THE IMPACT OF JOURNAL WRITING ON THE CORRECT USE OF GRAMMAR AMONG EFL STUDENTS OF RAFSANJAN VALI-E-ASR UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Writing is a complex process which involves different factors, and is an essential and necessary skill for ESL/EFL students. Therefore writing assignments should be an integral part of any curriculum. One aspect of good writing is good knowledge of grammar. According to the proponents of process writing, journal writing can be an effective method in the teaching of writing to non native students. Many studies argue that textbooks exaggerate the importance of grammar. These studies conclude that what all students, native or nonnative, need is more actual practice in writing, not actual grammar instruction. In this interventional study, 40 university students ranging in ages from 23 to 35 years, majoring in English language at Vali- e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Iran were selected as the study subjects. Half of the students were randomly assigned to the control group, and the other half to the experimental group. At the start a test of writing was given to all the students. The control group received the regular class instruction, but the experimental group was instructed to keep a journal and write at least fifteen journal entries during the remaining period of the school term. After the two month period, another test of writing was given to both the control and experimental group. Each of the tests (pre-test and post-test) were scored by four different university instructors and finally reviewed by the researcher. The grammatical errors were highlighted and marked to evaluate the prevalence of grammatical errors and make comparison of these errors between the two groups. The results of the two tests were analyzed using a paired t-test. Results indicate that the students who had participated in the journal writing experiment had indeed gone through a process of grammar acquisition by themselves (p<0.05) compared with the control group. As they had not received any form of grammar instruction during the term it was assumed that journal writing by itself had helped them correct their grammatical mistakes. It can be concluded that EFL students can benefit and learn the skill of writing better when they go through a free writing task such as journal writing. Composition teachers are therefore advised to include such activities in their teaching . Considering these points, further investigation in the use of and potential advantages of journal writing along with recognition of the pitfalls as well as developing effective strategies for avoiding these pitfalls seem necessary.