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respond to the entries on a rotating basis. Perhaps they may respond to one group of students one week and another group the next week.
2. The Benefits of the Dialogue Journal Technique
Nistler 1998: 203 states the use of dialogue journals has been studied for its positive effect on children‟s personal adjustment, development
of awareness for audience, understanding of others, increased motivation for purposeful writing, improved skill in conversing, and overall growth as
writers. Dialogue journals focus on meaning rather than form. Students need to understand the concept of communicating in writing and develop their
writing skill. they need frequent opportunities to practice writing freely without fear of being corrected to promote writing fluency.
By having regular practices in the classroom, both the students and the teacher can get benefit from it. The teacher who teaches a lot of students
in one class surely cannot interact with each of hisher students individually, but dialogue journals allow the teacher to have interaction with them through
what they have written. The writing may tell about the students‟ interests, real topics and even their own problems. By letting the students write freely, it
will promote good atmosphere in the classroom and can strengthen the teacher-students harmony.
The dialogue journal is as a means for the teacher to get to know closer to hisher students and in return, students are empowered by having
trust that is developed with the teacher through the dialogue journal. Other benefits for the students are that it can increase the students‟ confidence, it
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can encourage fluency, and it can e nsure learner‟s autonomy Bhushan, 2014:
72-73. Students keep their audience in mind and expand their writing in their own writing world which later can build their confidence every time they
write stories. The dialogue journal is aimed to encourage fluency before accuracy. According to Vanette et al in Bhushan 2014: 73, fluency in
writing is developed through writing to communicate and with the absence of the pressure to be technically correct in language use. Giving them the chance
to write whatever they want is important; they can experience and play with the language which allows them to learn independently. The same opinion is
also drew by Uduma in Bhushan 2014: 73. A dialogue journal is a comfortable place for students to draw on their personal funds of knowledge
and make connection between what they know and what they are learning in class.
Learning to read and write for nonnative, as well as native speakers, can be a process much like the natural, practical process of oral
language acquisition as it occurs between parents and children Staton: 1993. We believe that most of the relationship between parents and children are
very close and warm. Therefore, the dialogue journal is created for that situation-like in order to support the students write their ideas freely and
express their emotions without any fear. Furthermore, Peyton 1993: 1 states the benefits of using dialogue journals to improve writing fluency, they are:
a. Extending contact time with students and getting to know them in a way that may not be possible otherwise.
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Through the journals, teachers may discuss, for example, the students interests on deciding the writing topics, school procedures, and even
personal matters. b. Management of classes with students of varying language, ability, and
interest levels. All students, no matter what their language or literacy level, can
participate to some extent. They can tell what they they cannot express orally through their writing in their dialogue journal books.
c. Optimal language learning conditions. Dialogue journals focus on meaning rather than form. It also takes on
real topics and issues of interest to the students. The teachers written language plays as input that is modified to, but slightly beyond the
students proficiency level; thus, the teachers entries can provide reading texts that are challenging, but that are also comprehensible
because they relate to what the student has written. From the explanation above, it can be seen that some advantages by
applying the dialogue journal technique into the teaching and learning process of English come to the teacher and the students as well. The teacher can get to
know each of the students by reading and discussing the students‟ journals, which is not possible for the teacher to acknowledge each student well in the
classroom meetings. The dialogue journal also provides the students fun and relaxed
atmosphere during the meetings because they learn from the issues on their
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own interest. The students also get closer to their classmates which can lead to unity and good cooperation later on. For those who are afraid in stating
opinions orally, they can deliver their ideas, thoughts, ideas in their writing.
3. The Steps to Implement the Dialogue Journal Technique
