the project not all of the topics were 

discussed in advance. Likewise one student complained that the topics were too serious and 

complicated whereas all other participants felt quite comfortable and pleased with the themes 

saying that they were actual an important for life. 

Furthermore, students answered on the question about the activity itself and how it was 

organized. First of all, all of the interviewee said that the instructions given were clear although one 

student replied that it was very strange in the beginning not to have any limit and to write about 

whatever they want on the topic. In addition, students said that it would be better to have this 

activity from the beginning of school year so they could have more practice.  

Above all, the participants referred to the fact that they have noticed that even in short period 

they have noticed some changes in language. Some wrote that it was easier to write entries in the 

end of the project whereas others did not expect themselves to be able to produce that amount of 

writing. There were also students who stated that they have observed a great improvement in their 

writing as it become more connected and beautiful. All this might point on the benefit in terms of 

raising their awareness and confidence in using foreign language described by the scholars [8, 139-

170]. 

Conclusion 

The results of the study have revealed that journal writing activity helped expressing develop 

students’ voices about their lives by giving space to express their opinions and demonstrating 

creative skills. The findings of the project let me conclude that with some modifications this activity 

can be a very useful tool which may not only enhance standardized exams preparation class, but 

also raise students’ motivation and awareness to EFL writing, give opportunity for self-expression, 

and consequently gain confidence in expressing their voice.  

The major Bloom’s Taxonomy levels which were demonstrated in the journals identified were 

evaluating and creating. However since the data analysis showed low representation of students’ 

degree of using the pre-teaching material other alternative methods of analysis were constructed. 

Thus, creativity was seen by students’ demonstration of doodling and drawing, using ellipsis, text 

language and streams of consciousness. Besides, it must be noted that the journals distinguished by 

some aspects that were individual for some writes. For example inserting quotations, songs and 

poems, stickers; putting signatures, brackets, listing and drawing graphs and addressing the journal.  

The formatting aspect was seen in the large usage of highlighting, color shift and capitalizing. 

Moreover, the large use of first personal pronouns, modal verbs, questions was documented. The 

participants at the same time used interjections, exclamation and imperative sentences quite often. 

The topics selected for the additional entries included such areas as school, belief, family, personal 

dreams and self-criticism. Likewise, the interview showed that students liked the activity and that 

they would like to continue it in the future. Most of the students did expect themselves to write to 

85 

 

that extend and noted that it was easier to write in the end of the project rather than in the 

beginning. 

Practical Implications 

The analysis of the results of the study permitted to work out the following advice on how to 

employ journal writing activity so that it could it be better used in order to meet the aims of the 

class and needs of the students. These assumptions have been generated basing on positive as well 

as negative experience of the project: 

1.  The activity should be hold for longer period, preferably form the beginning of the 

academic year so that students would have more practice to express their voices.  

2.  The pre-teaching part needs to include explaining and consolidating various markers of 

modality and certainty for students to practice this knowledge in their journals. 

3.  Students need to be asked to write in their entries after some discussion and vocabulary 

covering in the class. It could also be some listening or reading material. This is relevant because 

the participants complained on the lack of vocabulary and ideas. 

4.  The journal entries might be marked only in those cases when students want to have 

grammar or accuracy feedback (among the participants there is only one person who felt like it). 

However it should be done very accurately and accompanied by positive feedback and comments 

with providing examples. In other cases careful study of students grammar and vocabulary errors 

need to lead to appropriate class content management. The assessment of the journal writing task 

should be based on students’ accuracy but need to be focused on accomplishment and may be 

graded in the end of the whole period of activity. 

5.  Responding to students voices might happen in the classroom by focusing on the topics 

students express more concern. In addition small informal interviews might be hold periodically 

where the instructor may ask about the activity or some other personal questions basing on the 

entries’ content.  

6.  Instructor should play of a guide and facilitator showing respect to every opinion and 

encouraging students to write whatever they like. For example, it is very important not to silent 

student’s voice in the classroom by laughing or allowing to laugh on particular ideas expressed by 

students.  

7.  Teacher may buy special journal note books to students which will raise their motivation 

and gain students’ concentration on the activity. 

8.  The activity should be taken approximately for 10 minutes and students need to be asked to 

produce at least half of a page. Students who did not finish or have more things to write need to be 

asked to write at home.  

9.  There is also should be freedom for students to write whenever they want to on any topics 

they like outside the class. Students need to estimate their journals as something very personal and 

that is why needed to be welcomed to decorate and organize note books in the way they like.   

To sum up, the journal writing activity, while not taking too many time, gives learners 

opportunity to practice their thoughts, have fun, practice creativity, and express themselves the way 

they like. Above all, the activity may help monitoring students’ accuracy that is also important for 

language development. The data may be studied in many other ways and there is a very big amount 

of directions the inquiry might be headed for continuation. However the analyzed information let us 

conclude, that journal writing activity can be very helpful tool in the given context.  By little 

modifications and careful teacher’s approach the activity might not only enhance teacher-students 

relationships but also would give an opportunity to develop learners’ opinions. 

жүктеу/скачать 10,03 Mb.

Достарыңызбен бөлісу: