Teachers can use dialog journals to inspire their students to write. Such a method allows students to write and teachers to answer without worrying about red marks or negative comments. The article suggests topics to get students writing and ideas for encouraging students to write. (SM)

A demonstration writing project involving 97 primary through secondary students with learning disabilities is described. Students developed journals containing ongoing written dialogues with teachers, who also corrected student errors through examples in their own responses. Procedures, integration with writing curriculum, and results of journal…

Research suggests that the informal language of journals is very important. Language scholars such as J. Vygotsky (1962), J. Moffell (1968, 1982), P. Elbow (1973, 1982), and M. Shaughnessy (1977) believe that human beings find meaning through exploration in their own talking language. To add to the evidence in this area, a study conducted in an…

Teachers in the social sciences have found that journals can be useful tools in their classes. Depending on the needs and preferences of the teacher, a variety of formats can be used: highly structured journals based on regular teacher-directed classroom and homework assignments or completely free-form diary-like personal types. No matter what the…

This essay considers the many benefits of journal writing. It explains how one person learned, during a 26-mile commute, to talk into a tape recorder slowly, leaving sizable pauses between phrases to facilitate transcription later on; how journal writing is a way to catch moments in the day, to describe a scene or to make connections that one…

In one technical writing course, students write frequently in journals in a variety of exercises, including summarizing articles for other students, responding to topics introduced in class, writing drafts of papers, and clarifying teacher comments. The technique has proven effective in helping students organize thoughts and develop writing…

Through journal writing children have the opportunity to explore learning, feelings, experiences and language. It is a very effective means of helping students develop writing skills through a process approach. Here is a framework for exploring the possibility of including a journal writing program in an elementary school curriculum: (1) consider…

By participating in carefully managed writing exercises at the end of class, physical education students can learn to set goals, evaluate themselves, and communicate effectively. The article presents excerpts from student journals in which students express their feelings about their own work and how the class is taught. (SM)

This report defines and describes audiotaped dialogue journals produced by fourth year, Chilean university students in their English class. The taped journals were used as a way for students to obtain additional practice in reading, writing, listening, and speaking in an environment where school was the only place they practiced their English. The…