© 2003 by Oxford University Press
Audiotaped dialogue journals: an alternative form of speaking practice
1 Ming Hsin University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. Email: ykho{at}iol.ee.nctu.edu.tw
This article reports on a method of using audiotaped dialogue journals as a much-needed additional channel for oral communication for EFL (English as a foreign language) learners. The study reveals that this form of journal keeping offers the following language and affective benefits. (1) Students use a range of strategies to cope with associated difficulties, and thus secure a broader basis for language acquisition. (2) The process of script preparation prompts students to gain language input and activate the language for output. (3) Active thinking in English is stimulated by frequent practice in producing extended speech. (4) There is a mutually supportive relationship for students between making journal entries and classroom performance. (5) Journals make possible an element of one-to-one instruction.
Received March 2002.