This study examines the educational and interpersonal benefits of dialogue
journal writing within the Cambodian context.
The research plan involved, first, a thorough survey of the literature on journal
writing, which then provided the theoretical framework for the construction of
hypotheses. These hypotheses asserted that dialogue journal writing brings about
educational as well as interpersonal benefits. In educational terms, this task enables
learners to attain proficiency in speaking, reading and writing, gain functional
competence, and develop critical thinking skills. In interpersonal terms, dialogue
journal writing helps in the development of the relationship between the teacher and
the learner and offers a source of cultural information.
The next stage involved assigning and collecting the journals and then
analysing them to check for the presence of particular features which were asserted to
bring about the benefits as stated in the hypotheses.
The writer conducted her research with a class of Cambodian students at
Phnom Penh University. Within the journals of the eighteen learners, most of these
features were discovered, thus supporting the hypotheses that journal writing offers
particular educational and interpersonal benefits. Where the features were absent or
variant, explanations for this based on the culture of the learners, the conditions of the
country during the period of the study, and the culture of the teacher were offered.
Finally, the writing in the dialogue journals of the subjects provided strong
evidence that dialogue journal writing offers learners a scope for genuine studentteacher
communication and for personal communication and mutual understanding
between each individual student and teacher.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219488 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | Yeo, Marie A., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Marie A. Yeo |
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