Learning Journals for English Language Learners

What is a learning journal?

You may already keep a private diary or journal to record your personal thoughts and observations. A journal may be handwritten or typed, but it is not intended to be published. Unlike weblogs, Tumblr pages and social networkings sites, where we open up those observations to comments from others, a private journal is usually for our own reflection. That means we can write freely and without embarrassment or fear of criticism. Journals used in a class as an instructional tool are referred to as learning journals.

In the article, “Uses and Benefits of Journal Writing,” Roger Hiemstra, a professor of adult education and instructional design, writes that learning journals are used for “recording thoughts, reflections, feelings personal opinions, and even hopes or fears during an educational experience.” Although they are collected and read by the instructor, learning journals are not graded for grammatical accuracy, vocabulary use, organization, or other features of composition. Instead, they are intended for the student to record his or her feelings and opinions at that stage in the class, and for the instructor to be able to see what the student is thinking and feeling.

What are the benefits of journal writing?

There are many benefits of journal writing in terms of educational outcomes and personal growth and development. For language learners, research has shown that regular and frequent journal writing contributes to increased fluency and confidence in language use. When students are not worried about losing points for spelling or grammar, it frees them up to write freely, fluidly, and naturally. Beyond language learning, journal writing has benefits in developing reflection, synthesis, analysis, and other critical thinking skills. In the same article cited above, Hiemstra points out that a journal helps students to realize how their perspectives on a topic change and develop. Additionally, journaling helps students organize their thoughts on a specific topic, set and work towards goals, and improve their analytical thinking.

These benefits come not from simply recording thoughts on paper, but from students participating in a dialogue with themselves and/or an instructor. That requires re-reading and reflecting on what they have written. Finally, journals are an effective way to record and analyze emotions. It is common for students of English to experience anxiety about speaking, stress about getting a certain score on an important exam, or frustration about a slowdown in learning. Writing about these thoughts allows a student to process, and hopefully move on from, these negative feelings.

How do I get started with my learning journal?

Dedicate a small notebook to your journal; do not use this notebook for other purposes. Writing by hand will encourage you to write freely without editing or revising. If you must, type your journal, but keep your separate entries together so that you can go back and revisit your past writing. If you are studying independently, record your language learning goals. Write about what you are doing to reach those goals. If you are in a class, write about what happened during the lesson, what you have learned, and what questions you still have. If anything particularly interesting, stressful, embarrassing, or funny happened, write about that. What happened, and how did it make you feel? If the class is boring for you, why is that? How could it be more interesting for you? Write a small amount in your journal several times a week. If possible, write every day.

A good starting goal is to write at least five hundred words each week. At the end of the month, reread what you have written and think about how you have or have not changed during the month.

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