ART Debora TR EFL Students Journal Full text

The hlew

English

Teacher

Volume

3.1

13.2

January/August

2009

Press

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VOLUIUE3,LI2

Contentsr

Editorial

.1.A.

Foley

ARTICLES

The

Shifting

Paradigms

in

Second

Language

Research

Joseph.

A.

Foley

Some

Problems

with

Research

in

Chomskyan

Linguistics

as

Applied to

ELT

Stcplrcn

Conlon

Thematic Development

in

EFL

Student

Online Discussion Postings:

A

Case

Study

Yupaporn

PiriyasilPa

A Genre-Based English

Writing

Lesson

for

Thai

Undergraduate Engineering Students

Piyatida

Changpueng

-swedish Management

in

Singapore: A

Discourse

Analysis

Study

of

the

Concept

of

Trust

Between

Swedish and Chinese Singaporean Managers

Clrcrgl

Marie

Cortleiro

Ni/ssorz

An

Exploration

of

Indian

Legal Discourse

D e e p s hi k

ha

lvl ct h ant a- B o rt tt mu I

y

16

,)J

.56

82

Linguistic

Features

of

Advertisements

Rajeeonath

Rarnnath

A

Study

of

the Lexico-grammatical Features

Identified

as

Part

of

English

as a

Lingua

Franca

Appearing

in

Newspapers and News

Websites

in

China

Jiang Xiaofei

Analyzing

the Grammar of Conversation

in

EFL

Textbooks

in

China

Li

Ling

The Influence

of

Reading

Skills Acquisition

on

Critical

Thinking: A

Case

Study

Lany

Kristono

and Victor

J.

Sensenig

EFL Students'Journal:

A Reflective Medium

156

166

to Look

at Students'Belief

in

English

Teaching and

Learning

Debora

Tri

Ragaoanti

121

133

178

EDITORL{N.

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L78 Tbe New English Teacho

EFI.,

STUDENTS, }OURNAI-,,

A

REFI,ECTIVE

^AEDIU^/I

IN

ENCI,ISH

TO

TEACHING AND

I-,OOK

AT STUDENTS'BELIEFS

I-,EARNING

Debora

Tri

Raga@anti

Satga Wacana School of Foreign Languages,lNDoNE.tl-1

Email

:

d era0 3@y ahoo. com

Abstract

Thls study aduocates the use of student journals in tbe teaching and learning process as o u,o1 oJ _{obtainingfeedback on what students think, feel and} belieue about what and how they art

learning in a ytarticular course. The euidence _for thk suggestion comes _from the reseqrcher's

experience in a particular learning situation wbich utilized such journals as ytart of tbe course-lnformation obtained _from students in a non-threatening supportiue way, may be ualuabk Jor a teacher to adapt in order to address the concerns oJ his or ber students. Such journak also prouide insights into the positiue and negatiue pdtterns of behauiour a student may euince

in the learning _{f)rocess. Journals dre olre way} of empowering students to contribute to tlx improvement oJ tbeir learning of English.

Key words: Srudentjournal, feedback, studenr beliefs, reflecrive learning

Introduction

Ajournal is'A record of happenings, thoughts and feelings about a parricular

aspect of lifd'(Bolton, 2003: 157),The particular aspecs of life included in a

journal can be organized around personal life (such as relationship, dreams,

love) as well as around more public or even professional life experiences such

as teaching and learning.

In English teaching and learning, ajournal might help students to clarify

their

way

of

thinking;

to

express feelings abour rhemselves,

their

peers,

teachers, course content, their writing and others'writing as well; to indicate things that they misunderstand; to state their needs; to communicate

with

the teacher

or

classmates; and

to

reflecr on and relate the knowledge that

they have gor in the classroom to their own experience (Bolton

,2oo):

759).

Furthermore, a journal can provide a place

for

a student

to

articulate and

EFL Students'Jounn't

explore beliefs andpracaccr C

a journal, as argued

br

N--o

refr,ective medium in leng:-aqe

Investigating srudec= bd teaching and learning pm,*ts

teachers to knou,r*'har =:-ic=s how they behave dunns rbe :cl

help teachers to see

probi-s

€

affect their learninE prcrarr. F

mismatch benveen rr-

+FT

I possible ways our of

:::'n

cmu learning experience- TE:$

fietr

srudents can be usei.:.r

l

:u$r about English,

reacLig

.'r"..t*

Journal

To see what srudens 5drffi'E u (1,9951 7) suggescs sdrEri

eile

responses to, Firs:

==r-',m

:a

they have

experiexr.

*

-rrr. _i

write their problers

-

4,*

t-to the problems,

fisr.-*n

u'--,mt

To get ro

kno*

rrttr

r'.ir\i

students beliese abocr j-+r.

m

2003:159, quorir< citrr. rtrairm be allowed ro

r*irr

:-r..,m,S. _rnrd

implication

of &e

{'=,,r$Efium i

the journal rl'rirr':,g .:r :Drur @ {

or at all. B,v so ioms" rr'r,f,nmn

assessmenr an.j n,..q

-

:rnnnr:mm

and free

ro

er?resis :*Eur dho

encounrered in 1}ic

--.

-nmnng

m

Students'Belie&

EFL Studerfis'Jowrnal

explore beliefs and practices (Gebhard and oprand y, L992:24),rnsuch ways,

a journal, as argued by Nunan (1992:11g), _{can be used} as an important

refective medium in language research to investigate students'beliefs. Investigating students' beliefs plays an important role

in

the

English reaching and learning process. The in'estigation

of

such beliefs

."r,

-h"lp

teachers to know what students think abour, expect from, experience in and. how they behave during the teaching and learning process.Inlddirion, ir can

help teachers ro see _{problems encounrered by students and how the problems}

affect their learning process. Furthermore,

ir

can be helpful ,o

,"" ih"

lik"ly

mismatch berween reachers' beliefs and students' beliefs and

to

consid,er

possible ways out of problems rhat arise

in

certain situations found

in

the learning experience. This study aims to see how

journal

entries wrimen by students can be used as a _{reflective medium ro undersrand srudenrs'beliefs}

about English, teachinglteachers and language learning.

Journal

To see whar studenrs believe in the teaching and learning process, Richards

(L996:7) suggests several observarion topics that

ajournilwritercan

record

responses to. First, students can _{write about their personal reactions to what}

they have experienced

in

the classroom or

in

the school. Second, they can

write their problems in the teaching and learning process. Third, in response

to the problems, rhey can write suggesrions for furure and bemer practice.

To get

to

know what students really

think

and feel,

in

this case what

students believe about the teaching and learning process, Bolton (Bolton, 2003:159, quoring one practitioner's suggestion, urges that smdenrs should be allowed to wrire things without _{worrying what other people think. The}

implication

of

the suggestion

in

classroom practice mighr be nor ro assess

the journal

writing

or nor to emphasize _{grammatical correction too much}

or at all. By so doing, srudenrs would be free ro wrire; nor ro worry abour

assessmenr _and not be anxious

to

talk. Additionally, they can feel relaxed

and free

ro

express

their

thoughts about, expectations

of

_{and problems}

encountered in rhe teaching and learning process.

Students' Beliefs

A

belief system is the information, attitudes, values, expectations, rheories,

and assumptions about teaching and learning rhat teachers build up over

180 The New English Teacher EFL Students'Jounwl

time which they bring

with

them to the classroom _{(fuchards, 1989: 66).}

Students, as well as teachers, bring such belief sysrems

with

them into the

classroom as a complex set of attitudes, expectarions, experiences and beliefs

(Benson 1997; Nyikos

&

oxford

1991 asquoted by Bernat). Bernat further

quotes several opinions about rhe sources of students'beliefs. First, student's

beliefs may come from

their

experiences as language learners (Gaoyin

&

Alvermann 1995), second, their beliefs may come from their family/home

background (Dias 2001) as well as

their

cultural background (Alexander

&

Dochy L995), Lasrly, individual differences such as personality also can shape students'beliefs (Langston

&

sykes 1997).These beliefs may be

sub-divided into three areas.

a.

Student{

beliefs about English.

Students,

like

teachers,

hold their

own beliefs about English.

They

may have their own perception about rhe narure

of

English and about the most essential

skills

(listening

speaking reading

and

speaking)

and

aspecrs

(grr^-rr,

writing

vocabulary)

in

learning English. They may also have

their own beliefs abour native speakers of English and about how to use

of

English in the classroom.

b.

Students' beliefs

about

teaching

(teachers)

Students have had to deal with various reachers and teaching methods during their learning of English. Th erefore,rhey may have in mind what kind of teacher

and/or teaching method is efl,rective and ineffective. This idea

of

an effecrive teaching method is strongly shaped by their own past experiencq especially when

they have achieved language success with a certain teaching method. Besides the

idea of an effective teaching method, they may also have specific expectarions as

to how teachers teach and what roles and responsibilities they should perform.

c.

Studentd

beliefs

about

language

learning.

Srudents also bring to

fie

classroom very specific assumptions about how to

learn a language and about the kinds of activities and approaches they believe to be useful and to be appropriate for them. For example, some students feel easier

to learn English using memorization.In contrast, some other students are more

able to learn English more effectively through pracrice or by"doing'it..

Research

Method

The subjects of dris

srnir

.m

l

PreParatory Inrensirt F,.,Elr,**m

Education (IELE''.

The course rras

:iqsi

631

course,

they

srudie.i gtacfld

alternately. The coursc rs'Ttno.ili!

proficien cy th rough _+.cartrmg part of the cours€, rbc r't'.'ir.tnmr

They were told :i:,m

:iml;

not correct

srudem

gmrm

thoughts and fedins$-

rym

were as follorvs,

.

What have

ltu

LflnmEt'*r&

*

What do you

rl't-i

imd

.

What acriviries

ie

rw,ffi&

.

'What _{do l"ou}

ranr

_{m Lam}

.

What else do r{oc ilismtr u@,

Among

dre,im.ar[

tumm

purpose of r}re sruix. i,e- r @r0 the three

dir*ious

-r,rwd

i

then grouped inro *r,*dn!!mi ft

language

learning-Analysis

This secrion anairac s.o*''l"qm about Engiish, rce*rmu

m'{l"

opinions are

ranscrfllci

foorc ri

in theirjournals- ErErr

@dro

each statemenr

i*

{$',"ir!dfl _&il d

sfudent numtter 1-

Th!

m'*m'il'Jlii

EFL Students'Journal

Research

Method

The subjects of this study are 20 firsr-year students who attended the 10 day

preparatory Inrensive English course

in

the Institute

for

English Language Education (IELE), Assumption University of Thailand.

The course was aimed to prepare them to enter their faculdes.

In

this course,

they

srudied general English and were taught

by two

teachers

alternately.The course is institutionally designed to develop learners'English proficiency through speakinp writing and reading (vocabulary) acdvities. As part of the course, the students were asked to keep a

jownall

notebook

They were

told

rhac this activity was not graded and the teachers did not correct students'grammatical errors. To assist sudents in sharing their thoughts and feelings, questions were provided as guidelines. The questions were as followsl

'

What have you learnt todayi

.

What do you think of today's lessoni

.

What activities do you like/disiikei

Whyi

.

What do you want to learn morei

.

What else do you wanr ro sayi

Among

rhe

journal

entries submitted,

only

those

that

reflected the purpose of the study, i.e. a record of students'beliefs, were selected. Following the three divisions suggested by Langsron and Sykes (1997), rhe data was

rhen grouped

into

students'beliefs about English, rcachingl teachers, and language learning.

Analysis

This section analyzes srudents' journal enrries to look into students'beliefs about English, teaching (teachers), and language learning.

All

of the students'

opinions are transcribed here in exactly the same words as the students used

in their journals. Every student's opinion is followed by (Sn), indicating that each statement is stated by different students. For example,

51

indicates

smdent number 1. The numbers range from

I

to 20, reflecdng the number of students who participated in this study.

182

a.

Studenti

beliefs about English

Tbe New EngJisb

Tea;}r

In

this

secrion, attention

is

focused

on

thestudents' beliefs about sorrr

important aspects in learning English (grammar, vocabulary,

pronunciarioc-and speaking). Those aspe*s are classified

into

three categories

whict

emerged

in

students'writing. The

first

row

in

Table 1 indicates the 6rsr

category, i.e. speaking.

Th"

second

row

indicates rhe second category.

i.e

pronunciation and vocabulary. The

third

row

signifies

the

last categorr-:

grammar and vocabulary.

Table 1:

As recorded in the table above, we can see that Student

4

and 8 believe

that speaking can help them develop their confidence. They also expect to be

able to speak English confidently. As for vocabul ary, frve srudents expecr to learn (more) vocabulary. One of the students explains that she/he wants to learn vocabulary because

it

is essenrial in learning English. Anorher aspecr

that the students chink imporrant is pronunciation. Students 10 and 11 see

EFL Students'Journal

that pronunciarion prsu-::re :l

real conversation oursid.e :i:,t

have good pronunciario:- -n.s.L;

neglected. Three sruden:s

ec

grammar is crusral fbr

&e= c

It

is interesrinq ro see

E:

and learning process- _{-{s :ers:}

above, we can see hos'

-.=:c

to

speak

fuentlv

ani

;c,c:c activities. Alrhough

**:

scr

they seem ro express

s','-r

-"ii

pronunciation acririces-

Sc,:

take inro accounr es ia€

--:-j

motivate our sruden=

=c':L

The

next

6nJ:-:

r.r:rs'!r

mismatch ben.een

s:j

j"-,-

:

about imporranr ;s:rr--:* --rr.r

srudents' belieti

ak:::

r:-=:m

course seem

to

{o

.L---,g trlE:

institution, rhar co-'--se

-='-i*e

happen in rhe u'ar-:-:-:

-n

*-,.

the prepararon- cc::sc rr:urnn"{ Such a mismarch ie---

- i

E:l: beliefs and hor.'a

=--r=;tr-;

rr

belief occur.

This::-s;;r.=

urr

course where reaci:ex u.ir= m[

away from a

reli:i;e

:r

lrnrrr

b. Students' be1r';.arrdrsltr ull

In rhis s€r-1s11 tdl=? 4r!r certain class a.-=r:-,** .,:ni;: :r,*a:f As for srudenrs

5*lelr rurm

r

concerning h"rn-

-"'

trlr.'Ffim

rea ch ers' pe

rs!1::;j=6

Table 2 bd.c*:?":r,rf,l muii in theirjourna*s- r-rr'u m

&c

fr

second rorr is a:,:,c:tr

lrrarclm

1

I

want

to

be conversarion

with

confidenr and _able

to

_{speak up}

fuently. Tomorrow

I

want to learn conversarion and have activiries

because

I

want speak with confident. (S4)

I

want to speak up English fluently and

I

want to be confident ro

ralk to another people. (S8)

If

you

dont'

mind,

I

still

wanr

to

learn about pronunciation and

vocabulary too. (S15)

I

have learnt how to pronounce

[r]

and _[L].

I

think

it will

be useful

because when we study we musr use ir. (S10)

I

think

about pronunciation

[r]

and

[L]

make pronunciation good.

(s11)

)

In my opinion, I wanr to learn about grammar rule. (S13)

I

want to know about grammar and

I

want to know a

lot

of word.

(s4)

I

want to be grammar rule and vocabulary. (S5)

I want to know more about vocabulary ...(S8)

I want to learn vocabulary because I think k.very important to learn English. (S14)

[image:8.595.65.417.45.643.2]

EFL Students'Journal ₁₈₃

that pronunciation practice is imporrant because they

will

deal

with

it

in

real conversation outside the classroom. They feel that

it

also helps rhem

have good pronunciation. Aside from those aspects, grammar should nor be

neglected. Three students expecr grammar to be taughr since they see that grammar is crucial for them learning English.

It

is interesting ro see what studenrs

think

and expect from a reaching

and learning process. As revealed on the 6rst and second rows of rhe table above, we can see how students expect

ro

have betrer pronunciarion and

to

speak

fuently

and confrdently through pronunciarion

and

speaking

activities. Although rheir sentences are not

in

a perfect sentence strucrure, they seem to express quite deliberately what they expect from speaking and

pronunciation activities. Such expecrarions mighr be useful for reachers to take

into

account as we often downplay rhese areas which actually could motivate our students more.

The

next

finding

shows

how

srudents'

journal writing

can reveal a

mismatch between srudents' beliefs and

their

teachers' linstirution's beliefs

about important aspects of learning English. As we can see from rhe table,

students'beliefs about learning speaking vocabulary, pronunciation

in

that course seem

to

go along

with

the insdturion's ideas.

As

designed

by

the institution, rhat course involves those aspects. However, a mismatch seems to happen in the way that the srudents also need Grammar. As a matrer of fact,

the preparatory course was institutionally designed nor ro include Grammar. Such a mismarch can be a good example how a journal can reveal students' beliefs and ho*, a mismatch between studenrs' belief and reachers' or schools'

belief occur. This mismatch was actually anricipated in the prepararion of the

course where teachers were made aware of the covert need to wean students

awav from a reliance on written grammar as a precondition to speaking.

b. Students' beliefs about teaching (teachers)

In this section several examples are presented of how srudents perceive

certain class activities and teachers'ways of teaching as effective or ineffective.

As for students'beliefs about their teachers, several examples were selected

concerning

how the

srudenrs

think

about, and

what

they expect from,

teachers' personalities.

Table2 below records srudents'beliefs about class activiries as menrioned in theirjournals.Items in the first row in the table are about game acrivity. The

LB4 The New English Teacber EFL Students'Jounra!

The fourth row is about performing a story in front of the classroom. Row

6ve is taking note.Items in row six talk about using a dicdonary. Items in box

seven refer to a particular exercise in the classroom.

Table2

Items from rorvs 1 ro 5 sh'c,r

to the activities. Ther

aio

;l

effects on _{them. The s"-:rcs}

i

vocabulary. The

rech=;-cr

.r

useful to give rhem rnsrgi:rr d

speak in fronr

o[rhe

=:<r

Su

story helps them

ga:

am,h$ The students also obscre,i

S

skills becau5s rhs red(r

c:r:d

Such beliefs are

bdmi

fr

activities. I*re

mighr:#

:u

r

English through eLlcw,=Emr

r

their own

skills-Besides rhe a-s.-u

pn@

brought unsarish-":g :afreuns

i

that srudenr

ftaj

.-{mrrn'-s.r They expecred ro ica-" lmm,lr

i

us introspecrisdr-,.rar E

.rE:

focus our amenrio,c:a irim oiu Studenrs aisc

;.*j

=:m

journal

enrries ir€t'ry

,!rq, d

teaching

merh"r!

=-.tn

5c

m

TableS

Mr

t.--*r

--

6

rro !@

The rE-Jl',,.r _{u "rq;mii&}

Jlg

r*,.*c'rsamrd!

teachr

:.*,r

=

urc

I q'ar:r _-Pa.{i*'

rycerh.r

I hare *r,rr!mmq$il@, @

Pl"-*a- _{ry'Eahr&mnfrm.11j}

I

dou:

i:rsr

ma*ud

ir-.Sl

TeaStrrytzilrsummd (s7'

1 Today we played games

I

6ll

_{games can} help

I

_{practice English.}

(s1)

Today play crossword game

it

very interesting because

I

have new vocabulary English. (S1)

2 Today

I

learnt about character

in

fronr

of

class: how do you do presentation, when you use body languages.

I

think

techniques

of

presentation makes me good characrer when I presentarion. (53)

I

got to techniques of presentarion. It's very good.

I

learn to public

speaking, visual aids and eye contac. It's very good.

I

like

it

very

much.It makes me feel good to the presentation and

it

makes make

me don't shy too. (S5)

Today

I

have a differenr experience; I learn how to speak in public, what is good and what's not good for public speaking.

I

think

this very useful

to

me, because the public speaking

is

one

of

my big problems. (S15)

a

)

I learn to give directions to the place below using map. I understand

to

use the map.

And

I

can rake some people about direction. It's good because

I

can always use it. (S5)

4 Today I'm v ery veryhappy for this class...We learnt about srory"The

Cavd' and I'm an actor in this story... It's very funny class. I want ro

learn this lesson again because this lesson can make confident to

speaking in English. (57)

I

learn abour dialogue.

I

pra*ice

speak

and

confident myself.

Everyone feel happy and relax. (S12)

5 Today I learnt how to take notes.I think today's lesson will be useful

taught

to

me

to

take nores because raking note is the important thing for future lesson. (S17)

6 Today,

itt

great I learn how to use dicdonary in the righr way...but I'm got a

ltde

bit

confuse I wanr ro learn more. (S2)

7 Today

I

feel a

little

unhappy because your some exercises

I

think

I

EFL Students'Journal ₁₈₅

Items from rows 1 to 5 show how the students give quite positive responses

to the activities. They also commonly agree that the activities have positive effects on them. The games help them practice English and improve their vocabulary. The techniques of presentation and the presentation itself are

useful to give them insights about a good presentation and to train them to

speak in fronr of the class. Similarly, role playingthe characters in the'tave" story helps them gain confidence and so reduce their shyness

in

speaking.

The students also observed that note taking and giving directions are useful skills because the tasks are relevant to their daily lives.

Such beliefs are helpful for us teachers to select material and to design

activities. We might refer to such activities to motivate our students to learn English through enjoyment and to help them improve their confidence in

their own skills.

Besides the above positive efFects,

it

was also found that some events

brought unsatisfying results for the students. Points number 6 and 7 show

that

students had difficulties during the class (e.g. the dictionary lesson).

They expected to learn more about this skill, Such a feedback voice can help

us introspectively look at our teaching material or methods and especially to

focus our attention to help the students overcome their problems.

Students also had certain expectations about their teachers. Students'

journal

entries show

how the

students expect certain personalities and

teaching methods from the teachers.

Table3

1 My teacher ... is so nice. (S1)

The reacher is lovable and friendly...

I

love the teacher. (S19) The teacher is lovable and kind very much to make I satis6ed in the

teacher and to be glad is a teacher very much. (Sl-6)

2 I wanr teacher speak slow. (S4)

I have something to tell you that you

didnt

speak too fast. (S17)

Pleasq speak slowly. (S 20)

I

dont know vocabulary and some words.

I

want the teacher spell

iL (S4)

Teacher speaks very clearly that make me understand of all lessons.

185 The New Englisb Teacber EFL Students' _Journal

The

first

row

reflects

the

students'expectation about

their

teachers'

personalities. They seem ro like and expect a nice, friendly,kind and lovable teacher. Though students' expectations regarding

a

teacher's personaliry

seems

to

be

too

perfect and are culturally shaped, such inputs might be

useful to know what aspects of a teachers'personality may motivate studenrs

to learn in these classes.

The second row _{indicates studenrs'expectations and beliefs about the}

teacher's way

of

teaching. Three srudents (S4, S17 and S20) expecr the teacher

to

speak more slowly. One student (S7) experience was

that

the teacher speaking clearly helps

him/her

understand

the

lesson. Another

expectation was that the teacher would assist the student in spelling words. Listening

to

such voices can help us ro reflect on our teaching method, to know students'problems during their learning process, and to know what

assistance they expect and so may need.

c. Students' beliefs about learning

In exploring students'beliefs about learning this researcher classified them into students'ideas about the appropriate learning approach and other issues

related to the learning process.

Table 4

1

_| Today

I

learnr about...and Simple present rense.

I

thing it's funny

because

it

have game in class

it

makes me relax. It's good. (S3)

My today's class was so relax and interesting. (S1a)

I want to learn same today because I'm not boring. (S10)

Sometimes,

in

the lesson

I

think

it

so boring and want

to

relax

with

activities. (S14)

My today's class was so happy and interactive. (S5)

I

feel challenged when I played game. (S8)

Today

I

am so enjoy because

I

have gor to inrerview ro friend.

I

learn to ask and give information.

It

makes me feel confident to ask

and give information for friend. (S5)

Today I'm very very happy

for

this class,..We learnt about story

"The _{Cave" and}

Im

_{an acror}

in

_{this story...It's very funny class.}

I

want

to

learn

this

lesson again because

this

lesson can make

confident to soeakins in Enslish.

Row 1

in

the

ubie

ah:*e appropriate approact

Sm

r,"*

that learning (English

-.L*

C

and interactive. The

Lic

cr _Sn

students experienceJ. -!

r'r,-r,:

also useful to deve{sr

4:cr;rm

that the teacher

sho'ril

.i,: ruur

were suggested L,r

=.er

rud

into

considerarion-There are sonle g[13g, fi",.jn,

the importan6E 6f _''..'-rE trm{flii' as a part of lanqueee

;!rr@E

why, the use

oi rn.^r

-

hs

r

Another findinq is ;:ram

-h'

r 9 seems to be

concs=i

w'rffi

classroom. She horc*

r

!'ildr

Process.

Conclusion

This paper has shc'rt' htrrry@ English

teach:rg

tE

'fl'''

scudenrs' beliefs e5,r6n F-Silid

of

pronunciarioc- rmieunuilnmg,

This belief is also:sffia,mdm

explicir grarn-rtr ---.irnmrqg am.

t

Srudenrs b,ar.s

fftm

E@

like games" roie :i.er-ry s@d

ffi

rhem

to gau

k:oilxe4r

rmfi the teachers

r:"rr

mm*..,Iil'i,,u

the teacheri

!Eu'

:ailk qm.#

q

[image:12.595.63.416.140.637.2]

EFL Students'Journal ₁₈₇

2

1...I

think everybody in this class must speak to friends for English

language. (S12)

I think about discipline and punctuality in class, I think everybody

in this class must not late. (S 5

&

9

Row 1

in

the table above gives an idea about what students see as the appropriate approach they need to adopt in their learning. Six students agree

that learning (English) takes place when the atmosphere is relaxed, interesting and interactive. The use of games is also preferred by some of them. Some students experienced that learning English through dialogue and role-play is also useful to develop their confidence. Furthermore, Student 7 recommends

that the teacher should do such acdvities for the next classes. Such methods were suggested by many students so the teacher could and did take them into consideration.

There are some other findings that attractedattention, One student states

the importance of using English when communicating with one's classmates

as a part of language learning process. Although she does not give a reason

why, the use of must in her statement seems to be putting emphasis on

it.

Another frnding is about the role of discipline as a part of learning. Student

9 seems to be concerned with the discipline (classroom management) in the

classroom. She holds a belief that discipline is also important in the leaning

Process.

Conclusion

This paper has shown how journals can reveal students'beliefs about English,

English teaching

(the

teacher's

role)

and learning.

Th"

above record

of

students'beliefs about English suggests that they believe in the importance

of

pronunciation, vocabulary, speaking and grammar

in

learning English. This belief is also refected in their expectation for grammar which was not

compatible

with

the institution's vision

of

the course (i.e.

not

to

include explicit grammar teaching in that course).

188 The New English Teacher EFL Students' _Journai

teachers to assist them in pronouncing English words. In rerms of a teacher! personality, studenrs felt glad and more motivated

if

the teacher was kind

and friendly.

Towards English learning srudents believe rhat learning (English) occurs

when the learning atmosphere is relaxed, interesting and inreracrive. They

also considered punctuality as an importanr aspec in learning.

As can be seen in the students'journal entries, we, as teachers, can learn which skills are preferred or needed by our studenrs; which teaching activities and

methods work and do not work; what approaches suit them; how ro assist

them to be better

in

English; and what other related learning aspecrs are necessary _{for them. This information gained from smdents' journals should}

allow teachers to adapt their teaching to the needs of their students in ways

that

will

facilitate betrer learning in the classroom.

In this way,journal writing can be a ref ective tool to inform furure reachers

and course designers

in

terms

of

class _{activities and teaching methods, As} such, studentjournals can be a vital tool and resource for developing teacher's

self-awareness in classroom practice and teachers' self improvement.

In

this

way, we can help the students learn

in

a more conducive way,

in

a way that

can accommodate their styles, preferences and needs.

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and

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