Dialogue Journals in Foreign Language Writing: The impact on Confidence and Motivation

 

Dialogue Journals in Foreign Language Writing:

The Impact on Confidence and Motivation

 

Universidad CAECE

Licenciatura en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés

 

Alicia Adelina Villalba

Carla Mattioli

Tutor: Nelda Patricia Racig

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

1. Abstract……………………………………………………………………p. 2
2. Introduction……………………………………………………………….p. 3
3. Methods…………………………………………………………………...p. 14
1. Context for Research………………………………………………p. 14
2. Limitations of the Study…………………………………………..p. 15
3. Delimitations of the Study………………………………………...p. 15
4. Participants………………………………………………………...p. 17
5. Materials…………………………………………………………...p. 17
6. Procedures…………………………………………………………p. 18
4. Results……………………………………………………………………..p. 21
1. Findings of the research carried out in Caleta Olivia
1. Making dialogue journals their own………………………p. 22
2. Length of the students’ writing entries in the journals…....p. 23
3. Answers to questionnaire………………………………….p. 24
2. Findings of the research carried out in Bahía Blanca
1. Making dialogue journals their own……………………...p. 26
2. Length of the students’ writing entries in the journals……p. 27
3. Answers to questionnaire………………………………...p. 29
5. Discussion………………………………………………………………p. 33
6. Conclusions and recommendations……………………………………..p. 37
7. Appendix A……………………………………………………………..p. 39
8. Appendix B……………………………………………………………..p. 40
9. Appendix C……………………………………………………………..p. 41
10. Appendix D……………………………………………………………..p. 43
11. Appendix E…………………………………………………………….p. 45
12. Appendix F…………………………………………………………….p. 46
13. References……………………………………………………………..p. 48

 

 

Abstract

In the fields of primary and secondary education, journals are considered a valuable instrument for building students’ motivation. Dialogue journals, in particular, have been an object of foreign language education research for decades, and have been defined as written conversations between the teacher and the learner on student-generated topics for an extended period of time. Although previous research has shown the positive effect of dialogue journals on writing fluency and motivation in young learners of English as a foreign language, no studies seem to have been conducted in private educational settings in Argentina. This research project has studied the impact of dialogue journals on the development of motivation and self-confidence towards foreign language writing in Argentinian young learners of English. The research participants were two groups of A1 level students between 10 and 11 years old who are studying English as a foreign language at two language centres in the cities of Bahía Blanca and Caleta Olivia, Argentina. Thus, an action research was conducted in order to gain a deep understanding of the effect of dialogue journals on these learners’ motivation and self-confidence. During a period of six weeks, the students interacted with their teachers on curricular topics of their choice. Lastly, the learners answered a questionnaire in which they expressed their views on dialogue journal writing. The findings revealed that motivation and self-confidence towards foreign language writing increased considerably. However, further research is necessary to analyze the effect of dialogue journals on students’ writing fluency in Argentinian language schools.

Keywords: dialogue journals, motivation, confidence, young learners, writing skill, foreign language learning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, instant messaging and posting on social media have transformed human communication, and writing has become one of the most important skills to be acquired. Foreign language learners tend to feel more comfortable and motivated while they are writing on social media rather than while they are faced with more academic written assignments. Independently of the theoretical framework for the teaching of foreign language writing, teachers have been challenged to motivate their learners to make a further step as second or foreign language writers. As Hyland (2003) adverts, “L2 [second language] writers often carry the burden of learning to write and learning English at the same time” (p. 34). Therefore, many second and foreign language students feel anxious when attempting to produce error-free texts. According to Trawinski (2005), anxiety is “a state of uneasiness, tension, or stress” (p. 42) which can either be a reaction to situations perceived as threatening or a permanent personality trait.

From a communicative perspective, writing can be viewed as a form of interaction established between a writer and an intended reader by means of words written either on paper or in some other digital format (Olshtain, 2014). As Weigle (2014) explains, writing differs from speaking in many ways. While speaking, interlocutors make use of nonverbal cues whose meaning is directly drawn from the physical, temporal and sociocultural context in which the interaction occurs. By comparison, writers may be separated from their readership in terms of time, place and culture; therefore, such distant relationship demands what Brown (2015) terms “cognitive empathy” (p. 435), in that writers must anticipate the sociocultural background, needs and expectations of their readers, and must tailor their choice of language to the characteristics of the perceived readership in order to avoid misunderstandings.

In the context of second and foreign language acquisition, the skill of writing becomes more complex. From a cognitive perspective, foreign and second language writers face the challenge of combining the writing skills they have acquired along with their mother tongue, such as the mental representation of the target audience and the use of appropriate degrees of formality, with the language they are capable of manipulating given their proficiency level (Weigle, 2014). From a sociocultural perspective, writing is seen as being regulated by the literacy conventions and socially situated practices shared by the members of a particular discourse community, such as professionals from the medicine sector and even fans of a certain book or film (Swales cited in Weigle, 2014). The concept of discourse community is directly related to that of genres, like newsletters and political speeches, which Swales (1990) defines as “communicative vehicles for the achievement of goals” (p. 46), and which must comply with a specific set of literacy conventions chosen by communities to fulfill such goals. According to this view, foreign and second language teachers must face the challenge of motivating their learners while educating them into the requirements of each genre in a language other than their native one (Weigle, 2014).

At this point, a distinction should be made between second and foreign language learners. As Ringbom (1979) explains, “in a second language acquisition situation the language is spoken in the immediate environment of the learner, who has good opportunities to use the language by participating in natural communication situations” (p. 4). By comparison, Ringbom adverts that foreign language learners are deprived of the linguistic and cultural immersion that second language learners enjoy, and therefore must rely on either any exposure received from the mass media, the professional abilities of a language teacher or their own capabilities as autonomous learners. For the purposes of the present research, the term foreign language learning will be employed throughout the paper.

Considering the challenges faced by foreign language learners, it is believed that self-confidence and motivation must lie at the core of any approach to foreign language writing instruction. In Clement’s (Clément, et. al., 1994) words, self-confidence in using the target language is defined in terms of “low anxious affect and high self-perceptions of L2 competence” (p. 422). Given its obscure nature, the construct of motivation has been the object of research for several decades and has been defined in many different lights. However, as Dörnyei and Ushioda (2011) recount, a consensus has been reached regarding the scope of meaning of the term, and thus most contemporary researchers agree that the course of and effort behind human behaviour may be attributed to the degree of motivation a person has. Expanding on this idea, the following definition has been proposed:

In a general sense, motivation can be defined as the dynamically changing cumulative arousal in a person that initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates, and evaluates the cognitive and motor processes whereby initial wishes and desires are selected, prioritised, operationalised and (successfully or unsuccessfully) acted out. (Dörnyei & Otto as cited in Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011, p. 6.)

Depending on students’ background and needs, foreign language teachers have followed many different methods and strategies so as to help their learners develop effective writing skills while making the process meaningful and motivating. In agreement with Swales’ (1990) sociocultural perspective, supporters of the genre-based approach advocate introducing learners into a variety of genres relevant to their needs as well as educating them into the literacy conventions of each text type (Hyland, 2003). By comparison, upholders of the process approach suggest including pre-writing tasks, like brainstorming and freewriting, as well as editing and revising tasks in the writing curriculum (Weigle, 2014). Nevertheless, as Mahn (2008) adverts, foreign language learners still experience high levels of anxiety when attempting to express their ideas in both appropriate and grammatically correct ways, and therefore their motivation towards writing is generally considerably low.  

As a tentative solution, dialogue journals offer students the opportunity of developing their self-confidence since the emphasis is placed on communication and self-expression rather than on grammatical correctness (Denne-Bolton, 2013). As their names suggest, dialogue journals consist of written conversations that routinely take place between two or more journal partners - traditionally, the teacher and the learner - on topics of mutual interest for an extended period of time (Rana, 2018). Because the focus lies on self-expression, the need for communication is authentic, and therefore, foreign language learners feel more motivated to use the language for their own purposes (Mahn, 2008; Denne-Bolton, 2013; Rana, 2018).

Dialogue journals are considered to be valuable instruments when teaching young foreign language learners (Valigurová, 2010; Shin & Crandall, 2014). In accordance with Shin and Crandall’s (2014) characterization, children between 2 and 11 years old are known for their spontaneity and, in comparison with adolescents and adults, are generally fearless when it comes to sharing their ideas and performing in front of others. Moreover, young learners have a natural curiosity and are eager to learn about the fascinating world around them. Furthermore, children are very social, and it is through play and engaging communicative activities that they learn to interact with peers and older people. Nevertheless, children also have an egocentric nature and therefore they are “centred on themselves and on their immediate surroundings” (Shin & Crandall, 2014, p. 31), which means that they acquire new concepts by relating them to their lives. Dialogue journals cater to young learners’ curiosity, desire for self-expression and egocentric nature, and also help them to develop empathy for others. Moreover, dialogue journals enable young learners to write about themselves and their lives in a motivating and supportive environment since the writing experience is both free as well as guided; it is free because the topic is of interest to the student, and it is guided since the replies of the teacher both help students convey their ideas and provide language support by being adjusted to the learners’ proficiency level. With this regular and positive feedback, young learners grow confident of themselves as writers, and also they “develop a sense of audience, voice, and the power of language” (Urzua as cited in Shin & Crandall, 2014, p. 196).

Similarly, the benefits of using such journals with beginning level students in general abound. As explained by Olshtain (2014), dialogue journals provide a space for beginners to produce some stretch of discourse and receive the teacher’s direct feedback on it. Moreover, the one-to-one interaction between the teacher and the learner makes the student feel supported and motivated as the first steps towards written communication and self-expression are taken. Since young foreign language learners are usually beginning level students as well, the use of dialogue journals is well justified. Beginner level students are those who have between an A1 and A2 level of language, according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), which is a document that sets international standards of language ability and, by means of can-do descriptors, describes the competences achieved by language users across all language levels, from A1 to C2 (Council of Europe, n.d.).

 In a study carried out in an elementary public school in Pereira, Colombia, dialogue journals were implemented in an English as a foreign language class composed of forty fourth graders between the ages of eight and ten who were all at an A1 level of language proficiency according to the CEFR (Estrada Ortiz & Flórez Hoyos, 2015). During this project, the students wrote twice a week in the last fifteen minutes of each class. As soon as the learners started writing, the researchers noticed their students’ enthusiasm and motivation towards using the dialogue journals. Eventually, the learners improved their writing skill and were able to write coherent paragraphs using markers of cohesion. Similarly, in a study carried out in a Czech basic school, a group of twenty-one young learners between 12 and 13 years old, who were at an A2 level of language, wrote entries in their dialogue journals as part of their English as a foreign language class. After five months of journaling, the students overcame their initial anxiety towards writing and felt more eager to communicate their ideas in class (Remiásova, 2009).  

The relationship between the use of dialogue journals and the increase in young learners’ motivation and self-confidence can be explained by major theories of foreign language acquisition. As stated in the interaction hypothesis (Long cited in Rana, 2018), foreign language learners can better express themselves with the aid of more competent interlocutors who employ conversation strategies such as clarification, paraphrasing, commenting and questioning. When teachers apply these strategies when responding to students’ journal entries, they boost their learners’ confidence and encourage their voices to grow (Denne-Bolton, 2013). As far as the affective filter hypothesis (Krashen cited in Rana, 2018) is concerned, Rana maintains that, since dialogue journals encourage foreign language writers to focus on their communicative intent, motivation and self-confidence increase and therefore “learners can unblock their mental blocks and thereby accelerate the speed of their language acquisition” (Rana, 2018, p. 4).     

With regard to Vygotsky’s (cited in Mahn, 2008) sociocultural theory of human development, the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), defined as the distance between what learners can do independently and what they can do with the assistance of a more capable peer, is believed to be expanded through the use of dialogue journals (Mahn, 2008). Furthermore, the learning needs and capabilities of individual students may become conspicuous in their writings, and thus teachers have more information to provide differentiated instruction, which results in more possibilities for students’ growth and development (Rana, 2018). Expanding on the relationship between dialogue journals and Vygostky’s sociocultural theory, Mahn (2008) explains the construct of verbal thinking (Vygostky cited in Mahn, 2008), which is the unification of the speaking and thinking processes, and it is therefore directly related to how children learn to write. In other words, the fact that foreign language writers are freed from the pressure of producing error-free texts helps students connect their thoughts and ideas with words.

In light of these considerations, dialogue journals have been proposed as a way of helping students enjoy the process of writing and express their ideas freely without censorship from and error-correction by the teacher (Denne-Bolton, 2013). Dialogue journals, as Mahn (2008) contends, provide a space for language learners to focus on communication in a stress-free environment in which the need for interaction is authentic since the topics are student-generated and there is a genuine need for interaction. Likewise, Valigurová (2010) acknowledges that the main focus of dialogue journals relies on communication of ideas and that ​​”once freed of the concern for perfection, writers may find writing more rewarding” (Godev, 2010, p. 9). Apart from that, “dialogue journal writing gives an equal chance for all students – mainly for the shiest ones – to participate” (p. 16).

While Mahn (2008) offers a complete theoretical overview behind the concept of dialogue journals, Delten-Bolton (2013) details some useful pieces of advice for language teachers interested in implementing dialogue journals in their classrooms. Suggestions made by the author include the need for teachers to control their desire to correct students’ errors in grammar or style and, instead, respond to their learners’ journals by commenting, expanding and asking about their narratives and ideas. In addition, Valigurová (2010) makes some suggestions on the treatment of language mistakes. When replying to journal entries, it is advisable to make students realize their errors by modelling grammatically correct responses. Thus, students will be aware of their mistakes without feeling overwhelmed by corrections. Another possibility is to include “grammatical PS” (p.21) at the end so as to leave corrections in that specific section (Valigurová, 2010). Alternatively, a moment could be devoted in a given lesson to discuss common mistakes. One final suggestion made by the author is that the topics covered in dialogue journal writing be related to curricular content studied in the course.

The emphasis placed on fluency over accuracy is another issue to consider in dialogue journal writing. As Lenski and Verbruggen (2010) explain, writing fluency is the ability to write automatically with a secondary focus on mechanics and language form. By comparison, accuracy is the ability to apply the rules governing language form to produce grammatically correct, but not necessarily appropriate, sentences (Hyland, 2003). Even if fluency is prioritized, teachers are expected to model correct language usage in their responses to students’ journal entries. In other words, the provision of comprehensible input lies within the responsibility of the teacher, who must expose learners to language that is both comprehensible and also one step above students’ level of language proficiency (Krashen cited in Rana, 2018).

In conclusion, dialogue journals are useful communicative activities which encourage free writing on student-generated topics, while the emphasis is on communication between teachers and students on the basis of informal interaction. These personal journals are believed to be efficient in enhancing young learners’ motivation towards writing in a foreign language since they make the communicative process authentic and engaging.

Since not much has been said about the efficiency of dialogue journals in private academies in Argentina and considering the contributions from the different authors aforementioned, this research paper aims at determining to what extent dialogue journals help A1 level students between 10 and 11 years old from two private language centres in the cities of Bahía Blanca and Caleta Olivia feel confident and motivated to take a further step as foreign language writers. The research problem lied in the fact that these young English language learners did not feel confident and motivated when faced with writing tasks and did not regard writing as a potentially meaningful activity. Therefore, the following research questions were formulated: what effects do dialogue journals have on young learners’ confidence and motivation towards foreign language writing? What teaching strategies should foreign language teachers apply in order to make dialogue journal writing a successful and enjoyable experience? In light of the reviewed literature, dialogue journals are believed to have a positive impact on young learners’ self-confidence and motivation towards the foreign language writing process.

Because the use of dialogue journals entails placing the emphasis on communication and self-expression, dialogue journals were proposed as a means to help these young learners develop their motivation and confidence as foreign language writers. In a country where English is not an official or a second language but rather is taught through formal instruction at schools and language academies, the issue of young learners’ discouragement and demotivation towards writing in English is common across all Argentine provinces, including Buenos Aires and Santa Cruz. Since there is not much said about this topic in our country, the goal was to tackle this concern and help these learners conceive writing as an exciting process of self-expression and communication with others.

The main objectives of this research were to analyse any effects that dialogue journals might have on young learners’ confidence and motivation towards foreign language writing, and to specify the teaching strategies needed to make dialogue journal writing a successful and enjoyable experience. Apart from dialogue journals, the researcher from Caleta Olivia used observation sheets to register whether student participation increased due to these journals. Lastly, questionnaires were administered to the students from both settings so as to know their opinions towards their experience with dialogue journals.

Consequently, dialogue journals were reported to increase the learners’ motivation and self-confidence. Furthermore, when answering the questionnaire, the students expressed their eagerness to continue writing dialogue journals in future English classes. However, further research is suggested so as to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of dialogue journals on writing fluency; therefore, it is recommended that any research pursuing that objective should devote an entire academic year to dialogue journaling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Methods

In light of Hernández-Sampieri’s (2014) explanation of research designs, this project was qualitative in nature since the researchers intended to thoroughly describe the changes in the students’ confidence and motivation as they worked with dialogue journals. In other words, the researchers aimed at gaining a profound understanding of the effects of dialogue journals on the learners’ confidence and motivation towards foreign language writing. Action research, defined as a strategy for improving social practices through cycles of observation, planning, implementation and evaluation (Hernández-Sampieri, 2014), was the approach guiding this project. Through constant reflection, which is a fundamental aspect of action research, a plan for working with dialogue journals in the EFL (English as Foreign Language) classroom was devised, implemented and evaluated in order to provide a solution to the learners’ low motivation towards the process of writing in a foreign language. In accordance with Elliot (2009), the research work was directed at promoting better learning experiences through situated action while demystifying and exemplifying the notion of “teachers as researchers” (Stenhouse as cited in Elliot, 2009, p. 24).

Context for Research

Research was conducted both in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires and Caleta Olivia, Santa Cruz. A1 level students between 10 and 11 years old from two different private language centres in the aforementioned cities were part of this educational research.

On the one hand, the learners from Caleta Olivia conceived writing in the foreign language as a far-reaching outcome due to their low self-confidence. Therefore, the learners did not feel motivated either. Applying grammar structures to specific language functions was their main concern.

Similarly, despite years of instruction, the students from Bahía Blanca struggled when applying language forms, and therefore had a hard time in finding the right words and structures to convey their thoughts. Moreover, they did not regard writing as a potentially exciting activity, but rather as any other school assignment. Therefore, their confidence and motivation towards writing was considerably low.

Limitations of the Study

Time constraints were certainly a disadvantage. Since the effects of dialogue journals on writing performance, motivation and confidence were likely to become evident in the long term, there wasn’t enough time to appreciate the assumed benefits of dialogue journals.

Moreover, since the Covid-19 pandemic was still determining the nature of regular lessons, there was always the possibility of students going back to online learning. This was considered a major risk since our intention was to employ dialogue journals in the onsite rather online mode. Furthermore, if students had gone back to distance learning, they would have written their journals on shared documents which would have been editable by the researchers. 

Delimitations of the Study

This research was conducted in two A1 level courses at two private language centres, one in the city of Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires and the other in Caleta Olivia, Santa Cruz. Whereas the course from Bahía Blanca consisted of eight children, the group from Caleta Olivia was composed of six children. In both groups the students were between 10 and 11 years old, and all of them had an A1 level of language according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for languages.

Although these institutions were geographically distant, the learners in both organizations felt utterly discouraged whenever writing tasks were assigned. Therefore, dialogue journals were implemented to analyse their impact on the students’ confidence and motivation toward the writing process.

Initially, the students were introduced to the research project and to the concept of dialogue journals. The teachers emphasized that the objective of keeping dialogue journals was for the students to express their ideas freely and safely while having fun in the process. Furthermore, a survey in the form of a questionnaire about the students’ opinions toward the experience of journal writing was done at the end of the process. (see Appendix A)

Consent from the parents to run this research was obtained through a consent form made by the researchers inviting the students to participate voluntarily and asking them for permission to show the learners’ progress and compositions anonymously (see Appendix C). Along with the consent forms, families received letters explaining the concept of dialogue journals and what this research was about (see Appendix B).  In addition, parents were assured that, in case of doubts regarding the project, they would be able to reach the teacher (researcher) and make their queries. In the questionnaires, anonymity was assured by letting the students know that it was not necessary to write their names on their sheets of paper.

The research instruments were the following:

-          Questionnaire (see Appendix A)

-          Observation sheets

-          Dialogue Journals in the form of soft-cover notebooks

Participants

This research was conducted in two A1 level courses at two private language centres, one in the city of Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires and the other in Caleta Olivia, Santa Cruz. Even though the course from Bahía Blanca consisted of eight children, one of them did not participate in the research project. As for the group from Caleta Olivia, the course was composed of six children, all of whom participated in the project. Both groups of students had a one-hour and thirty-minute class period on Mondays and Wednesdays, and all the learners were between 10 and 11 years old and had an A1 level of language proficiency according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for languages. The researchers obtained informed consent from those students willing to participate. However, both students and parents were assured of the students’ right to abandon the research at any moment without explanation of reasons.

Materials

In order to collect information to carry out this research, three main tools were implemented. Dialogue journals were the main instrument, and the interaction between the students and the researchers in these journals was weekly analyzed. Secondly, observation sheets were completed by the researcher from Caleta Olivia to obtain information about the students’ confidence and motivation toward the foreign language. This researcher used the observation sheets to write down any relevant changes and improvements. Thirdly, a survey was done at the end of the research to collect students’ opinions and feelings towards dialogue journal writing in their English as a foreign language classes. It is worth mentioning that these questionnaires were answered anonymously so as to protect the students’ privacy, and also that the questions were made in Spanish, the learners’ mother tongue, so as to give them the opportunity to express their ideas more deeply (see Appendix A).

Procedures

The researchers followed the following steps to conduct this research:

Step 1

The researchers (in this case, the teachers) sent a letter to the parents/tutors introducing both the nature of this research and what dialogue journals are (see Appendix B). Moreover, a consent form was delivered to the students’ families so as to ask them for permission to involve the learners as participants in this project (see Appendix C). Both the letter and the consent forms were written in Spanish so as to communicate all the information clearly without leaving room for misunderstandings. The researcher from Bahía Blanca, however, after some consultation with the headmistress of the language academy, produced a general note combining the information present in the letter with that in the consent form (see Appendix D). In addition, the researchers ensured the learners that their collaboration was optional, that they would be able to stop whenever they wished, and that their participation would be anonymous.

Step 2

Once the researchers received copies of the consent forms signed by the families, the learners were further introduced to the project by means of a visual presentation made in Canva, which included an explanation of the concept of dialogue journals and of the benefits of using them (see Appendix E). Afterwards, the learners were given soft-cover notebooks, which they used for dialogue journal writing all throughout the investigation.

Step 3

So as to encourage the students to start writing, the learners were first asked to reply to their teacher’s opening journal entry, the topic of which was related to what each group of learners had been studying in class recently. Afterwards, both teachers took their students’ journals home and responded to their entries in motivating and engaging ways.

Step 4

Once this initial phase was over, the group from Bahía Blanca continued writing their journals in class, more specifically in the last 10 minutes of each lesson. Although it was the teacher’s wish to devote sufficient writing time in all the lessons, there were some weeks in which the learners only wrote once due to time constraints and requirements from the syllabus. This, added to the students’ occasional absences, meant that some learners have been able to write more entries than others by the end of the project. As for the students from Caleta Olivia, they had lessons the same days as the students from Bahía Blanca, that is on Mondays and Wednesdays. On Mondays the students gave their journals to their teacher (the researcher), and while they were having their lesson with the other English teacher, the teacher in charge of the research commented on their entries. Finally, in the last 15 minutes of the same Monday English lesson, the researcher gave the journals back to the students for the latter to write their reply. On Wednesdays, the learners were asked to write their next entry as homework to be handed in the following Monday, and so the cycle continued.

Step 5

As the dialogue journal writing project progressed, the researcher from Caleta Olivia took down notes in her observation sheet so as to collect information concerning how the students were getting involved with dialogue journals, if motivation and confidence had increased, and how students were responding to the journals. So as to motivate the students to write more, both researchers replied following certain strategies, such as questioning and commenting on the learners’ narratives, paraphrasing the students’ messages, as well as telling brief personal anecdotes related to the topic discussed each time. Furthermore, the researchers commented on the students’ entries with an orange pen. The journal writing interaction between the teacher and the learners lasted between 5 and 6 weeks.

Step 6

Once the learners finished working with the dialogue journals, an anonymous survey was done to collect data regarding the students’ opinions toward this research.

Step 7

After the survey, the researchers prepared a document presenting all the collected data in qualitative pie charts. Finally, the effect of dialogue journals on the students’ motivation and confidence was explored.

Results

This section intends to present the findings of the present study. It is worth mentioning that this paper’s purpose was to determine the extent to which dialogue journals help young foreign language learners write confidently and enthusiastically. Considering the learners from Caleta Olivia, they were six A1 level students between 10 and 11 years old who conceived writing in the foreign language as a far-reaching outcome due to their low self-confidence and motivation. These pupils had lessons on Mondays and Wednesdays. On Mondays, they wrote their entries in the lesson and got their responses back the next class on Wednesday. In this following class, they were given their journals back, which they were asked to continue writing as homework for Monday. The objective of giving them more time to write freely from Wednesday to Monday was for the students to feel calm and unconcerned when completing their journals.

As far as the students from Bahía Blanca are concerned, dialogue journal writing took place on Mondays and Wednesdays, and on both days the learners were given the last 10 minutes of each lesson to write. Therefore, the students wrote their journals on Mondays, received their replies from the teacher on Wednesdays and responded, and so the cycle continued. Like the learners from Caleta Olivia, these seven students were at an A1 level of English and were between 10 and 11 years old. Even though the class was composed of eight students, one of them had not been given permission by his parents to participate in this research project. With regard to the process of writing, these students did not regard writing as a potentially exciting activity, but rather as any other school assignment. Therefore, their confidence and motivation towards writing was considerably low.

In the process of data collection, the text length of the learners’ journal entries and, in the case of the researcher from Caleta Olivia, the degree of student participation in class were regarded as indicators of both confidence and motivation towards the act of writing and the process of language learning respectively. In both courses, the implementation of dialogue journals yielded the following results. Moreover, the students’ answers to the survey showed further valuable results in relation to the effects of dialogue journals on the learners’ motivation and confidence towards foreign language writing. However, further research is necessary in order to analyse the effect of dialogue journals on young learners’ writing confidence and motivation.

Findings of the Research Conducted in the City of Caleta Olivia

Making Dialogue Journals their Own

Figure 1

Handcrafting Dialogue Journals to Increase Motivation toward Writing

 

As shown in Figure 1, four students decorated their dialogue journals with wrapping paper of their choice and two students did not fully decorate them. Making dialogue journals their own boosted the students’ engagement and motivation to write on them. 

Length of the Students’ Writing Entries in the Journals

Table 1

The First Entry

Students	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6
Number of words	26	36	24	30	32	25

 

Table 2

The Fourth Entry

Students	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6
Number of words	35	47	34	43	41	35

 

As it can be seen in Tables 1 and 2, students improved their writing length from the first week to the fourth one. Both the number of sentences and words increased. These tables show the improvement in confidence toward writing in a foreign language.

Table 3

Participation in Class

Students	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6
Participation since the first entry	2	3	2	3	3	3
Participation since the fourth entry	3	5	4	3	4	4

 

Note. The amount of participation was graded from 1 to 5, considering 1 as no participation at all and 5 as the highest degree of participation.

As Table 3 indicates, participation in class is a key aspect that shows how students improved their self confidence towards communication since writing confidently affects the speaking skill too. In the case of Patagonian students, the vast majority increased their participation in the lesson, which shows how efficient dialogue journals were in promoting the learners’ communicative skills. The range 1 to 5 measures the degree of student participation in class in terms of speaking about topics covered in the journals.

Answers to Questionnaires

Figure 2

The First Question Registering Students’ Attitude Toward Dialogue Journaling

As Figure 2 indicates, four kids liked writing in their journals while two students did not fully like it. It is worth noting that these two students were absent many times during the academic year and that might be a reason why they did not completely like the project.

 

Figure 3

The Second Question Registering Students’ Eagerness to Continue Dialogue Journaling

  

As shown in Figure 3, the majority of the students reported they would like to write in their journals once a week in the next few years. On the other hand, two students responded that they would like to write just for specific projects or assignments. Finally, one student responded that they would like to write twice a week.

Figure 4

The Third Question Registering Students’ Comprehension of Teacher’s Replies

  

As expressed in Figure 4, all students fully understood the teacher’s replies.

Figure 5

The Fourth Question Registering Students’ Views of the Benefits of Dialogue Journals

 

 While five students answered that dialogue journals greatly helped them improve their writing skill and the language itself, one student responded that dialogue journals quite helped them improve in these areas.

Findings of the Research Conducted in the City of Bahía Blanca

Making Dialogue Journals their Own

Figure 6

Handcrafting Dialogue Journals to Increase Motivation toward Writing

As shown in Figure 2, four students decorated their journals with wrapping paper of their choice whereas three learners chose not to decorate theirs.

Length of the Students’ Writing Entries in the Journals

Table 4

The First Entry

Students	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6	S7
Number of words	23	39	30	47	19	24	27

 

The learners’ first entry was a response to the teachers’ opening journal entry, the purpose of which was to guide the learners in their first experience with dialogue journal writing.

Table 5

The Second Entry

Students	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6	S7
Number of words	24	17	26	22	25	19	9

 In their second entry, all the students merely answered the teachers’ comments and questions, and the conversation continued on the same topic. While the majority of the students used fewer words in their second entry than in their first, Students 1 and 5 showed an increase in their text length.

 

Table 6

The Third Entry

Students	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6	S7
Number of words	26	21	23	47	18	18	15

 With the exception of Student 6, all the learners started writing about a topic of their choice in their third entry. All the learners, except for Students 5 and 6, used more words in their third entry than in their second one.

Table 7

The Fourth Entry

Students	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6	S7
Number of words	18	17	20	33	10	14	20

In their fourth entry, all the students continued writing about the topic they had started in their previous entry and, except for Student 7, all the learners used fewer words than in their third entry. However, four students did not merely answer the teacher’s questions, but also added more comments on the subject and even made questions.

Table 8

The Fifth Entry

Students	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6	S7
Number of words	12	40	22	28	15	-----	15

 

In their fifth entry, Students 2, 3 and 5 used more words than in their previous entry. Of these three learners, Student 2 chose to write about a different topic while Students 3 and 5 answered the teacher’s questions and also shared more ideas on the subject. The remaining learners continued the conversation along the same topic and used fewer words than in their previous entry.

Answers to Questionnaire

Figure 7

The First Question Registering Students’ Attitude Toward Dialogue Journaling

 

 In reply to the first question in the survey, all the students answered ‘yes’.

 

Figure 8

The Second Question Registering Students’ Eagerness to Continue Dialogue Journaling

 

As Figure 8 indicates, while all students answered they would like to keep a dialogue journal in future English classes, four students reported they would prefer to write twice a week and three learners said they would rather write only once a week.

Figure 9

The Third Question Registering Students’ Comprehension of Teacher’s Replies.

 

As Figure 9 illustrates, the majority of the students had some difficulties in understanding the teachers’ replies.

 

Figure 10

The Fourth Question Registering Students’ Views of the Benefits of Dialogue Journals

 

 As Figure 10 shows, while the majority of the students answered that the use of dialogue journals had quite helped them with their English, only two students said that writing in the dialogue journal had greatly helped them to improve.

Lastly, the fifth question intended to discover what aspect of the dialogue journal writing project the students had liked the most and what aspect they would change. As far as the learners from Bahía Blanca are concerned, two students answered that, thanks to the interaction in the dialogue journal, they could establish a closer relationship with the teacher. In addition, two other students mentioned writing without pressure of being corrected as their favourite thing. In relation to this, Student 2 wrote “lo que mas me gusto del proyecto es que escriba lo que escriba no se iva a corregir aunque este mal. Lo que cambiaria es que sea un poco mas largo”. Considering the context from Caleta Olivia, the learners agreed that their favourite part was to decorate their journals and know a bit more about the researcher’s likes. Concerning their opinion towards an aspect to be changed, three students mentioned they would have liked this project to last all year long so as to be able to write about all the topics they worked with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discussion

The research results described so far are considered to be extremely valuable to achieve the aim of the present study, which was to analyse the effect of dialogue journal writing on the confidence and motivation of learners between 10 and 11 years old who are at an A1 level of English according to the CEFR and who are studying at two private language centres in the cities of Bahía Blanca and Caleta Olivia, Argentina. According to the reviewed literature, the implementation of dialogue journals in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts is known to enhance young students’ motivation and confidence towards the process of writing in a foreign language (Denne-Bolton, 2013; Valigurová, 2010). With the aim of shedding light on the findings the data collection yielded, the purpose of this section is to interpret the research results.

Both groups from Caleta Olivia and Bahia Blanca present similarities and differences in the implementation of dialogue journals. As regards the similarities, the implications of handcrafting dialogue journals and the patterns found in text length variation appear as the most prominent aspects to be discussed. Nevertheless, there have been some differences in the experience of dialogue journal writing among these two groups of learners. The aim of this section is to discuss the similarities and differences in the experience of dialogue journal writing in both groups of learners, and compare the research findings with relevant theoretical claims.

With regard to the affective filter hypothesis (Krashen cited in Rana, 2018), children feel motivated to develop their communication skills in a safe space for self-expression which encourages them to show their true selves. In the light of these considerations, and as it is indicated in both Figures 1 and 6, the research participants expressed themselves by handcrafting their journals and therefore made them their own. Therefore, opening a space for self-expression may have led to an increase in motivation towards the beginning of this new learning and writing project. 

Furthermore, the authentic need for communication characteristic of dialogue journal writing generates motivation and confidence, leading learners to express more in words (Denne-Bolton, 2013). In the process of data collection, writing length was considered an indicator of students’ confidence and motivation, and therefore an increase in the number of words was understood as a positive change in these affective constructs. In relation to this, the learners from both cities usually wrote more whenever they changed the topic of conversation. In other words, the students felt more motivated due to the novelty of the subject since they had more experiences and ideas to communicate (see Appendix F). By comparison, the tendency was for the learners to use fewer words whenever they continued the interaction along the same topic for several days.

In addition, what made some journal entries richer in terms of content was the inclusion of comments and ideas that not only served the purpose of answering the teacher’s guiding reply, but most importantly went beyond that. In other words, many learners from both cities made their own questions and interesting comments in relation to the explored subject (See student 4’s entries in Appendix F). In agreement with Valigurova (2010), content expansion could be an indicator of a possible increase in those learners’ motivation and confidence towards foreign language writing, which the students associated with genuine communication with an engaged journal partner. The use of questions and comments can also be attributed to the students’ development of a sense of audience (Urzua cited in Shin & Crandall, 2014).

While replying to the students’ entries, the teachers also modelled correct language use but were careful not to overwhelm the students with overt grammar corrections, which, as Valigurová (2010) suggests, were not the focus of this writing experience. Through the modelling of expected language usage, it is believed that many students from both courses noticed the teachers’ correct use of grammar and consequently, could show some improvement in accuracy in later compositions.

Nevertheless, some differences in the experience of dialogue journal writing among these two groups of learners were identified. Comparatively speaking, the learners from Caleta Olivia wrote lengthier texts than the learners from Bahía Blanca, and even used linking devices. This difference may be connected with the fact that the students from Caleta Olivia wrote some journal entries for homework, and therefore could devote more time to the composing process, whereas the learners from Bahía Blanca only had the last 10 minutes of each class to write. These findings seem to contradict Godev’s (1994) words, when she claims that dialogue journaling done in class is more beneficial since learners do not feel they are being deprived of leisure time, that their minds are fresh with language learning from the lesson, and that they have more sources of information at their disposal, like dictionaries and their own teacher.

Another difference encountered refers to the fact that student participation in the group from Caleta Olivia increased significantly whenever a topic discussed in the journals had become the subject of conversation in class. Apparently, the students from Caleta Olivia felt more confident to speak about those topics they had written about. By comparison, the degree of student participation in class remained the same as far as the students from Bahía Blanca are concerned. Even though these learners felt they had more tools to speak when they were asked about certain topics, they did not become more willing to participate orally because of the work done with dialogue journals.

Considering the students’ opinions and comments about the implementation of dialogue journals (see Figures 2-5 and 7-10), the majority of the learners clearly stated that they enjoyed writing in a relaxed and safe space which encouraged their self-expression. Moreover, the increase in motivation and confidence can be seen in the way they appreciated the benefits of dialogue journals, such as the opportunity to establish genuine communicative exchanges, the opening of a safe place for self-expression, and the freedom to write about topics of personal interest without pressure of being corrected (Mahn, 2008).

The research results discussed so far are deemed to be extremely enlightening in the analysis of the effects of dialogue journals on young learners’ confidence and motivation towards writing in English as a foreign language. Despite some of the differences between both groups, it is concluded that motivation and confidence towards the process of writing in a foreign language increased thanks to working with dialogue journals. 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusions and Recommendations

The experience of implementing dialogue journals in the Argentinian cities of Bahía Blanca and Caleta Olivia to analyse the effect of these journals on the confidence and motivation of A1 young learners was fruitful and enjoyable. Many beneficial effects from dialogue journals were discovered related to young learners’ confidence and motivation towards foreign language writing. For instance, these children increased the length of their entries when new topics were about to be discussed, indicating how involved they were in this writing process. Furthermore, students gave their opinion about dialogue journals anonymously, expressing how interested they would be in continuing writing in these journals in the next few years. This is also related to the fact that most of them agreed on the fact that their writing skills improved; actually, the majority indicated that they truly liked writing in these personal journals.

Concerning methods and strategies needed to make dialogue journals a successful and enjoyable experience, responding to the students’ entries in an orange pen helped them feel relaxed and free to express themselves since the colour orange represents enthusiasm and motivation. Likewise, the strategy of not correcting errors traditionally, that is to make corrections on top of the pieces of writing, increased their self-confidence towards writing. Instead, teachers focused on error corrections by modeling the correct way of writing in their replies to the entries.

Despite the evident effects that dialogue journal writing had on both these groups of students, it needs to be acknowledged that time devoted to this writing project, namely between five and six weeks, was far from enough. It is recommended that future dialogue journal writing projects last throughout all the academic year, or at least for a period of months, so as to give students time to familiarize themselves with the kind of writing. Moreover, the benefits of dialogue journal writing are likely to become stronger over time. Therefore, further research is recommended in order to implement dialogue journals along the academic year in order to experience more concrete results on fluency and accuracy in students’ pieces of writing.

Motivation and self-confidence, the affective variables which were the focus of this research, are essential when encouraging writing expression since motivated and confident students often feel more comfortable to express themselves in words and these emotional factors might result in academic writing improvements. The findings yielded in the data collection are considered to be incredibly valuable in the analysis of the impact of dialogue journals on young learners’ confidence and motivation towards writing in a foreign language. Nevertheless, the academic calendar posed strict time constraints which prevented the researchers from devoting the desirable amount of time this research project required. Since the discussed benefits of dialogue journals are believed to become evident over time, it is suggested that further research be conducted throughout an entire academic year in order to gain deeper insights into the effects of dialogue journal writing on young learners’ confidence and motivation, and their writing fluency in English as well.

Appendix A

Questionnaire

 Cuestionario de opinión acerca del uso de los diarios de diálogo

1.      ¿Te gustó escribir en el diario de diálogo?

●       Sí

●       No

●       Más o menos

2.      ¿Te gustaría escribir en el diario de diálogo en clases de inglés en los próximos años?

●       Sí, dos veces por semana

●       Sí, una vez por semana

●       Sólo para tareas o proyectos específicos

●       Nunca

 

 

3.      ¿Se entendieron las respuestas de la docente?

●       Sí

●       No

●       Tuve dificultades para entender algunas respuestas de la docente.

 

4.      ¿Cuánto te ha ayudado el diario de diálogo a mejorar tu inglés y la habilidad escrita en ese idioma?                   

●       Muchísimo

●       Bastante

●       Poco

●       Nada              

 

5.      ¿Qué fue lo que más te gustó acerca del proyecto con los diarios de diálogo y qué cambiarías?

Appendix B

Letter to Families

Información para Familias acerca de la Investigación

Queridas familias, me comunico con ustedes a fin de brindarles información acerca de esta propuesta de investigación, en la cual la participación de cada estudiante es de forma voluntaria y no afecta la nota en el boletín de calificaciones. El presente proyecto investigativo tiene como objetivo incentivar el progreso de los alumnos y alumnas de (name of course) de la (name of language centre) en la composición de textos escritos en inglés. Para tal fin, la docente introducirá la estrategia de trabajo sobre los llamados diarios de diálogo (en inglés, dialogue journals), definidos como conversaciones escritas y privadas entre docente y alumno acerca de temas de interés para el estudiante por un período de varias semanas. Las conversaciones pueden girar en torno a temas como mi escuela, mis hobbies y actividades de tiempo libre, mis juegos preferidos, etc. Además, se estimulará la escritura acerca de temas desarrollados en clase. La interacción por medio de los diarios de diálogo se inicia al momento en que el alumno escribe una narrativa, descripción o reflexión informal acerca de un tema y le entrega esta primera anotación al docente, quien responderá en base al contenido del mensaje y no corregirá gramática u otros aspectos de forma. La respuesta del docente se focalizará en hacer preguntas en torno una idea interesante, en solicitar el desarrollo de un determinado tema, en hacer pedidos de clarificación ante un mensaje confuso, y en proveer anécdotas y reflexiones propias relacionadas al tema en cuestión. De esta forma, se va generando y manteniendo una conversación privada y escrita entre docente y alumno acerca de temas relevantes al estudiante. El objetivo principal de la implementación de los diarios de diálogo yace en propiciar el placer por la escritura y el uso comunicativo de la lengua en un ambiente seguro, relajado y distendido. Desde ya, muchas gracias.

Saludos cordiales

 

 

Appendix C

Consent Form

Consentimiento para Participantes de la Investigación

Nombre del investigador
Email
Afiliación
Título del estudio

 

Por favor, lea esta nota detenidamente. Si usted autoriza a su hijo/a a participar de esta investigación, indique su firma y la fecha al final. Si no comprende o desea obtener más información, por favor comuníquese con el investigador. Desde ya, muchas gracias.

1.   He recibido una explicación satisfactoria oral y/o escrita acerca de la presente investigación.

2.   Entiendo que la investigación involucrará el uso de diarios de diálogo, es decir, conversaciones escritas y privadas entre profesor (investigador) y alumno acerca de diversos temas de interés para el estudiante. Entiendo, además, que los alumnos completarán un cuestionario anónimo solicitando su opinión acerca de la eficiencia de los diarios de diálogo para el aprendizaje del inglés como lengua extranjera.

3.   Entiendo que el alumno tiene permitido abandonar la investigación en cualquier momento sin necesidad de explicación ni a riesgo de sufrir consecuencias.

4.   Entiendo que el alumno tiene derecho a prohibir la divulgación de datos dentro de un lapso de dos semanas de haber sido recolectados por el investigador.

5.   Entiendo que toda información personal será tratada bajo términos de confidencialidad y de manera anónima.

6.   Entiendo que si el investigador es informado acerca de algún riesgo padecido por algún participante, el investigador deberá comunicar la situación a las autoridades pertinentes.

 

Yo, ______________________________________, autorizo a mi hijo/a _________________________________________ a participar de esta investigación y afirmo que he recibido una copia de la presente declaración para mi propia información.

Firma del padre/madre o responsable a cargo

___________________________                              ___________________________

Firma                                                                                Fecha

 

Firma del investigador

___________________________                              ___________________________

Firma                                                                                Fecha

 

 

 

 

Appendix D

General Note to Families

La docente Carla Mattioli, profesora del curso ... en la ..., y estudiante de la Licenciatura en Enseñanza del Inglés en la Universidad CAECE, está cursando su último tramo de la carrera e invita a los alumnos a participar de un proyecto de investigación sobre el desarrollo de la escritura que, ayudará a los propósitos de la investigación y que paralelamente mejorará la habilidad escrita de este grupo de estudiantes.

La participación es voluntaria y no afecta la nota en el boletín de calificaciones. La presente investigación tiene como objetivo demostrar el progreso de los alumnos en la composición de textos escritos en inglés. Para tal fin, la docente introducirá la estrategia de trabajo sobre los llamados diarios de diálogo, en inglés, dialogue journals, definidos como tareas escritas acerca de temas de interés para este grupo etáreo por un período de 4 o 5 semanas. Los escritos girarán en torno a temas desarrollados en clase y de interés para el estudiante, por ejemplo, mi escuela, mis juegos y comidas favoritas etc. La interacción por medio de los diarios de diálogo se inicia al momento en que el alumno escribe una narrativa, descripción o reflexión informal acerca de un tema y le entrega esta primera tarea a la docente, quien responderá en base al contenido del mensaje y no corregirá gramática u otros aspectos de forma. La respuesta de la profesora se focalizará en hacer preguntas en torno a una idea interesante, en solicitar el desarrollo de un determinado tema, en hacer pedidos de clarificación ante un mensaje confuso, y en proveer anécdotas y reflexiones propias. El objetivo del uso de los diarios de diálogo yace en propiciar el placer por la escritura y el uso comunicativo de la lengua en un ambiente seguro, relajado y distendido donde el alumno pueda expresarse libremente.

Si usted autoriza a su hijo/a a participar de esta investigación, indique su firma y la fecha al final. Si no comprende o desea obtener más información, por favor comuníquese con la docente del curso. Desde ya, muchas gracias.

1. He recibido una explicación satisfactoria oral y/o escrita acerca de la presente investigación.

2.  Entiendo que la investigación incluye la recolección de datos que surgen de tareas escritas y de la reflexión diaria de las mismas. Los temas de dichas tareas serán relevantes al curso de inglés al que asisten y de interés de niños de 10 a 11 años. Además, se incluirá un cuestionario donde los alumnos reflexionarán acerca de su opinión sobre la experiencia de escritura.

3.  La colaboración es optativa y dado el caso de un estudiante que haya decidido participar, éste puede abandonar la investigación sin explicar motivos.

4. Entiendo que toda información recolectada será tratada bajo términos de confidencialidad y de manera anónima.
5. La propuesta de trabajo apunta a desarrollar la fluidez en la comunicación escrita y a estimular la confianza y motivación de los alumnos con respecto a la composición de textos escritos en inglés.

Yo, ___________________________________, autorizo a mi hijo/a, _________________________________________, a participar de esta investigación.

Firma del padre/madre o responsable a cargo

___________________________                              ___________________________

Firma y aclaración                                                      Fecha

Firma de la docente a cargo de la investigación

___________________________                              ___________________________

Firma y aclaración                                                      Fecha

 

 

 

 

Appendix E

Visual Presentation of the Project

https://www.canva.com/design/DAEqvL_JHlY/-AUsk49mkR777t_-3X5bJA/view?utm_content=DAEqvL_JHlY&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix F

Samples of Journal Entries from Bahia Blanca students

Student 2’s fifth entry in which he wrote about a new topic

Yes, my favourite school subject is maths, I love maths. I was little my favourit toys is a car, superhero and ball. My electronic gadgets is compute and phone. The computer usually for homekor and my phone I always use.

 

Teacher’s reply

Hello, Lu! What superhero did you have when you were little? Such nice electronic gadgets. What do you use your phone for? When I was your age, I didn’t have a phone.

 

Student 2’s sixth entry in which he wrote about the same topic

I had a superman and a spiderman. I use a phone for play games, for homework and to talk with my friends and family.

 

Student 4’s third entry in which he started writing about something new

Yes I usually do. I have one pet, Is a cat. She name is Rosi. I love her. She is very cute and very soft. She loves me and me too. She’s colour is grey and her eyes are green. Miss!! Do you have a pet??

 

Teacher’s reply

Hi, Emma! How nice to read you! What a beautiful cat you have. Is she young or old? I love cats and I have one too. Her name’s Arya. She has orange fur and green eyes; she’s like Garfield! She’s a bit naughty but I love her. I’ve got a dog called Homer too.

 

Student 4’s fourth entry in which she wrote about the same topic

Hello, Yes she young. She have 4 years old :) She is play full whit her toys mouses and A… I don’t now what name is her toy.

 

Appendix F

Samples of Journal Entries from Patagonean Students

Student 1’s first entry in which he wrote about a new topic

Hi! I’m ….. What’s your favourite song? My favourite one is without you from Eminem. I like listen to music a lot. I like Caleta because I have friends and I can do a lot off things but I want to travel to another country. Did you travel to another country teacher?

Teacher’s reply

Hi …..! I love Eminem too. I don’t have a favourite song, I like all song in general. I’m listening to The Strokes now, that’s one of my favourite bands. I love Caleta too. I do many activities here. So far, I have travelled to the U.S.A and Brazil. Where do you want to travel?

Student 2’s second entry in which he wrote about the same topic

I want to travel to Europe or U.S.A because I never traveled to Europe but I went to Chile, Paraguay and Brazil.

Student 5’s third entry in which she started writing about something new

I like the attak ok titan, the promised neverland and kimetsu no yaiba, parayte and the squid game, this is not anime but i liked it a lot. I like these animes because there are demons, fights and blood. I also read Mangas.

Teacher’s reply

Wow! I think animes are great. I like Parasite too, I actually saw the movie. What movies do you like?

Student 5’s fourth entry in which she wrote about the same topic

I like action, adventure, science-fiction and comedy.

 

 

 

 

 

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