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Dialogue Journals are sometimes used in ELL classes – students write in their journal and, theoretically, teachers then write back to them.

For the life of me, I have never understood how teachers have found the time to do Dialogue Journals this way.  They are better or, at least, more organized, people than I will ever be.

However, I have often used Dialogue Journals by having my students write in them, and then English-proficient students in another class respond.  I’ve also had peer tutors do the same thing.

Since practically everything online relates to teachers writing the responses, that’s what most of the materials on this list discuss.  However, the advice is easily applicable to have others do that job.

A fair amount of the online advice recommends not correcting student errors.  Personally, I believe that mindset misses lots of good learning opportunities. However, the way I encourage people to correct them is not through explicit correction.  Instead, I recommend “recasting” (ELL: “I go to see my family in L.A. last week”; Responder “You must have had fun when you went to see your family in L.A. last week.”)

Let me know what I’m missing:

Dialogue Journals: Interactive Writing to Develop Language and Literacy

Dialogue Journals: Interactive Writing to Develop Language and Literacy is from CAELA.

 

VERY USEFUL EXCERPT FROM NEW NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT BOOK: “FAMILY DIALOGUE JOURNALS”

How Dialogue Journals Build Teacher-Student Relationships is from Cult of Pedagogy.

Dialogue Journals as an EFL Learning Strategy in the Preparatory Year Program: Learners’ Attitudes and Perceptions

The Use of Dialogue Journals in an ESL Writing Class from Vygotskyan Perspective

Dialogue Journals as an ESL Learning Strategy

Dialogue Journals: Interactive Writing to Develop Language and Literacy

I Like Dialogue Journals, BUT…