Research on journal writing as an extra activity to improve lac hong university second and third year english student formal writing skill

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY
UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

----------[”\ ----------

RESEARCH ON JOURNAL WRITING
AS AN EXTRA ACTIVITY TO IMPROVE
LAC HONG UNIVERSITY SECOND AND THIRD YEAR
ENGLISH STUDENTS’ FORMAL WRITING SKILL

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (TESOL)

Submitted by
Supervisor:

LE DUC THINH
PETER LEONARD, M.A

HO CHI MINH CITY, DECEMBER 2008


CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled:

RESEARCH ON JOURNAL WRITING AS AN EXTRA ACTIVITY
TO IMPROVE LAC HONG UNIVERSITY SECOND AND THIRD-YEAR
ENGLISH STUDENTS’ FORMAL WRITING SKILL

In terms of the Statement of Requirements for Theses in Master’s Programs

issued by the Higher Degree Committee

Ho Chi Minh City, December 29, 2008

LE DUC THINH

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RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Le Duc Thinh, being the candidate for the degree of
Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the
retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library.

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis
deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and
research, in accordance with normal conditions established by the Library for
care, loan or reproduction for theses.

Ho Chi Minh City, December 29, 2008

LE DUC THINH

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ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
Firstly, I, the author of this thesis, would like express my great gratitude to
my thesis supervisor, Mr. Peter Leonard, M.A., who has wholeheartedly and

enthusiastically given me numerous useful instructions and comments for the
preparation and completion of this research.
Secondly, I wish to thank Dr. Tran Hanh, the rector of Lac Hong University
and Associate Professor Tran Thi Hong, Ph.D., the dean of the Faculty of Foreign
Languages for encouraging me to complete this thesis.
Thirdly, I would like to express my special thanks to my colleagues who
were willingly responsive to my survey questionnaire. Especially, I wish to thank
Mr. Nguyen Hoang Khanh M.A., Mr. Le Tuan Dat M.A., and Ms. Nguyen Thi
Kim Chung, M.A, who have helped me mark the students’ pre-trial and post-trial
tests, and given me valuable ideas and advice for my research to come into being.
Fourthly, I highly appreciate Mr. Nguyen Van Tan, Ph.D., the head of the
Research and Post-university Training Department of Lac Hong University, for
showing me how to analyze the statistics on the collected data during the research.
Fifthly, I also feel obliged to all of my 161 students who have ardently taken
part in this study because without their full cooperation, certainly this research
would have been impossible.
Sixthly, I especially acknowledge all the authors whose books served as a
precious guide that gave me insights during the time I worked on this paper. I
know I owe them a lot for the fulfilment of this thesis as well as my professional
advancement in the future.
Finally, my special thanks are for my family, especially for my wife and my
son, who have encouraged and supported me with all their hearts from the
beginning to the completion of this study.

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ABSTRACT
Accuracy and fluency are the usual problems in writing in English as a
foreign language (abbreviated to EFL) with the students of English in Lac Hong

University (abbreviated to LHU) in particular and with Vietnamese students of
English in general. The frequent lack of motivation with which they often engage
in the writing activities is another problem. This research will show how journal
writing, as an extra activity, can improve students' accuracy and fluency in their
academic writing and how such an activity can enhance students’ writing
motivation. Both quantitative and qualitative methods are employed to analyze
the collected data, to generate the results, and to interpret the outcomes.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Certificate of Originality .......................................................................................... i
Retention and Use of the Thesis .............................................................................. ii
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. iii
Abstract ................................................................................................................... iv
Table of Contents ..................................................................................................... v
List of Abbreviations.............................................................................................. vii
List of Tables......................................................................................................... viii
List of Figures ......................................................................................................... ix
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1
1.1. The Statement of the Problem .................................................................... 1
1.2. The Purpose of the Research ...................................................................... 3
1.3. Hypotheses ................................................................................................. 4
1.4. The Research Questions ............................................................................. 4
1.5. Significance of the Study ........................................................................... 4
1.6. The Definitions of the Key Terms ............................................................. 4
1.7. The Assumptions and Reliability ............................................................... 5
1.8. The Limitations of the Research ................................................................ 5

1.9. The Delimitations of the Research ............................................................. 6
1.10. The Organization of the Thesis ................................................................. 6
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................ 7
2.1. Students’ EFL Writing Problems ................................................................ 7
2.2. What Can Be Done to Solve Students’ EFL Writing Problems? ............. 10
2.3. Conclusion of the Literature Review ........................................................ 16
Chapter 3: THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURES .. 17
3.1. The Research Methodology ...................................................................... 17
3.2. The Background and the Subjects of the Research .................................. 17
3.3. The teachers and the syllabi for the writing courses ................................. 18
3.4. The Instruments of the Research ............................................................... 19
3.5. The Procedures of the Research ............................................................... 21
Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS OF THE FINDINGS .. 25
4.1. Reports on the Results of the Pre-trial and Post-trial Tests and
Interpretations of the Results ................................................................... 25
4.1.1. Report on the Levels of Fluency....................................................... 30
4.1.2. Interpretations of the Levels of Fluency ........................................... 31
4.1.3. Report on the Levels of Accuracy ..................................................... 33
4.1.4. Interpretations of the Levels of Accuracy.......................................... 34
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4.1.5. Report on the Average Marks ............................................................ 35
4.1.6. Interpretations of the Differences on the Average Marks ................. 36
4.2. Summary of the Results of the Pre-trial and Post-trial Tests .................... 37
4.3. Reports on What Happened during the Research and on the Students’
Writing Motivation .................................................................................. 37
4.3.1. The First Phase of the Research ........................................................ 37
4.3.2. The Second Phase of the Research ................................................... 41
4.3.3. The Third Phase of the Research ...................................................... 49

4.4. Summary of the Report on What Happened during the Research and the
Students’ Writing Motivation ...................................................................... 52
Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................... 53
5.1. Summary of the Findings.................................................................................. 53
5.2. Closing Remarks ............................................................................................... 54
5.3. Recommendations............................................................................................. 54
5.3.1. Recommendations to Students of English .............................................. 54
5.3.2. Recommendations to Teachers of Writing .............................................. 55
5.3.3. Recommendations for Further Research ................................................. 56
REFERENCES....................................................................................................... 57
APPENDIX 1: The Contents and Procedures for Writing 3.................................. 60
APPENDIX 2: The Contents and Procedures for Writing 5.................................. 61
APPENDIX 3: Questionnaire to Teachers of Writing ........................................... 62
APPENDIX 4: Pre-Questionnaire to Students ...................................................... 64
APPENDIX 5: The Pre-trial Tests ......................................................................... 66
APPENDIX 6: The Post-trial Tests ....................................................................... 67
APPENDIX 7: The Sheet of Instructions .............................................................. 68
APPENDIX 8: Correction Symbol Checklist ........................................................ 70
APPENDIX 9: Marking Criteria ........................................................................... 72
APPENDIX 10: Post-Questionnaire to the Students in the two EGs ................... 73

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CG

: Control Group

CUP

: Cambridge University Press

EFL

: English as a Foreign Language

EG

: Experimental Group

ESL

: English as a Second Language

FFL

: Faculty of Foreign Languages

HCMC

: Ho Chi Minh City

LHU

: Lac Hong University

M.A

: Master of Arts

OUP

: Oxford University Press

P.G

: Post Graduate

Stdev

: Standard Deviation

TESOL

: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

USSH

: University of Social Sciences and Humanities

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LIST OF TABLES

Page
Chapter 4
Table 4.1:

The results of the pre-trial and post-trial tests earned by the
students in CG1 ..................................................................26

Table 4.2:

The results of the pre-trial and post-trial tests earned
by the students in EG1 .......................................................27

Table 4.3:

The results of the pre-trial and post-trial tests earned
by the students in CG2 .......................................................28

Table 4.4:

The results of the pre-trial and post-trial tests earned
by the students in EG2 .......................................................29

Table 4.5:

The statistics on the levels of fluency ...................................30

Table 4.6:

The statistics on the levels of accuracy .....................................33

Table 4.7:

The differences in the average marks .......................................35

Table 4.8:

The results of the pre-questionnaire to the students ..........39

Table 4.9:

The results of the post-questionnaire to the students
in the two EGs ...........................................................................50

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LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1: The differences in the average number of words...........................31
Figure 4.2: The differences in the levels of task completion............................31
Figure 4.3: The differences in the levels of accuracy ......................................34
Figure 4.4: The differences in the average marks ............................................36

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Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. The statement of the problem

Among the four basic language skills in the process of language learning,
“competent writing is frequently accepted as being the last language skill to be
acquired for native speakers of the language as well as for foreign/second
language learners.” [Hamp and Heasky 1994: 2]. As English is a global language
of communication in various fields, students’ success in English writing brings
them great benefits not only in learning English but also in their future jobs.
However, writing in EFL is very difficult for the second and third-year students
of English in LHU in particular and to most EFL learners in general. My survey
showed that up to 96.75% of the second and third-year students of English at
LHU found EFL writing difficult and that 66.67% of the teachers who are
experienced in teaching EFL writing at the Faculty of Foreign Languages
(abbreviated to FFL) in LHU for a long time had the common complaint that in
most cases, their students' writings were generally poor and difficult to follow.
The situation is true even in many colleges and universities where English is a
major subject. Teachers may feel at first surprised, then disappointed at the fact
that many students are quite good at speaking and listening and are able to get
across at least some of their complicated ideas in spoken English, but they
frequently remain unsatisfactory in writing, especially in terms of accuracy and
fluency. What is more, as a result, this barrier gradually diminishes the students'
motivation whenever they are involved in a writing activity.
These problems are attributed to many factors, of which the following
ones may be the most obvious.
Firstly, effective writing requires a high level of vocabulary, good ideas,
and the good ability to organize sentences into paragraphs or essays logically and
coherently. Compared with speech, proficient writing requires a higher degree of

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accuracy and fluency. In writing, mistakes and half-finished sentences are not
usually acceptable because writing is always expected to be correct.
The second cause that makes EFL learners’ writing poor is the lack of
practice due to the lack of motivation. When carrying out a writing activity, most
students are afraid of making mistakes because they hold the belief that spoken
words go with the wind, but if they write something wrong, it will remain forever
on paper. This makes EFL students feel reluctant and lazy to write. Additionally,
EFL learners also suffer from the disadvantages of not getting immediate
feedback from addressees and sometimes getting no feedback at all for their
writing pieces. 75.97% of the students participating in my survey said that they
spent just some hours per week practising their writing skill, especially
performing the assigned tasks; 11.69% practised their writing every two days;
and only 12.34% practised their writing every day. Up to 68.18% of them said
that they did not like carrying out their writing assignments which, as they said,
did not motivate them enough to think and write. Only 31.82% liked performing
their writing assignments. On the other hand, 92.86% of them said that they
practised listening and speaking every day. In the interviews between the
researcher and the students participating in the research, many students said that
they disliked writing because they were often forced to write about what was
assigned by their teacher rather than about what they wanted to. Therefore, they
sometimes had nothing to write.
The third main cause of students' poor writing in EFL is their habit of
thinking in their mother tongue when writing in English. This is a universal
problem of people living in one culture and learning to write in the language of
another culture. All of the teachers of writing in the FFL in LHU, who
participated in my survey, said that they recognized that a majority of their
students often thought in Vietnamese and then translated into English whenever

carrying out any writing assignment in the classroom. For the students, 98.05% of
those participating in my survey admitted to doing so whenever performing a

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writing task in English. This results in their bad writing in EFL and takes them
much more time to translate from Vietnamese into English.
It is because of the main problems above that not many EFL learners
succeed in their formal writing, especially in terms of accuracy and fluency.
1.2. The purpose of the research
How can we solve the aforementioned problems? Perhaps the answers to
this question are multiple and involve many people, ranging from education
policy makers, methodologists, researchers to teachers and even to the learners
themselves. A lot of research has been carried out in Vietnam so far to find
suitable solutions for these problems. However, little research has focused on
journal writing as an extra activity to improve students’ formal writing skill. As a
teacher of English in LHU, I, the conductor of this research, often think that with
more patience and devotion, teachers can help their students improve their
writing skills outside the classroom by giving them more stress-free opportunities
to write about their thoughts, feelings and events happening around them every
day. As a common belief goes, “Regular practice makes perfect,” journal writing,
when being practised on a regular basis, is believed to enhance the quality of
students' formal writing in terms of accuracy and fluency by providing students
with good opportunities to think in and write in the language they are learning.
Moreover, most of the time when students are taught EFL writing in the

classroom, they are taught how to write rather than what to write, and when they
have opportunities to write, they are often forced to write according to what is
assigned by their teachers. What is more, the audience for their writing is always
their teacher who is often interested in correct structures and grammar rather than
interesting ideas. This discourages them from writing. Therefore, journal writing,
as a free-stress extensive activity outside the classroom, can motivate students to
write as much as they like to, because it allows them to decide on not only the
purposes, but also the audience for themselves, and thus, when becoming a habit,

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it will give them the power to communicate effectively through writing whenever
that power is needed in their real life.
It is these assumptions that urge me to carry out this study "Research on
journal writing as an extra activity to improve Lac Hong University second and
third-year English students' formal writing skill".
1.3. Hypotheses
The research is conducted on the basis of the following hypotheses:
1.3.1. Journal writing, as an extra writing activity, can help improve students'
formal writing skill in terms of accuracy and fluency.
1.3.2. Journal writing can enhance students' writing motivation.
1.4. The research questions
Two main questions, whose answers will confirm if the hypotheses set up by
the researcher are true, guide this study:
1.4.1. Can journal writing, as an extra writing activity, help improve students'

formal writing in terms of accuracy and fluency?
1.4.2. Can journal writing enhance students' writing motivation?
1.5. The significance of the study
As mentioned above, journal writing may help improve the quality of
students' formal writing in formal situations. Little research, however, has been
done on this issue in Vietnam so far. Therefore, this research aims at discovering
whether journal writing is worth being applied to help improve accuracy and
fluency in students' formal writing, and whether it can enhance students' writing
motivation. This research is carried out with the hope of helping students to write
better through journal writing.
1.6. The definitions of the key terms
Besides the term "journal", this research mainly deals with two aspects of
a good writing, "accuracy" and "fluency", and one element leading to good
writing, "motivation", and some other key terms for which dictionaries of
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different fields may have different definitions, but in this research, they are
particularly defined as follows:
1.6.1. JOURNAL: Journals are notebooks in which students can
spontaneously record their feelings, thoughts, reactions, questions, events and so
on happening around them every day.
1.6.2. ACCURACY: the correct spelling, grammar, punctuation marks, choice
of words, and the proper use of transition signals in the writing context, measured
by the errors or mistakes made by students in these areas of the language.
1.6.3. FLUENCY: the ease with which students write, measured by the

writing speed, the smooth flow of ideas, the number of words and the level of
task completion in limited time.
1.6.4. MOTIVATION: the stimulation of interest or eagerness that keeps
students continuing to write all the time thus making writing an active process of
learning.
1.6.5. FORMAL WRITING: Formal writing includes academic tasks which
students are asked to write during their writing course.
1.7. The assumptions and reliability
The study is based on the following assumptions and reliability:
1.7.1. The sample population of the second and third-year students of English
in the FFL of LHU was the representative of the majority of students of English
in LHU in particular and in Vietnam in general.
1.7.2. The methods and the procedures of data collection and analyses were
reliable and appropriate to obtain the information to answer the research questions.
1.7.3. The respondents and informants were honest in their responses and
information.
1.8. The limitations of the research
In fact, journal writing had been mentioned for a long time before it was
first introduced to me in 2005 by Mr. Peter Leonard, who taught me Writing P.G.
when I first began this course in TESOL, and who is also my thesis advisor. His
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purpose at that time was both to get our reflections and responses to his lectures
and to help us improve our writing skills. Then, I found that journal writing did
improve my general writing skill to some extent. Therefore, this research is

conducted to find out whether it works well with my students, too.
1.9. The delimitations of the research
Due to the limitations of materials and time, the nature of this study, its
research methods, as well as the teaching contexts which may be greatly
different in different universities throughout Vietnam, this research is limited to
only the second and third-year students of English in the FFL of LHU to obtain
its thorough results. The particular sample of the second and third-year students
of English participating in the study may also limit the generalization of the
results. However, this research is believed to be worth at least a trial in other
English classes of LHU as well as in other universities where teaching and
learning EFL writing is the main concern.
1.10. The Organization of the thesis
This paper consists of five chapters.
Chapter 1 is the introduction. In this chapter, the researcher stated the
problems related to students’ EFL writing skills. After highlighting the problems,
he set the hypotheses, the purpose and the significance of the study. The
following parts are the definitions of the key terms, assumptions, limitation and
delimitation of the research.
Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature and the studies relevant to this
research.
Chapter 3 shows the research methodology and procedure.
Chapter 4 show the findings of the research and discussion of the findings.
Finally, chapter 5 concludes the study and gives some recommendations to
EFL learners, to writing teachers, and for further research.

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Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Students’ EFL writing problems
Students’ success in learning EFL includes being able to perform the
writing tasks assigned by the teacher in an acceptable, if not an excellent way.
Their success in EFL writing brings them benefits not only in their studies but
also in their future jobs. Unfortunately, for many students who study EFL,
writing seems to be very difficult. Harmer (1992: 53) has stated, “From the point
of view of language teaching, there is often far greater pressure for written
accuracy than there is for accuracy in speaking.” In term of fluency, Nunan
(1999) has affirmed that producing a coherent, fluent, extended writing piece is
probably the most difficult thing in language because the reader has to understand
what has been written without asking for clarification or relying on the writer’s
tone of voice or expression. EFL learners also suffer from the disadvantages of
not getting immediate feedback from addressees and sometimes getting no
feedback at all for their writing pieces. About this problem, Hedge (1991: 6) has
said:
The writer is a lonely figure cut off from the stimulus and corrective of
listeners. He must be a predicator of reactions and act on his predictions. He
writes with one hand tied behind his back, being robbed of gesture. He is
also robbed of the tone of his voice and the aids of clues the environment
provides. He is condemned to monologue: there is no one to help out, to put
words in his mouth or to make encouraging noises.

Quoting Byrne’s words about this problem, Tho (2000: 36) has
maintained:
Writing is essentially a solitary activity and the fact that we are required to

write on our own, without the possibility of interaction or the benefit of
feedback, in itself makes the act of writing difficult.

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The nature of writing itself is not interesting enough to motivate English
learners to practice regularly. Hedge (1991: 6) has mentioned, “The nature of
writing itself is also an unpleasant experience.” Students are often afraid of
making mistakes. To them, nothing is more discouraging than doing a writing
task and knowing that it will come under the eyes of the teacher who will
consider it as a source of errors to be corrected. Some studies have been done on
this area. For example, Hamp and Heasley (1994: 2) have said:
Few people write spontaneously and feel comfortable with a formal writing
task intended for the eyes of someone else. When the "someone else" is the
teacher, whose eyes may be critical, and who indeed may assign an individual
assessment to the written product, most people feel uncomfortable.

Many students not only find writing uninteresting but also dislike it
because they are often asked to write about what is assigned by their teacher
rather than about what they like. Reynold (1993: 5) has mentioned:
Other people dislike writing because they feel they have nothing to write
about. When the teacher makes an assignment, they sit at their desks
wondering what they are going to say in the composition. Those feelings
are not unusual. Even professional writers sometimes find it difficult to
express themselves in writing.

The fact that students are often forced to write about what is assigned by
their teacher causes them to have very few, or no ideas at all to write because the
topic given by the teacher may be the one that students have never heard about or
take no interest in. Byrne (1991: 5) has assumed, “Being at a loss for ideas is a
familiar experience to most of us when we are obliged to write.” Speaking about
this issue, Tho (2000: 36) has also voiced his argument, “Non-native writers may
not have enough ideas to write down or, even worse, they have nothing to say.”
The aforementioned problems results in the lack of motivation which leads
to students’ bad writing. Mentioning this issue, Tho (2000: 38) has said:
Writers can hardly write well because there is lack of real motivation – both
internal and external. First, they are forced to write rather than they want to
do it themselves. Without inspiration, writing becomes a harder struggle.
One would find it hard to perform a task well if he is not doing it out of
will. Second, the student writer generally does not have a concrete reason or
purpose of writing for a real audience.
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Besides the lack of motivation, time pressure is another cause that hinders
students’ writing efficiency. In the classroom, students are always forced to carry
out their writing tasks in a certain length of time. Therefore, many students
sometimes cannot finish their tasks. Weir (1990: 61) has given a worthy remark
on this issue:
Time pressure is often an unrealistic constraint for extended writing and
writing timed essays is not normally done outside of academic life. For

most people the writing process is lengthier and may involve several tasks
before a finished version is produced.

Talking about the same issue, Chanderasegaran (2002: 14) has also pointed
out, “A problem to be expected in the writing classroom is that some students
take much longer than others to write the required parts of the essay. Many never
finish their writing in class." According to her, this is a universal problem with
students in writing classes everywhere, including even in those where students
have to write in their mother tongue. With students of EFL, it is naturally much
more critical because many EFL learners often think in Vietnamese and then
translate into English whenever carrying out any EFL writing assignment due to
the deep interference of their mother tongue and their own culture with their EFL
learning. This contributes to their poor writing since “differences in the language
structures, the manner of expressing thoughts, writing styles, and other culturally
varying factors greatly affect the writing of an EFL learner.” [Benson and
Heidish (1995, in Izzo 1998: 117)].
Discussing the interference of one’s mother tongue and native culture with
his EFL writing, Brown (1994: 323) has also confirmed:
No one can deny the effect of one’s native culture, or one’s predisposition
that is the product of perhaps years of schooling, reading, writing, thinking,
asserting, arguing, and defending. In our current paradigm of attending
carefully to schemata and scripts, native language patterns of thinking and
writing simply cannot be ruled out.

In reality, when writing in EFL, students often try to develop their ideas in
Vietnamese and then translate into English. Therefore, many errors in students’
EFL writing results from their translation. Tho (2000: 31) has said:
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When writing, students often work out a sentence in their own language and
then try to translate by a one word to one word matching process.
Consequently, their texts contains odd expressions, ungrammatical phrases,
and nonsensical sentences…. If employed, translation damages not only
grammar but also vocabulary, for students force themselves to encounter
sophisticated vocabulary and get it wrong.

Mentioning the negative affect of applying translation in writing process,
Tho (2000: 66) continues, “Once having been used to the habit of translation
from one’s mother tongue, students are badly affected by the mother tongue in
the foreign language writing process because negative transfer is inevitable.”
Should teachers let their students automatically grow out of the
aforementioned difficulties? Should teachers try to remove all academic writing
in formal classes in order to avoid such negative circumstances? Of course the
answer is "no" because formal writing tasks at school are part of education, and
because writing skills are critically important not only for students' academic
success, but also for their life-long career as Glazier (1994: 03) has confirmed,
“Being able to write in English is essential in college, and it probably will be an
asset in your career.”
2.2. What can be done to solve students’ EFL writing problems?
To avoid such negative circumstances, many authors and writers have so
far given their various points of view. For example, in the viewpoint of Hamp
and Heasley (1994: 2), "The atmosphere of the writing classroom should be
warm, and supportive, and non-threatening." Such a positive atmosphere can be
produced by a procedure in which teachers involve their students in what they
write as a Chinese proverb goes, “Tell me and I forget; show me and I remember;

involve me and I understand.” In the light of this saying, if teachers just explain
the organization or the grammatical rules that students need for their writing, they
are likely to forget very soon. But if teachers model, they will understand.
However, understanding how to write is no use unless the teachers involve their
students in the process of writing, which means giving them opportunities to
express themselves and their personal feelings.
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It is also important to consider the affective role of creative writing. In this
view, Tin (2004: 5) has said:
Writing is a tool for expressing oneself, personal feelings, and it is
associated with creative writing. Creative writing gives learners a chance to
write about things that are important and interesting to them, and a chance to
share personal aspects of their lives with other members of the class. It
enables learners to ‘become themselves’ in their new language and to take
control over their language by governing its product.

While classroom writing is an important academic requirement, writing
outside the classroom can be considered a useful tool to enhance it because
classroom time is always limited. Thanh (2007: 129) has said, “It is not always
easy to provide students with all the required knowledge in class.” And she has
suggested that the teacher should know how to inspire students’ passion for
studying both in and outside the classroom by themselves. Outside the classroom,
free from the pressure of time and the strictness of the given topic, students will
certainly feel more motivated to write whatever and whenever they feel like.

Chanderasegaran (2002: 14) has pointed out, “One solution is to ask students to
write at home.” Supporting Chanderasegaran’s solution, Thanh (2007: 129) has
suggested, “A good teacher should make the students motivated enough to carry
on their active and successful self-study at home.” Consequently, an extra writing
activity as journal writing should be added to formal ones in the classroom to
give students more opportunities to write about what they are thinking and
feeling. Tin (2004: 6) has said, “When feelings are evoked, students write above
their language abilities and writing becomes an enjoyable and pleasant task for
both students and teachers.” When writing becomes “an enjoyable and pleasant
task”, it will encourage students to write over and over and thus helps them
improve their writing skill. This is what John Langan (2000: 14) has said about
journal writing:
Because writing is a skill, it makes sense that the more you practise writing,
the better you will write. One excellent way to get practice writing, even
before you begin composing essays, is to keep a daily or almost daily journal.

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Talking about journals, Spaventa (2000:168) has said, “Journals are
notebooks in which writers keep a record of ideas, opinions, and description of
daily life. Journals help writers develop their creativity.”
Journal writing helps students write better and better day by day because it
provides students with more opportunities to freely write about what they want to
whenever they feel like writing. Hamp and Heasley (1994: 5) have suggested:
The most obvious way you can help yourself become a good writer is by

writing. We strongly suggest that in addition to completing the tasks, you
also keep your own personal journal. Buy yourself a notebook, and try to
write down some ideas everyday, in English, about anything that interests
you (…). You will surprise yourself by producing pages and pages of
writing.

The fact that students are given more chances to write about what interests
them is called “an active learning technique” by Chickering and Gamson (1987).
The two authors have written, “Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not
learn much just by sitting in classes listening…. They must talk about what they
are learning, write about it, relate it to their past experiences, and apply it to their
daily lives." [Chickering & Gamson, 1987: 5].
According to many authors, keeping a learner-journal, students can also
record their personal or life activities. The value of personal writing or life
writing has been discussed by many scholars and writers. Quoting the words of
Artof (1992) about this issue, Tin (2000: 49) has said:
It is a powerful tool to find our own untapped creative power, uncover our
family history, learn to see the world more clearly, heal unsolved issues,
understand our fears, and explore our motivation. Through personal writing,
we can develop both writing skills and awareness, can develop greater
awareness and interpersonal understanding, increasing the ability to relate to
others.

Quoting Ruth Spack and Cathy Sadow (1983) about journal writing, Ron
White and Valeria Arndt (1991: 63) have also voiced their argument:
Another technique based on keeping a journal is an idea developed by Ruth
Spack and Cathy Sadow (1983). The aim is to encourage students to become
involved and interested in writing by asking them to keep a journal. This will
not be assessed or even corrected, but will be read by the teacher, who will
respond in writing with remarks, questions, observations and opinions upon

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what the student has written. Thus, the purpose of the journal is a kind of
ongoing exchange of thoughts and ideas based upon the experiences and
reflections of readers and writers.

The main aim of keeping a journal is “to encourage students to become
involved and interested in writing” without worrying much about mistakes and
the pressure of time. This helps students feel that they are actually writing what
they want to, not simply doing exercises. Therefore, they find writing in EFL an
enjoyable experience. Spaventa (2000: 168) has confirmed, “The main point of
keeping a journal as a language student is to give you a chance to write about
your ideas without worrying about the grade or correct grammar. Journal writing
is practice in writing and thinking.”
Emphasizing the benefits of journal writing, Ron White and Valerie Arndt
(1991: 67) have explained:
This technique has been found to be an effective and productive means of
arousing interest in writing, which, at the same time, develops fluency of
expression. It also helps students to become aware of why they wish to
communicate their ideas and to regard writing not only as a means of
personal expression, but also a dialogue in written language with the reader.

Pointing out a twofold benefit for journal writing, Tan Jee Ngoh (2002: 27)
has said, “Journal writing provides students with good opportunities to improve
their writing skills individually and good chances to record their thoughts and

feelings.”
Adding to the benefits of journal writing, Spaventa (2000: 168) has also
maintained:
There are many rewards about keeping a journal. In addition to the informal
conversation that takes place in it between you and yourself and you and
your instructor: when you have finished the course, you will have a record of
what you read, what you experienced and what you thought about during that
time.

Discussing the benefits of journal writing, Hamp and Heasley (1994: 7)
have suggested that his learners, as their first attempt of keeping a journal,
consider the following statements:
1. The most important thing for me is to study more grammar.
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2. The most important thing for me is to memorize more useful expressions
and sentences.
3. The most important thing for me is to read more.
4. The most important thing for me is to have a lot of practice in writing.
5. The most important thing for me is to study more vocabulary.
6. The most important thing for me is to think about what makes writing effective.

In persuading his students of the merits of journal writing, John Lagan
(2000: 14) has also stated:
Writing a journal will help you develop the habit of thinking on paper and

show you how ideas can be discovered in the process of writing. A journal
can make writing a familiar part of your life and can serve as a continuing
source of ideas for papers.

Considering journal writing a way to develop the habit of transcribing one’s
thoughts onto paper is very largely synonymous to considering journal writing a
way to develop accuracy on paper. John Lagan (2000:3) again explained the
correlation between clear thinking and accuracy when he quoted the words of his
ex-teacher, "If you don’t think clearly, you won’t write clearly."
Of course we cannot expect the first pieces of journal writing by an average
student to be very clear, logical and able to express exactly what he or she wants
to express; however, in the long run, with the facilitation of the teachers, journal
writing can eventually lead to disciplined thinking and shape accuracy.
Furthermore, because "journal writing can show you how ideas can be discovered
in the process of writing" [Lagan, (2000: 14], it obviously helps to eliminate the
embarrassing situation in which students often find themselves short of ideas, and
thus encourages fluency. In the view of many authors, journal writing is, to some
extent, also considered one kind of creative writing that can help students
brainstorm ideas and write more proficiently and accurately. Tin (2004: 6) has
confirmed, “Creative writing activities can change students perceptions not only
about writing but also about themselves and the world they live in, lower their
anxiety, and develop their writing proficiency, accuracy and personalities.”
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Journal writing can also create another brilliant benefit that formal writing

in the classroom can rarely do. If formal writing tasks often make students
nervous, then journal writing can bring them closer to the teacher when they
know that they can trust their teacher as a "confidant". In this way, a positive and
supportive learning atmosphere will be created along with a strong learning
motivation, which students more and more incorporate into their formal writing.
Tan Jee Ngoh, (2002: 27) has written:
Through journal writing, a rapport between the teacher and the students
develops to a new level; either a daily or weekly response to students' writing
improves communication between the teachers and the students. It is
essential to remember that confidentiality is the key to the success of daily
journal writing.

One question remains not very clearly answered: the question of correction
in journal writing. As quoted above, it is very discouraging if the teacher treats
the students' writing as a source of errors to be corrected. Without correction,
however, how can the students know what aspect of language they should
improve?
To solve the problem, Ron White and Valiere Arndt (1991: 172) have
suggested:
Because writers have to achieve a high degree of autonomy and selfsufficiency, it is very important to promote ways of self-correcting from an
early stage …. Inevitably, we teachers will want to draw attention to
language items which seem to be important to us as readers. Several points
should be kept in mind when we do so:
•

•

Concentrate on language errors which have global rather than local
effects. This means attending to formal language errors which interfere
with meaning over a broader span than the individual clause or sentence.

Do not attempt to cover too many repairs. It is quite impossible for
learners to cope with too many problems simultaneously.

Supporting the solution for error correction, Hoang (2007: 154) has stated:
Teachers should be sensitive enough to tolerate some errors, especially those
that are evidence of learning taking place. Such an attitude to errors on the part
of the teacher will have positive effects on students, the most important of
which is to boost their confidence and overcome their fear of making mistakes.
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