writing development through dialogue journals
TRANSCRIPT
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To the Almighty God,
The owner of everything I do.
To my parents for their support in anytime
Along my way.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Throughout the development of the life project there have been some people who
have looked after me whole-heartedly. First of all, I want to express my gratitude to
the Almighty God for helping find the way I should go by, to my parents for being
unreservedly willing to help and support me along this journey, to Mauricio Ochoa
for guiding and counseling me along this strenuous process, to my students from
whom I learned more to become a teacher. Finally, I would like to thanks to all
those teachers who, somehow, made this possible.
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INDEX
1. RAES.5
2. Introduction..12
3. Justification..14
4. Chapter 1: Literature Review.. 18
5. Chapter 2: Instructional Design. 40
6. Chapter 3: Research Design 45
7. Chapter 4: Data Analysis 52
8. Chapter 5: Conclusions and Implications 71
9. Chapter 6: Limitations and Further Research 75
10. References . 78
11. Appendixes . 80
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RESUMEN ANALTICO RAES
Tipo de documento: Tesis de Grado
Acceso al documento: Universidad Pedaggica Nacional
Ttulo del documento: Writing development through dialogue journals (el
desarrollo de la escritura a travs de Diarios de dilogos).
Autor: GIL RODELO, Jhoinis
Publicacin: Bogot, 2008, 94 pginas.
Unidad Patrocinante: Universidad Pedaggica Nacional
Palabras Claves: Dialogue journals, Process approach, Heuristicity,
Individualization, Interaction, Individual heuristicity.
Descripcin:
El proyecto de investigacin que se presenta a continuacin hace parte de un
Action researchde tipo descriptivo cuyo objetivo principal es observar y explorar el
papel de los Dialogue journalsen la habilidades escritoras de estudiantes de tercer
grado de una institucin educativa localizada en el suroriente de la ciudad a partir
de la enseanza del ingls como lengua extranjera.
Fuentes:
BURNS, A. (2001). Research for English language teachers. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge. CASSANY, D. (1989). Describir el Escribir: Cmo se aprende a
escribir. Barcelona: Paids. CUSHING WEIGLE, SARA (2002). Assessing writing.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ELBOW, P. (1981). Writing with power:
Techniques for mastering the writing process. New York: Oxford University Press.
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FREEDMAN, A., PRINGLE, I., and YALDEN, J. (1989). Learning to write: First
Language / Second Language. Applied Linguistics and Language Study. New
York: Longman. HATCH, E., and BROWN, C. (2000). Vocabulary, Semantics,
and Language Education. New York: Cambridge. HEDGE, Tricia (1998). Writing.
Oxford University Press, New York. HOPKINS, D. (1995). Data gathering. In: A
teachers guide to classroom research. Open University press, London. (p. 117 -
137) HYMES, D (1972). On communicative competence. Sociolinguistics. Eds.
Pride, J.B. and Holmes J. London: Penguin books. KROLL, B. (1997). Second
Language Writing: Research Insights for the Classroom. New York: Cambridge.
MACKEY, A. & GASS, S.M. (2005). Second Language Research: Methodology
and Design. Hillsdale NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. NUNAN,
David (2003). Designing tasks for the communicative classroom. Cambridge
University Press, United Kingdom: Cambridge. PEYTON, J.K., & REED, L. (1990).
Dialogue journal writing with nonnative English speakers: A handbook for teachers.
Alexandria, VA: TESOL. PEYTON, J.K, & STATON, J. (1993). Resource guide: A
dialogue journal bibliography. Washington, DC: NCLE. RAIMES, Ann (1983).
Techniques in teaching writing. Oxford University Press, New York. REID, Joy
(2001). Writing in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Cambridge
University Press (edited by CARTER, Ronald and NUNAN, David), Cambridge.
RICHARDS, J. C., and RODGERS, T. S. (1986). Approaches and Methods in
Language Teaching. Communicative Language Teaching, 64-86. New York:
Cambridge. YULE, George (1998). The Study of Language. Cambridge University
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Press, Cambridge. WILLIS, Jane (1996). A framework for Task Based Learning.
Longman, London.
Contenidos:
El presente documento est dividido en seis captulos. En el primero se ocupa
acerca del sustento terico sobre el cual se basa el presente proyecto de
investigacin. En ste se introducen trminos como Dialogue journals, Process
approach, Heuristicity, Individualization, e Interaction. En el segundo captulo se
versa de los pasos que fueron seguidos al momento de aplicar este estudio. En eltercero se tratan los aspectos relacionados con la contextualizacin de este
proyecto de investigacin como los participantes, los instrumentos y el tipo de
estudio. En el captulo cuarto se ocupa del anlisis de informacin en los
instrumentos empleados. En el captulo quinto, se presentan las conclusiones que
responden a la pregunta de investigacin formulada. Finalmente, en el ltimo
captulo se da cuenta de los aspectos que se podran exploran en estudios
ulteriores y de los elementos que constituyeron en obstculos para el desarrollo
del presente estudio.
Metodologa:
En el desarrollo del presente proyecto investigativo se siguieron una serie depasos a travs de los cuales se llev a cabo este estudio. Se debe tener en cuenta
que stos no se suceden en un orden necesariamente cronolgico ya que en cada
instante del proceso los estudiantes reciben retroalimentacin. El primer paso se
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constituye en una etapa de preparacin en la que los estudiantes reciban todo el
input que ellos necesitaban a fin de efectuar la tarea principal para la leccin. En
este momento, los educandos entran en contacto con el vocabulario que ha de ser
utilizado durante la leccin. Aqu la gramtica se presenta de una manera
inductiva a los estudiantes a travs de juegos, guas, lminas, etc. Basados en el
andamiaje (scaffolding) que los stos reciben durante este estadio, los estudiantes
escriben sus notas en sus diarios. Basados en stos, se desarroll el presente
estudio. A este paso le sucede una pequea socializacin de los aspectos
consignados en los diarios. Este aspecto tom lugar de manera espontnea entre
los educandos y tena el objeto de retroalimentar el comunicativo que los
estudiantes haban emprendido al momento de escribir sus diarios. Finalmente,
en el ltimo estadio, se consider la etapa de respuesta de los diarios de los
estudiantes y seleccin de nuevos aspectos a tratar en leccin futuras. Ahora, a
travs de diarios de campo y de algunas muestras de los estudiantes se logr
visualizar una sucesin de fenmenos que fueron decantados en una serie de
patrones entre los cuales se establecieron asociaciones a fin de lograr las
categoras que posteriormente seran analizadas en el da a da a travs de los
instrumentos de recoleccin de informacin.
Conclusiones:
Los diarios de dilogo (Dialogue journals) tuvieron un gran impacto en proceso de
aprendizaje y en las habilidades socio-comunicativas de los estudiantes. Su
proceso escrito fue enriquecido con el uso de una serie de referens que los
estudiantes emplearon a la hora de comunicar sus ideas. Este hecho demuestra
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que los educandos construyeron su propio significado a partir de la puesta en
escena de un complejo proceso cognitivo (Individualization, Heuristicity, and
Individual heuristicity). En este contexto, los estudiantes necesitaron de un
proceso de socializacin al momento de comunicar sus significados a los dems.
Este estadio tom lugar justo antes de los educandos consignaran sus ideas en
sus diarios. Este hecho haca que el proceso comunicativo fluyera gil y sin
traumatismos.
Fecha de elaboracin resumen: 02 de junio de 2008
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ABSTRACT
Writing implies an interactive challenge in which both the readers (the audience-
call it which you please) and the writer take responsibility for the communicative act
in which they are going to be interacting. However, the views on the nature of
writing are very different from each other. On the one hand, some scholars regard
writing as a complex communicative product. Therefore, this phenomenon can only
be assessed and seen as a whole. On the other hand, some theoreticians claim
that writing should be seen as a process. Thus, this communicative act is
developed into a series of steps which the author carefully selects on his/her own
as the result of an exploration process that will lead him/her to construct his/her
own meaning. In this context, this study aimed to characterize students writing
performance when implementing dialogue journals. The latter appear as an
alternative way to acquire an interactive writing in order to develop language and
literacy, and to foster personal and social development in third grade students at
IED Liceo Femenino Mercedes Nario. During the pedagogical implementation, all
participants went through four main stages, namely, a preparation phase, a
dialogue journal entry stage, a socialization one, and the response-selection of the
new topic stage. Also, two instruments were utilized in order to collect data, i.e.
field notes and students artifacts. Results showed significant evidence of social
interactions before, during, and after students start their journals. These outcomes
indicate that socialization plays an important role for students at the moment of
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conveying their meaning. That is why, students felt more comfortable when
exchanging their ideas before starting their entries. The latter was part of some
strategies students applied at the moment of conveying their meaning, namely,
spending some time preparing what they were going to enter in the journals and
using a series of referens spontaneously in order to convey their meaning. These
referens shaped into complex assortments of mother tongue and the foreign
language, and into some symbols the student writers make use of.
.
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INTRODUCTION
Communication is a phenomenon that provides human beings with the opportunity
to exchange their ideas, concepts, feelings, and all the heuristic facts within an
individual. Also, that opportunity is what makes society necessary, as a mechanism
so as to preserve human culture, identity and existence. However, it has many
faces; as many languages are inside the human society. Notwithstanding, there is
a language that has been used as a metaphor of a bridge that makes closer most
of the cultures around the world: English. It means that through this language
communication among different civilizations has been possible. Also, this metaphor
brings the idea of globalization: the world itself is not the limit but the context in
which many ideas can be shared. But, before communicating through the bridge it
is necessary to build it.
Here build means to learn English as a foreign language. Learning a second
language is a process in which one of the main objectives people have is to be
able to communicate to others by using the target language in a successful way. At
this point, it is important to say that, according to Hedge (1998), there are at least
two options people have for communicating to others which are, in my opinion, the
most common ones: speaking, which is kind of the most used one, and writingthat
has been employed by human beings for centuries and that now is been globalized
by the growth of mass media and the increasing popularity of technological
devices.
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Now, in the institution where this project was applied, there is a need regarding
communication. Communicating successfully to others is the main goal to achieve,
but it is, at the same, the main concern within the aforementioned institution. Thus,
there is an aim at developing interaction among students in the foreign language:
English. In this context, this project is going to be focused exclusively on writing so
as to improve students writing as a communicative skill through those elements
students are interested in.
Accordingly, this project proposes to explore students writing skill so as to help
them to improve it by implementing dialogue journals in class. The rationale for this
is interactive writing that it brings along. Here, students are able to express their
ideas, thoughts and feelings in the target language with the possibility to get
feedback within a non-threatening atmosphere. Also, the idea of making use of
Dialogue Journals promotes a worthier communication atmosphere since it
provides students exposure to the target language.
Finally, this project is divided in three chapters. Chapter one shows in a brief way
the literature regarding teaching writing that is considered in this project. In chapter
two, there is the procedure of how this project is thought to be applied in with the
students of the institute in which this project is going to be applied. As a final point,
chapter three deals with a chart that summarizes the research question, objectives,
type of study, setting, participants and the instruments that are going to be taking
into account when implementing the project.
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JUSTIFICATION
This paper contains the project that is going to be considered during the semester.
It was designed according to the necessities the population target had (a formal
female Institution in the south-eastern part of the city where English is taught as a
foreign language) in terms of communication. Communicating successfully to
others is the mayor goal to achieve within the institution where this project is being
arranged. But also it is the main concern. That is the reason why students who are
learning English in that institution are expected to communicate easily with others,
to use English spontaneously and to learn grammar in an inductive way.
According to this, students were supposed to use spoken English during the
classes by means of using some expressions and/or language chunks that either
students are acquainted with or that teacher provides in order to make
communication feasible in the classroom. Writing, on the other hand, is an ability
that either students have not worked on yet or students have worked very slightly.
Besides, students are in the middle of their literacy process in their mother
language. As a result, the communicative function writing skill has is not very clear.
Since the emphasis in the institution seems to be the oral communication, students
have the idea that writing is just a no-serious, irrelevant or somewhat boring
process - at least in the elementary level.
For that reason, this project proposes the use of writing as a mean of
communicating that complements the students learning process in that institution.
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Therefore, the same was meant to contribute to the accurate personal and social
development, to build confidence and self-esteem among students, and to develop
and maintain social relationships. Here writing was to be considered as a way to
reinforce students English knowledge (grammar structures and their use when
communicating) and their communicative performance during the class in means
for them to be confident when dealing with written English. This is because
according to Cassany (1989) as written language is different from the spoken one,
both are different channels of communication and both are important for a foreign
language learner learning process.
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RESEARCH QUESTION
Considering what was said before, there is a question related to the process of
learning a foreign language in the institution this project was to be applied that
concerns the writing performance in the student: What are the characteristics of
students writing performance when implementing dialogue journals?
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OBJECTIVES
-General:
- To observe and explore the role of Dialogue Journals in English foreign
language students writing skill.
-Specific:
- To enhance students interactions in the foreign language in a written way.
- To analyze and understand students writing process in the foreign
language when implementing Dialogue Journals.
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CHAPTER I
LITERATURE REVIEW
The present project deals with the performance a foreign language learner has
regarding writing skill so that communicate to others. Also, it is important to say
that it involves certain factors within it such as meaning negotiation, interaction,
and so forth. Accordingly, the theories that are going to be considered during this
project are related to the learning process of writing itself and the perspective given
to this process by the author of the present research. First of all, it is going to be
elicited some statements about the writing process. Here it is going to be
considered some ideas stated by Cassany (1989), Kroll (1997), Freedman (1989),
Hatch & Brown (2000) and Richards & Rodgers (1986).
The writing process
Reid, J. (2002)1 in the chapter entitled Writing introduces a general background
on the historical views on L2 and foreign writing. Even as late as the 70s, L2
writing was not even view as a language skill. As a result, L2 composition teaching
was not that popular by then. Writing was just limited to some grammar rules and
was strictly controlled in contrast to our recent guided writing. The teaching
philosophy grew directly out of the Audiolingual method. It was here that started
the shift from the language-based writing to the study of composition techniques
and strategies due to the development of NES composition field and to the
1Reid, J (2002).Writing. In S. Cushing, Assessing Writing (pp 57-92). New York: Cambridge University Press.
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teachers realization of the needs of English L2 students for post-secondary
entrance and replacement examinations. From that moment on, writing philosophy
focuses on teaching of organization patterns such as thesis statement, topic
sentence, etc. It is here that appears the product approach (see the previous
item).
Now, in the 80s, it appeared the expressive approach in which writing is
understood as a process in which the individual get through a process of self-
discovery. In here, student writers were encouraged to write as an excuse to
express their own feelings and/or opinions. In this approach, the process went from
the personal writing (based basically upon the creation of narratives and journals)
to foster students creativity and fluency. Here, students were able to explore freely
on certain topic. In order for them to do so, they often found new ways to get
innovative connections among different elements belonging to the same issue. At
this point, the writing process was constantly re-led to another placeof interest.
Afterwards, it arrived on the scene the writer-based approach in which took place
the exclusion of external audiences. Its representatives neglected accuracy in favor
of fluency: in this part of the development of L2 and foreign language, the process
is more important to individual development than the product itself. In contrast,
product teachers focused only on accuracy, appropriate rhetorical discourse and
language patterns. In here experts were not concerned about the voice of the
student writers, but rather about academic conventions that stifled creativity: it
emerged the reader-based. In this context, the writing was meant only for an
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academic audience. At this point, the development of multiple drafts to achieve
meaningful communication came into sight. Now, teachers focused on the
problem-solving aspect of identifying and practicing discourse conventions.
It was not until the 90s that the importance of L2 writing became popular in the
field of research because of three factors: first, the inclusion of writing on
international test of English proficiency. Second, the necessity for better teacher
preparation that gave rise to the development of better material. Third, the
development of a number of specific series devoted to writing.
This gave rise to the development of creative writing. The same involved strategies
such as: re-writing from different viewpoints, shifting registers to explore changing
communicative effects, writing predictions and completions to texts and so on. In
this context, the research in this field draws its attention to similarity-deficit model in
which the researchers are searching the scarcities that might show up. In here it
has been adopted ethnographic methods such as case study and speak-aloud
protocols.
The Importance of Written Language
According to Ferris (cited by Flowerdew, 2001), the approaches and techniques
used when teaching L1 are also appropriate when teaching a second and a foreign
language because of considering students previous knowledge and giving them
the opportunity of using the target language in a real context. For example,
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techniques such as pre-writing activities, drafting, invention and portfolio
assessment are relevant because they take into account the way students were
taught in their L1 process and so all the background they might have concerning
writing. Moreover, they bring the opportunity for them to interact with others (which
means communicate and exchange of meaning); showing them, a posteriori, the
way the target language is used in context. It means that a second language
writing process would consider exercises in which students are supposed to
express their ideas about certain topics, to negotiate how to deal with some
problems or situations, and so other activities in where they can use the language
they are studying for communicating what they already do when using their mother
tongue.
Besides, considering what Brookes and Grundy (2002)2 have said about the study
of language in the twentieth century3 the written part of language has some
advantages that spoken language does not (for example, the use of images in
advertisement, posters, and so on) which can be explored and used for making
communication wealthier. By writing, students can transcend the here and now
using images that support the idea they want to be immortal. However, it does not
mean that spoken language is inferior than the written one; the fact is that both are
complements, and if a teacher focuses his/her attention in just one of them,
students will learn one perspective of what communication and interaction are: they
2Brooks and Grundy (2002). Study of language in the twentieth century. In S. Cushing, Assessing Writing (pp
120-145). New York: Cambridge University Press.3
The study of language in the twentieth century has tended to concentrate on spoken language. Written language was
thought by some to be spoken language put into written form Brookes & Grundy, 2002.
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are going to miss the variety of perspectives written language can offer and
support the spoken one and vice versa. However, as in the institution this project is
going to be applied they focus on the oral English, the written one proposed here is
going to complement the process that institution is carrying with the students that
are learning English as a foreign language there.
This last part is evident in the article The grown and development of first-grade
writers when Graves explains that Children have a natural urge to express, to
make marks, to play with writing, to experiment boldly with new ways to put
messages on paper. (article edited by Freedman, 1989). It means that children
need to express themselves using as many communication ways as possible. That
is the importance of teaching not only writing but also non-verbal communication
patterns. However, the one that concerns to this project is the first one.
Considering what Graves has said writing could be considered as a new
perspective that children can learn for communicating to others. However, as
writing can help students to interact and to express and exchange ideas and
meanings, it is important to take into account the possibilities it has nowadays so
as to be real in human beings interaction. In this context, the goal of writing would
be to communicate a certain message, which is thought to be of common interest,
to others. Thus, it is enhanced the conveyance of real meaning among students
with real purposes
Here Graves said that the teacher has to take into account the real-world writing
that is used by students outside the classroom (letters, poems, articles, and so on),
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in both native and foreign language (article edited by Brookes, 2002). Accordingly,
there are many contexts in which the target language can be used: making notes in
a diary, writing greetings cards, writing graffiti on a wall, and so forth (Brookes, p.
6, 2002). Considering these contexts, students would be able to communicate and
negotiate meaning by writing letters, e-mails, or participating in forums. Here the
importance is that they can make notes about some else writing, or give some
comments about what a classmate has written, and so on. The fact is that taking
into consideration writing as a perspective students have for negotiating and
exchanging meaning, they would be able to communicate in a more meaningful
way because of using extra spoken language tools such as posters, draws,
advertisement, postcards, which generate a worthy atmosphere during
communication.
Considering what has been explained, it is important to take into account some
ideas regarding the nature of the writing process itself. Here there are two views
about writing that are important because they are the conceptions writing has had
and that are to be considered in this project so as to reflect on the process
students in the institution are going to have.
First of all, the way one views an object is usually the way one deals with it, and to
some such extent, the same affects the way one interacts with it and ones own
conception of it. In this sense, it is important to understand the nature of the objects
one is dealing with before one actually jumps into them. Now, in order to
understand something about the writing process it is a must to understand the
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different views of its nature. Nunan, in Designing tasks for the communicative
classroom, defines two views of the nature of writing: the product approach and
the process approach.
The first one, the Product Approach, focuses on the end result of the act of
composition: the outcome. Here teacher is deeply concerned on the fact that the
text is readable and comprehensible, with an accurate use of grammar, and with a
strict acquiescence to the discourse conventions. The main purpose of the class is
to copy and imitate: carrying out sentence expansions from cue words and
developing sentences and paragraphs from models of various sorts.
In the second one, the Process Approach concentrates as much on the means
whereby the completed text is created as on the end product itself. Here teacher
does not concentrate only on such things as grammar or the readability of the text,
but rather on the different strategies the student writers use in order to get their
ideas across. That is why, in the writing process, one can write what one aims to
convey until one actually gets on the way to discover meaning. That is to say that
the writing process is regarded as a process of discovery for the student writers in
which they are in search of new ideas and new language forms to convey to their
audience. According to Raimes (1983), they can come up with different
connections among the elements they are familiar with. Therefore, this process is
constantly re-led to diverse places of interest. The latter makes it more important to
individual development. In this context the whole process is assessed taking into
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consideration the different stages the writer has gone through in order to come up
with the final draft.
Now, Ann M. Johns (2002) describes within the Process Approach two main
movements: the Expressivist Movementand the Cognitivist Movement. In here the
author explains some categories that are taken into consideration when talking
about writing from the perspective of the Process Approach. The first one is the
writer. Within the Expressivist Movement, the writer is the instigator of a creative
process whereby the same gets into a self-discovery process. On the other hand,
in the Cognitivist Movement, the writer is seen as a planner as well as a problem-
solver. The latter usually plans his/her writing extensively in order to come up with
alternative solutions to former rhetorical issues. In both movements, the student-
writers are the ones who guide their own process. The second category deals with
the audience. Since the Expressivist Movement holds the view that the goal of
writing should be to move towards a condition in which we do not necessarily need
an audience to write or speak well (Elbow, P.: 1981; p. 190). For that reason,
Elbow introduces the concept audience invoked because the audience in written
discourse is a construction of the writer, a created fiction. Conversely, for the
Cognitivists, the audience is the one who is going to get the writers communicative
act. The third category deals with Reality and Truth. Both the Expressivist
movement and the Cognitivist movement agree on the fact that the latter reside
within both the writer (who attempts to establish them through the text) and the
audiences mind. In here, the writer proposes its audience a reality where they both
can agree on- yet the writer tries to bring the latter around to a particular truth
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within it. Finally, the last category copes with the language component. Again,
both movements are of the same opinion: the writer is the one who builds up the
linguistic construction. The latter depends on the writers prior experience and
his/her creative urge.
Now, according to the author, understanding the nature of writing would lead us
inexorably to get our students to achieve a successful writing in an adequate
pedagogical process. The same involves a series of stages and/or processes that
the person who writes should get through in order to get a successful writing.
However, it is important to say that in this research it was not considered those
stages. They are meant to contextualize the reader in terms of the view most of the
teachers have regarding teaching writing. Here are organized as follows: first, the
one who writes should master the mechanics of letter formation as well as
becoming skilled in and being submitted to the conventions of the language such
as spelling and punctuation. Up to this point, the writer uses the grammatical
system to convey his/her intended meaning and organizes the content at the level
of a single paragraph and the complete text in such a way that it shows a certain
degree of reflection upon the information s/he is given, based upon which s/he
actually creates his/her intended meaning. Then, the writer is supposed to polish
and revise his/her own initial efforts, and finally select an appropriate style for
his/her audience. To conclude, Nunan (2003) states that the better we, as
teachers, know the nature of write, the more capable we will be at the very moment
of orienting an adequate writing process in our pupils.
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All in all, according to Nunan, there are two main views of the nature of writing: the
product approach and the process approach. The former draws its attention to the
product of writing. Only product is the one that is assessed by the teacher. In
contrast, the latter spotlights the writing as a process in which one is growing in the
understanding and the management of different elements in order to discover
ones meaning. The latter is the one that is to be taken into consideration in the
current project when dealing with the process of developing a communicative
competence in written English.
Now, in order to address students needs and to be able to track down students
written performance, it was taken into consideration for the current research the
Dialogue Journalsas a way to introduce an interactive writing in order to develop
language and literacy in EFL students. Besides, these journals foster students
personal growth. According to Hedge (1998), they help personal and social
development and can be useful at the very moment of building confidence and self-
esteem among students at lower levels.
Peyton, J.K., & Reed, L. (1990) describe Dialogue Journals as a >. In this special way of writing, students can write about any topic of their
preference to a tutor. The latter, then, writes back to the students (each one at a
time) in response to the former issue. This exchange, which continues for a certain
period of time, is confined to the two people involved: the teacher and the student.
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Nonetheless, this exchange is not focused upon form, but upon communication
and interaction.
The dialogue journalprovides student-writers within the writing process with a non-
threatening atmosphere since it encourages one to one communication. Moreover,
students are offered with an excellent exposure to the target language because
they have a real context for writing and optimal language learning conditions.
Students are invited to write at their proficiency level (even if it is minimal) about
topics that interest them. Also, students get enough modeling because teacher
works here as a language model. This approach was considered in this research
as a key concept for three main reasons: First, because of the extending contact
time with students that it provides; second, because of the management of classes
with students of varying language, ability, and interest levels. Finally, this approach
was taken into consideration in the current research because it provides an
excellent exposure to the target language.
So far, there has been explained the writing process itself based on authors and
their ideas regarding this skill. Now, it is important to take into consideration the
writer itself who is going to be a student that is learning both foreign language oral
and written channel. For this, here are some ideas stated by Cassany (1989)
regarding writing and writer.
In his book Describir el escribir, most of the ideas explained by Cassany deal with
the process of writing regarding literature and academic texts. However, his
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general ideas of writing are considered important here because he classifies the
kinds of writers presented when an individual is learning a second and a foreign
language. Also, this text shows the idea how the written communication is
considered to be taught, having an implicit idea of the important role of semiotics in
the process of learning vocabulary and grammatical structures (code) made by the
learner. Besides, Cassany states the importance of the written code in terms of its
independence from the oral one (it is not merely a transcription of this last one)
affirming adquirir el cdigo escrito no significa solamente aprender la
correspondencia entre el sonido y la grafa, sino aprender un cdigo nuevo,
suscintamente distinto del oral.(Cassany, 1989, 27)
The Foreign Language Writer-Learner
The writer without code is the name Cassany has called to all kinds of people who
are trying to write in a second language (in this case, a foreign language) which
has not been acquired completely. Also, in the case of students, it is important to
say that they are developing the skill of writing in a competitive way in their first or
mother tongue. That means students are developing both first and foreign
language writing skill. (21) This last part is important to be taking into consideration
because as students are also in the process of writing in their mother tongue, they
are not very conscious about the importance of this skill so as to communicate and
interact with people. For that reason, it is important for the teacher in charge of the
procedure this project states (using blogs for helping students when dealing with
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the writing part of the quiz) to take into account the distinction made by Krashen
(1984, quoted by Cassany 1989) considering Chomskys theory:
la competencia es el cdigo escrito, es el conjunto de conocimientos de
gramtica y de lenguaque tienen los autores en la memoria; la actuacin es
la composicin del texto, es el conjunto de estrategias comunicativas que
utilizan los autores para producir un escrito. La competencia es el sabery la
actuacin es el saber hacer. (Cassany, 1989, 17)
According to Cassany, the writing skill is the mastery of both chomskian stages:
competence (knowledge regarding the foreign language code) and actuation
(which strategies students can use in order for them to produce a text using all the
knowledge they have). Based on Cassanys ideas, throughout the implementation
of this project students are going to practice the use of written English so as to
master its use by considering all the previous knowledge they have regarding this
language so that they can describe places or people during the quiz4. However, the
author states that un escritor debe conocer y saber utilizar estos dos
componentes si aspira a comunicarse correctamente por escrito: debe tener
suficientes conocimientos del cdigo escrito y adems tiene que saber aplicar las
estrategias necesarias de redaccin (Cassany, 1989, 18) It means that for a
successful-in-communication writing, students have to know English deeply in
terms of structure and meaning: syntax and semantics.
4This is because as the institution in which this project is been carried focuses its attention on interaction through
spoken English, students are not very accustomed to the written one. For that reason, when they are asked to write or
describe something they list separated sentences instead of writing a complete text.
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But, according to Wilkins (1972, quoted by Richards & Rodgers, 1986) when
teaching language it is important to focus on communicative proficiency rather than
mastery of structures (Richards & Rodgers, 1986, 64) For that reason, Wilkins
recognized that when learning a language students need to understand
communicative meanings (notional categories such as time, quantity, sequence,
location and so on) and categories of communicative function: requests, offers,
denials, and so forth) rather than describing structures. Those communicative
meanings are what this project aims to master in students: by considering the
cognitive process they will have when writing (Individualization, Heuristicity and
Individual Heuristicity) students are going to use their previous knowledge they
have regarding the linguistic code which in this case is English, so as to express
their ideas (things they like, opinions) and to describe the contexts in which they
are within (Family, school, and so forth). Those aspects are basically the topics
they are asked to write in a dialogue journal.
Notwithstanding, Cassany states that the linguistic knowledge a person has (he
calls it written code) can be learned in different ways: when reading by pleasure or
by obligation; when memorizing some pieces of written texts such as legends,
stories; when studying grammatical rules and structures; when writing pieces of
texts that may be interesting by individuals such as poems; and so on. The author
says that in those activities utilizamos estos conocimientos para procesar textos,
ya sea codificando o descodificando: leyendo o escribiendo.(Cassany, 19) This is
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the input students have: different contexts in which they can learn more vocabulary
and structures in English. It can be unconscious or conscious, but what is
important here is that students are supposed to use all the information gathered
not only in the classroom but outside it. Here it can be considered the contexts in
which they are in where English is important: school, entertainment: video-games,
films, music, and so on.
This process of learning abstract knowledge (English code) is important because it
shows a semiotic approach that makes relevant the Process of Transcendental
Production of Discourse: the individual is within different contexts. Each context
has many symbols, icons and signs the individual is supposed to decodify in order
for him/her to understand them. This process of decodification deals with the
Individualization process in terms of construction of the world and meaning,
cognitive processes in where the relationship established is Subject-Subject
Heuristicity (individual and thoughts) Then, the interaction of all the cognitive
elements that make possible the individual heuristic realm has an outcome
(thought) that is going to lead the individual to two processes: mental
(Individualization and Heuristicity) and physical (interaction-abstraction towards an
object)
Present Research Perspective
Considering the ideas presented, in a brief way, and taking into account the impact
that the Communicative Language Teaching has had among writing skill, showing
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that it is very important to recognize how people communicate to others,
recognizing the importance of intelligibility and persuasiveness when writing
(Brookes, p. 11 2002), this project takes into account the idea of what the author
called the Process of Transcendental Production of Discourse (this is what is going
to be explained in brief) considering also the process approach explained above
and different stages, proposed by the author of this current project, students writers
were going to follow so as to communicate through writing.
When talking about the Process of Transcendental Production of Discourse, the
reader has to take into account three stages that make possible this perspective of
communication: Individualization, Heuristicity, and Individual Heuristicity. The first
one refers to the heuristic construction of the world and its referensmade by an
individual. By Individualization the reader would understand as the first kind of
cognitive relationship presented inside the human being mind: the Subject, in
philosophical terms, and its heuristicity: Subject-Subject heuristicity. This
relationship exemplifies the human being itself and the process in which he/she is
been involved (the subject and its thoughts) However, it is important to say that this
statement does not mean that the subject is independent of its thought. In fact, it
means that Individualization is a macro sphere in where there is another sphere
that symbolizes the subject heuristic realm. All in all, this relationship corresponds
to the following diagram5:
5This theory and next diagram are excerpted from: Rueda N and Gil, J (2007). On the individual and his
heuristicity. ______________, Bogot, D.C.
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Subject
Thought
Heuristicity
Cognitive Elements
INDIVIDUALIZATION
However, the Individualization process has another one within it: a second process
that corresponds to the Heuristicity itself as the interaction of those cognitive
elements that are in charge of making possible the heuristic realm through thought:
HEURISTICITY
Finally, the third cognitive relationship presented is called the Individual
Heuristicity. This relationship deals with the interaction of the first two stages,
Subject
Thought
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Individualization and Heuristicity. This third cognitive process proposes an output
that is reflected in both mental (Individualization-Heuristicity) and physical
processes such as the one called interaction-abstraction towards an object
(referent). Also, it is shown in the process of production of discourses as a result of
the process previously mentioned. Accordingly, the diagram that exemplifies this
third stage would be as follows:
INDIVIDUAL HEURISTICITY
Considering this last diagram, there are two kinds of output: the mental one that
symbolizes the relationships between certain cognitive elements which are the
Heuristicity. They transcend creating a big (or macro) cognitive element called
Thought or First output. On the other hand, there is the physical output that is the
manifestation of Thought (First output) through the interaction-abstraction
processes before a referent, as it is shown in the diagram. Moreover, they are in
Output
(Physical)
Subject
Thought
Heuristicity
Cognitive ElementsOutput
(mental)
Referent
Interaction-
Abstraction
Production of
Discourses
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charge of producing discourses which according to the scheme are the possible
interpretations that the subject might have regarding the referent. As a result, the
discourse that was produced during this process (it may be an interpretation of a
certain phenomenon, here it could be considered as the result of the writing
process, which is something that is going to be explained later) is what the author
of the present project consider the Subjectivity of Writing.
Those three elements Individualization, Heuristicity, and Individual Heuristicity, are
the stages proposed by the authors of this project. Each stage is going to represent
the individual (student) as a Subject that has its own reality, mental and cognitive
realm: its individuality. Also, they are going to present writing as a process that
comes from the individual to others so as to communicate facts, ideas, thoughts
that are happening in its cognitive realm. It means the writing implementation
proposed in this project is not going to follow a structure as the one proposed by
Nunan (master the mechanics of letter formation, conventions of the language
such as spelling and punctuation, all the grammatical knowledge in order to
express ideas, the structure writing may have such as paragraphs, check his/her
production and select an appropriate style) but is going to focus its attention in
writing as a way human beings interact and communicate ideas each other. It
means that the writing process aimed here wants individuals to express their ideas
freely without having a structural-mind process of drafting what is going to be
written. It does not mean that there is not any process in the Process of
Transcendental Production of Discourse; the one proposed here comes from the
Individualization, followed by the Heuristicity and ending in a new process which is
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the Individual Heuristicity where the individual express the interpretation he/she
has about reality.
As it was explained, the process comes from the individual and goes to others.
This means that all the cognitive elements within Heuristicity are going to be
interacting so that to produce meaning, ideas and thoughts that are the ones
intended to be expressed. During this interaction, all the heuristic construction each
individual has is going to be involved in that process of creating an outcome. This
has a special importance here in this project: by having students writing about
things they know, things that belong to their heuristic realm, they are to recognize
the importance of writing in communication: there is a message, a person who
sends that message, an intention by sending the message, a person (or people)
who is (are) going to receive it, and a possible feedback regarding this message
which would be a specific answer according to the kind of message.
Pertinence of the Individual Heuristicity
The last three processes mentioned by the author are considered as the genesis of
writing in students. This is because they would have their Individualization stage
before producing any kind of discourse, and so the Heuristicity and the Individual
Heuristicity. Besides, during these three stages, there is interaction and negotiation
of meaning between the subject that can be any student and his/her Individual
Heuristicity in order for him/her to produce certain discourse. Having it, the student
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is ready to interchange and negotiate the meaning he/she has about the specific
referent with other student that has done the same process.
This Individual Heuristicity process also exemplifies what can be done during the
pre-writing stage, drafting, invention and portfolio assessment in the sense that it
makes evident the process a students has had so as to produce certain discourse
which in this case is a written one. After this phase, students would have the
opportunity to exchange their discourse (their written production), receiving
feedback from the other classmates (which can be considered as a negotiation and
exchanging of meaning because of the dialogue that is going to be presented when
each one is giving suggestions or assumptions about what they heard)
Furthermore, the necessity children have for communicating with others and the
new perspective writing can have for them as Graves said, makes the Individual
Heuristicity process something that can vary depending on the language children
are using. It means that by writing using their mother tongue, they are having a
different perspective of communication. But, by writing in a foreign language they
are having not only a new perspective of communication but also a new
perspective of having Individual Heuristicity processes so that producing
discourses.
Accordingly, the type of study that will be considered during this project deals with
the Qualitative paradigm because the phenomenon selected (explore writing skill)
is going to be interpreted by the people in charge of carry out this project. In fact,
all the hypothesis and ideas presented throughout the observations and the data
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collected come from their interpretation. Also, it was considered the process that
students were going to have during the implementation of this present project. On
the other hand, the Action-research model is the approach selected by the author
because it proposes the observation of an ongoing process through a step by step
process instead of focusing only on its result.
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CHAPTER II
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
Since the current research project deals with the characterization of students
writing skills when implementing dialogue journals, in the present chapter, I am
going to elaborate on the methodology that was employed to develop this study.
The same was divided into four main stages, namely, the preparation phase in
which students are introduced the language for the lesson and receive the input in
which they were going to rely on at the moment of performing, the dialogue journal
entry stage, the socialization period, and the response-selection step. It is worth
mention here that these processes do not occur in the same order, but it is rather a
cyclical process going over and over. Thus, in the last stage of the process it is
selected the topics for the next lessons.
In first place, the preparation stage takes place at the beginning of the class. At
this point, students received all the scaffolding6 they needed in order for them to be
able to perform the main task of the class successfully. This scaffoldingconsists of
a series of activities in which the learner were going to see how the language for
the day was used in communicative situations. At this juncture, students received
full exposure to the foreign language in use. Most of the times, this first stage
shaped into short games in which the learners were supposed to use some
language chunks through which students were introduced the language for the
6This term was introduced by Willis, Jane (1996).
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lesson and/or the expressions they were going to be using as the lesson went by.
This part allowed them to use the language they already knew: this was a useful
way to recycletheir previous knowledge. So, as a result, students confidence grew
and they dared to use the new language in the different activities they were
presented.
According to Willis (1996), the aim of this preparation stage was to present
activities in which students explored the topic language being actively involved,
providing them with relevant contact with the foreign language and, above all,
creating interest in writing an entry on this topic in their journals. At this moment,
students confidence in handling the language would boost since they were given
some useful language to fall back on if necessary. Sometimes, teacher provided
students with a similar task to the one they were going to carry out during the next
step as an example. This aspect was especially important at the beginning of the
current research project. It is worth mention here that these features that were
taken into consideration for this preparation stage had been pre-selected by
students either in their entries on their journals or aurally once the class had
already taken off.
Now, by the end of the preparation stagestudents received instructions for the next
period. Nevertheless, they decided the path they were going to follow at the
moment of getting their entry in their journals. These instructions were, therefore,
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very general and they aimed to guide students about the topic they were going to
be elaborating on for the lesson. At this moment, students would read teacher
feedback on their previous entry in their dialogue journals. Next, students used the
latter in order to start theirs as a response to it. Here, as stated by Peyton & Reed
(1990), they could elaborate on the topics and concerns they wanted to, some
questions they may have had, new topics they would like to introduce, and writing
about themselves. Thus, the lesson was able to meet students interests in this
way. Consequently, students were intrinsically motivated to use the foreign
language in context. Therefore, the issues they dealt with were meaningful to them.
At this moment of the lesson, students were free to experiment actively with new
ways to put their messages on the paper: they got through a process of self-
discovery in which they perform their personal writing. According to Brookes &
Grundy (2002), the former allows student writers to use their entries as an excuse
to express their feelings and/or opinions freely and fosters their creativity and
provides them with fluency at the very moment of using the language for
communicative purposes.
Afterwards, students had the opportunity to socialize their ideas with their partners.
This issue had the purpose to contribute to boost students confidence at the
instant of using the foreign. As stated by Nunan (2003) & Willis (1996), this
socialization stageallows students to gain awareness in the purpose of language
itself: communicate something to someone with a specific goal, in a particular
context. Moreover, this aspect was implemented in order to enhance students
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confidence by providing them with a supportative learning environment. In this way,
students were more motivated to write in a greater extent about the things they
were truly interested in. At the same time, the latter enabled learners to learn from
each other, since they all had different strengths, abilities, and learning strategies.
At this point, students reinforced the language they had learned for the day.
According to Hedge (1998), this aspect helps students personal and social
development, build confidence and self-esteem, as well as increase their aural
skills.
Finally, the last phase of the pedagogical intervention corresponds to the
response-selection of new topics. This section is divided into two main issues,
namely, the response to students entries and the choice of new issues to
elaborate on. In the first part, teacher writes back in reply to students journals. As
stated by Peyton (2003), at this point, students focus on meaning rather than form
and, as previously mentioned, on real topics and issues of interests to them. Here,
teachers entries serve as input to students written language. The latter is
specifically adjusted to students proficiency level and they must link up on what
the student writers had written. Thus, these entries also provide recurrent exposure
and modeling to the style, language form and diverse purposes when writing their
entries. Secondly, the ideas they express in the journals contribute to the
development of further lessons. At this point, teacher is able to assess students
concerns and the steps to follow in future classes. The former was a very useful
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way of evaluating students process and they were also employed as a strategy in
order to craftforthcoming lessons.
All in all, the pedagogical implementation of the current research project consists of
a series of elements which made up the methodology that was followed at the very
moment of applying this study. To begin with, I implemented a preparation stage in
which students were given the scaffolding they needed in order to get them set up
to use the foreign language in context. Second, with all the input they receive in the
former stage, they are ready to get their entries in their journals. At this point,
students focus on meaning rather than on grammar. Next, students socialize their
ideas and/or thoughts. They profit from this to learn from each others, so they grow
in confidence in a supportative learning environment. Finally, in the last phase, the
response-selection period, students receive more input form teachers entries on
their dialogue journals, as well as more exposure on the use of the foreign
language for communicative purposes.
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CHAPTER III
RESEARCH DESIGN
This chapter deals with some specific details of the study such as the research
question and the objectives which led the current study, the setting where this
research project took place and the type of study that has been implemented. It
also, contains a characterization of the participants and a brief description of the
instruments that were employed for collecting data.
1. RESEARCH QUESTION:
- What are the characteristics of students writing performance when
implementing dialogue journals?
2. OBJECTIVES:
General:
- To observe and explore the role of Dialogue Journals in English foreign
language students writing skill.
Specific:
- To enhance students interactions in the foreign language in a written way.
- To analyze and understand students writing process in the foreign
language when implementing Dialogue Journals.
3. SETTING:
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The school where the current study took place is a formal female Institution in the
south-eastern part of the city whose name is IED Liceo Femenino Mercedes
Nario. This institution has spacious installations where they count on different
facilities through which they teach diverse subjects. It also offers French classes
for students up to fifth grade where they can develop their communicative skills in
the foreign language. The main deal here is that both English and French are
taught once a week for seventy minutes. The latter made more difficult the
development of students communicative skills.
It has students from pre-school, elementary school and high school. In here, they
have a huge green area where students are able to practice sports such as
athletics, basketball, and volleyball. They also have a language laboratory where
they have some listening material in order to develop students listening skills (i.e.
cassettes, CDs, and some videos). Moreover, they have a big library where
students have the chance to read some literature books: most of the books there
are literature ones.
On the other hand, the goal of the PEI of the institution deals with getting good
women citizens who can contribute to the societys current needs, and who can
innovate, somehow, by means of using either the knowledge or the strategies they
can come up with. Its main target is to create autonomous, creative, and
responsible human beings with an accurate sense of critic analysis of the reality
surrounding them. The vision of the institution aims to rise women who are able to
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participate fully in every single lifes domain. As a result, the institution seeks for
individual who participate actively in the transformation of our society. Therefore,
the same aims at developing students communicative competences in both the
mother tongue and the foreign language (English) in order to enable them to be
active participants of a bilingual society.
4. Participants:
The students that were considered for the developing of this current project were
students between 7 and 9 years old that have a basic level of English: they were
really beginners. That is to say that they had not had any contact with the foreign
language before. So, at the beginning of this study, they did not feel that confident
about using English for communicative purposes. What is more, due to the fact that
students had been taught in a traditional environment, students were really
concerned about conveying their ideas freely in class. But they rather responded
mainly to the things teacher asked them about. Consequently, no real
communication was virtually possible in this context. The participants were chosen
due to the fact that they came from different backgrounds and they responded to
diverse academical performances.
5. Type of study
This project deals with a type of study that follows the Action-research approach
because it focuses on a concrete problem in a deep way, namely, the problem that
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institution has found regarding the lack of writing as a means to communicate their
ideas and/or feelings. It takes into account a process. Here the process of written
English is what is aimed. Students were going to develop their writing skill by
considering a number of activities that were done as the class went along, which
were going to have a demanding level as the classes and time follow. This type of
study aims to amend students skill; in this case, writing skill, because as it was
mentioned above, this project is focus on students written English so as to develop
it for writing complete texts instead of lists of sentences.
The same has a problem-solving nature. However, it is meant to be in a long term
process. As this project proposes how to improve students writing skill by means of
dialogue journals, the author is conscious of the process learning a new code has.
For that reason, this implementation has to have stages in which the level will be
demanding the more students improve their English level in general.
The current research project is a qualitative research because, as stated by
Mackey (2005)7, this kind of study is based on descriptive data that does not make
(regular) use of statistical procedures. That is to say that this study does not aim
to give an explanation for quantities or amounts, but rather to describe students
writing process. As a result, most of the research instruments that were taken into
consideration were description-based. Now, Mackey (2005) added that qualitative
studies do not control any factors related to the context where the phenomena is
7MACKEY, A. & Gass, S.M. (2005). Second Language Research: Methodology and Design. Hillsdale NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers
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being studied. Therefore, all the occurrences are examined and evaluated in the
context and the variables in which they take place.
Instruments:
Now, in order to carry out the current research project, were implemented a series
of instruments through which I was able to collect data (see next chapter), namely,
field notes and students artifacts. The first one copes with the record I kept of the
most important events that took place in the class. This instrument was especially
useful in order to raise awareness of the most important aspects that were useful in
order to complete the characterization of students writing skill when implementing
dialogue journals.
Since the researcher is fully involved within the context in which the participants
take place, these recordings were particularly useful at the very moment of making
evident those elements that might get undistinguishable to the researcher at first
sight. Moreover, the former contributed to gather truthful and reliable information.
According to Burns (2003), (.) the observations recorded in notes can be
oriented in different ways, from the overall impressions of the classroom, to specific
aspects of the research, to recordings made about one or more students.
On the other hand, the artifacts that were taken into account in the current
research project correspond to the dialogue journals students crafted as this study
went along. The same were used in order to collect the information I needed to
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support this study. These artifacts shaped into dialogue journals which consisted of
a written conversation held between students and their tutors in which there is no
focus on form, but on meaning. The latter contributed to complete the
characterization of students writing skills under the influence of dialogue journals.
The latter served two main purposes in the current research project namely, the
implementation of the approach and as an instrument.
The exploration of English foreign language students writing skill was an activity
that complemented the process students had in the English classes within the
institution. It relied on the development of some students dialogue journals. Here
the interaction was possible because it implied one to one communication and a
threatening-free atmosphere in which students negotiated meaning and interact
with each other by making comments about what was written by the teacher. Also,
it is important to say that, since the Institution teaches grammar in an inductive
way, all the grammatical topics were placed on the syllabus each teacher receives
at the beginning of the course.
The idea was that teacher researcher took into account those topics to develop
dialogue journals in class. Here he used the syllabus in order to come up with new
activities in which the grammar or language focus had to be used. Based on that,
the activities were planned following the syllabus and the topics studied the last
classes. Thus, there were a connection between both classes and the dialogue
activities. However, in the dialogue journals it is the students, notthe teacher, the
one that are going to propose a general topic in which students had to write what
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they thought about it. For instance, if the topic was about sports, students were
supposed to write either a description of the sport they loved, practiced, and so
forth, or narrated if they practiced or not sports and why.
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CHAPTER IV
DATA ANALYSIS
This research project intends to characterize students writing performance when
implementing dialogue journals. In order to do so, I have collected the data I
needed through field notes and students artifacts8. The former were written as
soon as the class was over in order to keep track of the main situations which took
place within the classroom. This instrument was taken into consideration because,
according to Hopkins (1995)9, it provides the researcher with factual, reliable and,
somehow, objective insights on different classroom situations.
These field notes were employed to keep track of students written process within
the dialogue journals framework and the phenomena which appeared surrounding
or contributing to the development of it (see the next chart). Also, they were a
useful tool in order to make evident those elements which took place in the
classroom because, in accordance with Hopkins, D (1995), they can provide the
researcher with a continuous description of a specific phenomenon that is
amendable to interpretation and use in a case study. Moreover, these field notes
helped gather, as previously mentioned, factual and objective information since, as
8These artifacts were mostly extracted from the dialogue journals they work on during the class. These
journals were based upon students interests and worked as an informal, written conversation where they
were able to convey whatever they wanted to down on the paper.9
HOPKINS, D. (1995). Data gathering. In:A teachers guide to classroom research . Open University press,
London. (p. 117 - 137)
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stated by Burns (2001)10, (.) the observations recorded in notes can be oriented
in different ways, from the overall impressions of the classroom, to specific aspects
of the research, to recordings made about one or more students. Thus, since the
teacher researcher was in immersed within the same context as the participants,
these field notes contributed to reveal those elements which were not that tangible
at first sight: They provided a space for reflection and analysis.
In addition, I allowed for some students artifacts11. These artifacts were useful for
the current study because, in accordance with Halliday (1995), they would enable
me, as teacher researcher, on the one hand, to assess students writing
performance, to keep track of it and its development, and diagnose some areas for
further action as the project went along. On the other hand, it allowed me to
explore the role of Dialogue Journals in terms of negotiation of meaning and
interaction in English foreign language students writing skill.
Furthermore, it permitted me to analyze up to what extent Dialogue Journals
promoted the use of the foreign language for communicative purposes in English
foreign language students writing skill. All in all, these instruments were useful in
order to collect information to support the current study. Based upon them, I was
able to identify some specific actions recurring in my classes which came out of the
data. Then, I selected diverse symbols which were employed to analyze students
10BURNS, A. (2001). Research for English language teachers. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
11These artifacts were the same dialogue journal students worked on during the class.
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writing performance. Following, I was able to select the relevant information in
order to answer the research question.
Now, all the process of gathering data bore fruit, and, as a result of it, I could come
up with a series of categories which are henceforth going to be elaborated on. The
same were grouped in accordance with the research question and taking into
consideration the instruments for data gathering. These categories are the
following: Students conceiving the paper as an outlet for spontaneous
expression and the influence of peers in students development of meaning.
The latter are shown in the next chart:
Research question
What are the characteristics of students writing performance when implementing
dialogue journals?
Categories Patterns
The paper as an outlet for self
expression
Students conception of the
journals as a space for
communication.
Resorting to the association of a
series of referens12.
12Here, I mean the thing or the idea that a symbol denotes.
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Studentsdynamics to understate
writing tasks
Decision-making stage.
Discussing ones ideas before
taking off:
Students repeating their peers
layouts
Students conceiving the paper as an outlet for self expression
To begin with, the name of this category comes out from some recurring
phenomena observed and extracted from the data gathering instruments when
students were conveying their ideas and/or thoughts. In this context, students use
the paper to get their meaning across in the class without running the risk of being
misunderstood due to the fact that all topics they write about are of mutual interest
for both students and teacher. These topics were socialized along with students at
the very beginning of the course and, as a result, students voted on the ones they
liked the most and teacher use this sort of survey to craftthe order of the lessons.
Therefore, their learning process becomes meaningful to them because, in
accordance with Hedge (1998)
13
, it is far more motivating for students if theirwriting can become genuine pieces of communication where they are in touch with
a real audience whom they can share their ideas with. In the dialogue journals
13HEDGE, Tricia (1998). Writing. Oxford University Press, New York.
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students worked on throughout the current study, they were free to express
whatever they wanted to regarding the topic they had previously selected. As a
matter of fact, students wrote with a communicative purpose because in their
dialogue journals they talk about the aspects they were interested in. Now, as
stated by Nunan (2003)14, student writers are enabled to develop their
communicative skills dramatically because they are able to use the target language
in a factual context and with authentic purposes. This is the case of the third grade
students who participated in the current research project. They were able to
elaborate on the items they were concerned about. Here, students could
communicate and negotiate meaning by writing their dialogue journals in which
they are going to express their ideas and thoughts freely.
Thus, the student writers employed the paper as a channel for spontaneous
expression. Within this category, I found two patterns which I am going to work out
in detail: Students conception of their journals as a space for communication
and resorting to the association of a series ofreferens.
In the former, students use the paper as a means to release their urge to express
themselves. In this manner, the paper works as a catalyzerfor their creativity. They
sail along its surface in a swiftly way: they explore freely the surroundings and
boundaries of their meaning. Accordingly, students knead their meaning through
14NUNAN, David (2003). Designing tasks for the communicative classroom. Cambridge UniversityPress, United Kingdom: Cambridge.
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the paper which takes the form of images and intricate mixtures of L1 and L2 (see
the next item). It is worth mention here that students use these referens
spontaneously probably as a source to release the above-mentioned urge for
communication. Hence, students take their time to convey the meaning the aim to
communicate to the reader. This particular case is illustrated in the following
excerpt from one of the field notes:
> (Field
note # 4; artifact # 1)
> (artifact #3; field note # 5)
Here, I could see that this participant was deeply concerned about being
understood by the reader of the entry she was writing in her journal. This element
clearly shows an aim to get her meaning across. Thus, this student is making use
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of her communicative competence in which, in accordance with Hymes (1972)15,
an individual brings into play his/her tacit social and interactional abilities to get a
message across. Here she is taking the role not only of a speakingmember of the
class but also plays as a subject who actually wants to convey something to her
feasible reader who is, in this case, the teacher researcher. This aspect is made
evident when she says: Teacher, yo quiero que tu sepas cmo es Carla y dnde
le gusta estar en la casa.In here, she expects the reader to be able to understand
what she meant when she craftedthe paper.
In the second sample, one can notice that students were expressing their feelings
through their dialogue journals. In here, this participant was particularly anxious
due to the fact that her cat had died in recent days. She said she missed her cat
very much but it just did not matter because she knew she had to move on with
her life because her mother had promised her to get a new cat for her (field note
#5). The latter leads us to consider the use of the paper as a tool to communicate
their sentiments with whom the student writer had developed an affective bond.
Thus, the paper is no longer regarded as a rigid element which cannot be shaped,
but rather as a supple material which can be easily kneaded. Therefore, students
acknowledge the paper as an instrument though which they are able to express
their ideas and/ or thoughts about the things they are interested in without running
the risk of being judged. They felt free to embody whatever they wanted to in their
15HYMES, D (1972). On communicative competence. Sociolinguistics. Eds. Pride, J.B. and Holmes
J. London: Penguin books.
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journals. One can see this aspect in the next extracts which is part of the answer to
an entry I had written (here I include my own entry in the second one):
> (Artifact #6)
The latter is part of a note I received when I was in the middle of a lesson. In here
a student came closer and gave a piece of paper which contained a precise
requirement. As one can notice, this entry had a particular structure and a specific
purpose. The former shaped into praise for my work and then, the student writer
jumped into the next step: asking me to name her the class monitor. This
phenomenon showed that students were now using the language for
communicative issues. In this context, the student writer tries to convince me to
make her my monitor because she considers I had been the best teacher she ever
had. In this aspect, this participant is bringing into play the above-mentioned tacit
social and interactional abilities to get her meaning across: she used the social
rules she knew in order to make a formal request. Now, in the next excerpt, one
can notice that students felt free to express whatever they wanted to in the
journals:
(Hi, Mara Camila, / I think Joshua is a very beautiful dog. / I love dogs too. Please, tell me
more. / Teacher Jhoinis)
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hojo rosado y el otro caf tambin es bobito y tiene una mirada muy
hermosa y yo juego mucho con el. >>(Artifact # 2)
(field note #
5; artifact #3)
As it can be noticed, this participant expresses her ideas in a natural way up to
such an extent that her ideas are not connected or separated by any means but by
the use of y. In here, one can also point out the fact that this student writer
recourse to both the mixture of Spanish and English, and the implementation of her
mother tongue to get their messages across. This phenomenon leads us to our
next pattern: (students)resorting to the association of a series ofreferens16.
16I am introducing here this concept which represents the thing or the idea that a symbol denotes.
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This pattern is made up by the correlation of a set of referenswhich are the end
result of the free exploration process the participants went through as they were
crafting their papers. Now, as stated above, this freedom of exploration of ones
meaning takes place inside the subject when the individual itself interacts with his
mind and his cognitive elements (see the first chapter under the title the Present
Research Perspective). At this point, students make different connections and/or
associations between the elements they are familiar with. Thus, these so-called
associations might make no sense for the common spectator at first sight, but for
students the relationships between one element and another are very evident. This
is, then, the result of their personal quest, among diverse ingredients, to convey