In 1983 I co-authored an article about student-teacher journals (Spack,Ruth and CatherineSadow.Student-teacherworking journalsin ESL freshman composition.TESOL Quarterly17(4)575-593).IneverenvisionedthatIwouldcontinuetouseavariationofthose journalsfortwenty-fiveyearsandwouldmissthem duringtheveryfew semesterswhenI letthem go.
Mystudentsingrammar/writingclassesatShowaBostonwriteletter-likejournalsto meeverytimewemeet(eitherfourtimesaweekortwiceaweek)andIdothesame.They writethem on loosepiecesofpaper.Icollectthem,nevercorrectthem,alwaysrespondto them andreturnthem thefollowingclass.I,inturn,writemydailyjournaltothem,make copiesanddistributethem when Ireturn theirjournals.Moreoften than not,includedin myjournal,areexcerptsfrom astudentorstudents・journals.
Thepurposeofthejournalsisnottocorrectgrammarorimproveacademicwritingbut to enable students,whether beginning,intermediate or advanced,to gain some writing fluency in a languagewhich they may havestudied butnotwritten in very often.The journalsalsohelptogainquickeasycommunicationbetweenstudentandteacher.Inashort timestudentsperceivethattheyhavebecomemorecomfortablewritinginEnglishandthat theyarewritingmorequicklyandIbecomeawarethattheyarewritinglongerjournals.
Thisiswhatoneofmyfirstjournalslookslike. November14,2006
I hope you had a wonderfulweek in Washington and New York.I lived in Washington fortwoyears,and thatwasan excitingtime.Myhusband worked fora UnitedStatesSenatorsoIgottomeetsomeinterestingpeople.Myfirstbabywasborn inWashington.
Lastweekwasa・catchup・weekforme.Icameinherealmosteverydaytoprepare formynew classes.Icouldhavedonesomeoftheworkathome,buttherearetoomany distractionsathome.Therearethingstoclean,foodtocook,bookstoread,friendsto telephone,laundrytobedone.IcouldprobablylistahundredthingsthatIcoulddoat homeinsteadofdoingclasspreparation.ButIdidstayhomeonedayanddosomeof thosethings.IalsowenttohearaconcertatSymphonyhallandeatatMr.Sushiin CoolidgeCorner.
学苑英語コミュニケーション紀要 No.822 11～16（20094）
Student-TeacherJournal
s
Whatisallthisabout?Iwillwritetoyou twodaysa week.You can callita journaloraletteroranythingyouwanttocallit.Itmaybeaboutmeortheclassor abouthow IfeelaboutthewarinIraqoraboutamovieIsaw.Inreturnyouwillwrite tome(onaloosepieceofpaper)twiceaweek.Itcanbeaboutanything.Ifyouhavea lottosay,itmaybeverylong.Ifyouareverytiredandbusy,itmaybeasshortas ・Sorry,Cathy.I・m toobusytowritearealjournaltonight.・
Ifyou saysomething thatisveryinteresting,and ifit・snottoopersonal,Imay includeitinmyjournalandyouwillbepublished.
By theway,Idon・tcorrectjournals.Ijustrespond to them.Allofyourother writing willbe corrected butjournals are a place to work on writing quickly and comfortablyinEnglish.They・realsoaplacetogettoknow eachotherwell.Howeverif you makethesamemistakesallthetimeand Inoticethem,I・llspeak toyou about them.
Thisalwaysworksverywell.Somepeoplethinkthey・regoingtohatedoingthis,but usuallyintheendthey・repleasedtohavewrittenabout25journalsandtohavereceived 25journalsfrom me.
YourfirstjournalisdueonFriday.
Iread thisfirstjournalaloud and ask ifthereareany questions.Thereare.Even thoughIhavecarefullymentionedthatneitherthelengthnortopicisprescribed,students inevitablyaskmewhattheyshouldwriteaboutandhow longthejournalshouldbe.Once Ihavecollectedandreadthestudents・firstjournalsandindividually respondedtoeach,I beginmythirdjournalwhereIattempttoinsertseveralstudentjournals.Iwantstudents to seetheirown orotherstudents・work ・published・.My hopeisthatstudentsbecome accustomedtoimmediateteacherfeedbackandalsobecomemotivatedwhentheyrealizethat theirjournalmightalsobepublishedandhaveawideraudience.Italsohelpsstudentshave materialtorespondtosothattheydon・trunoutofjournalideas―acommonproblem for allwriters.
November19,2006
Ienjoyedyourfirstjournals.Iam goingtoprintpartsofthem sothateveryonecan read them.Theyareallon thesametheme― volunteering.Bytheway,when Iprint peoples・journals,ImakecorrectionsasIgoalong.Nobodyintheclasswritesperfectly, butIwantyoutoreadyourfriends・workwithoutthemistakes.
From M:・OnNovember16,IwenttoHebrew RehabilitationCenter.Itislocatednear Showa Boston. After school I went there to help make flower arrangements for Thanksgiving.Thesewereartificialflowersbutwemadethem verywell.Through this volunteerworkInoticedthatcommunicationwithAmericansisverydifficult.Afterthe
volunteerworktheRehabilitation staffgaveuscookiesandsandwichesandwetalked withthem aboutDaisukeMatsuzakawhowillcometotheBostonRedSox.I・m happy. Iwanttoseehim inBoston.・
From S:・Iwenttothefoodbanktodovolunteerwork.Ihadn・tbeentothefoodbank soIdidn・tknow whatitwas.WhenIenteredawarehouseIwasverysurprisedbecause itwassobigandthereweremanykindsoffood.Forexample,onions,snacksandmilk. IwasveryexcitedbecauseIlovetoeat.OfcourseIcouldn・teatanythingtherebutI washappytoseealotoffood.
Firstweenteredintothevolunteers・room andheardalecturebyanemployee.He toldusthatwehadtodividefoodintogroupsoffood.Theworkwassodifficultforme becauseIdidn・tknow whatgroupsthesefoodswere.Iunderstoodsomefoodslikemilk andchipsbutIcouldn・tunderstandsomefoodslikeprotectivefoodsandacanoftuna. So Iasked employees many times.Theywere so kind and answered correctly.The volunteerworkwassohardanddifficultbutIhadalotoftimetotalkwithAmerican people,Ihadagoodexperience,Ithink.・
From I:・YesterdayIwenttothefoodbanktodovolunteerwork.Itwasthethird timeformetodovolunteerwork.Ipackedfoodincorrugatedboxes.Thenamesofthe goodswerewrittenaboveeachbox.SometimesIcouldn・tunderstandwhateachofthese meant,butonewomanhelpedmesoIcouldbringthem tothecorrectplace.Itwasvery hard butIcould doitwith someone・shelp.NexttimeIwanttodoanotherkind of volunteer work because Iwant to have communication with people when Ido my volunteerwork.・
From Y:・Iliketakingpartinvolunteerwork.WhenIwasahighschoolstudent,I tookpart.Forexample,afund-raisingcampaignorcleaningtheseashore.SoI・m really happybecausetherearemanyvolunteeractivitiesinBoston.
TodayIwenttotheRehabilitation CenterfortheAged.ItwasthesecondtimeI tookpartinvolunteeringinBoston.ThefirsttimeIwenttothezooonHallowe・enand made Hallowe・en masks for children. It was really fun. Today I did flower arrangements.Iworkedwithaverykindwoman.Shetalkedtomeaboutmanythings. ShealsotalkedaboutThanksgivingDayandtaughtmeabouthow itstartedandhow tocelebrateit.AndItalkedtoheraboutmyfamilywithpoorEnglish.Butsheheard mewithherwholeheart.Iwasveryhappy.IstayedthereonlytwohoursbutIwanted tostaymore―soIwanttogothereagain.・
These were very interesting.People went to the same places but had different experiences.Somepeoplehadgreatopportunitiestotalk.Otherswishedtheyhadmore opportunitiestotalk.Buteveryonehelpedthecommunityinmanyways.Thefoodbank
deliversalotoffoodtopeoplewhoneeditandtheyparticularlydeliveralotoffoodat Thanksgiving topeoplewhoarepoorand peoplewhodon・thavefamiliestocelebrate with.ThanksgivingDayattheHebrew RehabilitationCenterwillbemorebeautifuland morefestivewith theflowerarrangementsyou made.Congratulations.You did good work.
Studentsareoftenshocked(andpleased)toseetheirownwordsprintedintheteacher・s journal.Becausethestudents・journalsare,ofcourse,fullofsecondlanguageerrors,Ido simpleeditingasIincludethem inmyjournal. Icorrectspellingerrors,trytomodifytext so that there are complete sentences and rephrase convoluted text when absolutely necessary.Theonly journalswhich receiveany correction aretheoneor two thatare printed in my journals.Do these students look atthe corrections when they see their published journals? Idon・tknow.Below is an example ofan unedited studentjournal followedbymyjournalcontainingtheeditedjournal.
・AmericansoftensaythatJapanesepeoplealwaysgrouptogether.Ithoughtabout that.Ummm.WhyJapaneseoftengrouptogether?ActuallyCooperationisimportantto Japanesesociety.We・vebeentrainedtobeamemberofOrganizationanddoourbestby schoolorCompanysincewewerechildren.
Thesocietydon・tneedgeniusandfool.ThereisgreatdeffirencewithAmericathat personalityorIndividualareconsideredimportant.Ithinkthatisoneofreasonsthat geniusrarely comein Japan.Japaneseproverb say ・Thenailthatsticksoutwillbe pounded down.・So,It・sconsidered bad tostand outmuch betterthan others.Ithink thatalsoonereasonofJanesebully.・
(My response at the bottom ofthe journal)This is very interesting,but I don・t understandwhyitproducesbullies.
October20,2005
BecauseI・m teachingJapanesestudents,I・m readingalotofbooksaboutJapanand alsoJapanesenovels.Sowhen IreadM・sjournalIwasnotsurprised.HoweverI・dbe interestedinyourreactiontoit.
From M:・AmericansoftensaythatJapanesepeoplealwaysgrouptogether.Ithought aboutthat.Ummm WhydoJapanesegrouptogether?Actuallycooperationisimportant toJapanesesociety.We・vebeentrainedtobeamemberofanorganizationanddoour bestforschoolorcompanysincewewerechildren.Thesocietydoesn・tneedgeniusesand fools.Thereisa greatdifferencewith A merica wherepersonality and individualsare considered important.Ithink thatisoneofthereasonsthatgeniusrarely comesin Japan.AJapaneseproverbsays,・Thenailthatsticksoutwillbepounded down.・So
it・sconsideredbadtostandoutmuchbetterthanothers.Ithinkthat・salsoonereason fortheJapanesebully.・
(My response at the bottom ofthe journal)This is very interesting,but I don・t understandwhyitproducesbullies.
AsItyped thisnow,Irealized how much moreediting Icould havedone.However reading studentjournalsandresponding tothem twoorfourtimesaweek takestime.I alsoneed timeforthedetailed correction and grading ofotherassignmentsin theclass. BecauseImakesimplecommentson each entry Ican spend aslittleastwenty minutes reading through sixteen journals quickly looking for meaning only and making short responsivecomments.WritingmyjournalmaytakeaveryshorttimeorifIam printing studentjournalsmay takemuch longer.In the1983article,wesay thatwriting ourown journalstakesvery littletime,ten totwenty minutes.Twenty fiveyearslaterthatisno longertrueformeandIwondernow how trueitwasthen.
Howeverthisparticularjournalresulted in anotherjournalfrom ・M・explaining the relationship between being a cooperativememberofan organization and bullying.There werealsotwoorthreejournalsfrom otherstudentsrespondingtothistopic.Thisresulted in another teacher journalcontaining three student journals on the topic ofbullying. Eventually・M・wroteashortdevelopedessayonthetopic.
From thefrequentstudentjournalsIoften learn interesting thingsaboutwhatmy Japanesestudentsareobserving,andthinking.
November19,2007
I・vestartedtoreadthereactionstothefirstgradevisit.Theyareveryinteresting. Iwon・tfinish them tonightbecauseI・m going toSymphony,HoweverI・llfinish them tomorrow and then I・llwritea littlereportaboutwhatyou found interesting and unusual.So,asIwasreading today・sjournals,IcameacrossK・swhich wasabout difference.
From K :・IcametoBostonabouttwomonthsago.Iexperiencemanythings.Through thesethingsIcouldfindsomedifferencesandfeelsomecultureshockbetweentheUnited StatesandJapan.
When Ireached theairportIwasvery surprised attheopening ofthebathroom dooritwasverywide.
When Iwentto my CC・suniversity,Ifound somedifferencesbetween Japanese studentsandAmericanstudents.DuringtheclassAmericanstudentsateanddrank.If wedidthisin Japan,wewouldbescoldedbyteachers.In Japan manystudentssleep duringtheclassbutintheUnitedStatesIdidn・tfindsuchstudents.Ithinkweseethe differencesofculture.・
Ithinkit・sreallyinteresting.Idon・tcareifyoudrinkcoffeeinmyclassorevenif you・requicklyfinishingyourmorningbagel.Ialsohopeyoudon・tmindifIhaveasip ofteaondayswhenIneedsome.Howeverifyousleepinmyclass,I・m furious!Angry! Insulted!
With theJapaneseteachersitseemsto betheopposite.I・m surethatthereis somethingculturallyimportantaboutthis,butIdon・tknow whatitis.
AsIlookbackontwenty-fiveyearsofstudent-teacherjournals,Irealizehow pleasedI am with the practice.Students have frequent opportunities to write expressively and communicativelyinadditiontotheirgrammarwritingpracticeandsomeexpositorywriting thattheydointhegrammar/writingclass.Thejournalshavenotonlygiventhestudents anaudience,theyhavealsogivenmeanaudienceandopportunitiestowrite,agoodthing for a writing teacher to do.The journals help students overcome the fear of being misunderstood in a second language and help them to feel confident that they can communicate.Itiseasier for them to do thiswhen they・refocusing on communication ratherthancorrectness.
Thereareotherbenefits.Theteacherjournalhasaddedadimension totheclassand makesmoststudentstakethejournalwritingseriously.Italsoenablesmetomaintainan exchangeofideaswithanentireclassandatthesametimeprovideinterestingreadingfor students.In addition Igettoknow allstudentsbetterparticularly quieterones.Students whohaveahardtimespeaking upin classoften havean easiertimesharing interesting thoughtsin theirjournals.BecauseIam writingmy journal,Ican empathizewith my studentsespeciallyonnightswhenitisthelastthingIwanttodo.Idon・tunderestimate theeffortittakestowritewhenyouarenotinspired.
WouldIdothisifIhadmorethantwentystudentsinaclass?Iwouldbutprobably lessfrequently.TheonethingIwouldnotgiveupistheteacherjournalbecauseIthinkit iswhatcreatesmotivationtowrite,bothformystudentsandmyself.
CatherineSadow joinedShowaBostoninSeptember 2004after24yearsatNortheasternUniversity.She has co-authored five listening/speaking books including Dictations for Discussion (Pro Lingua 2003)andInteractiveDictations(ProLingua2006). Thethird book in thisserieswillbepublished in early 2010.Sheisa pastpresidentofMATSOL, the Massachusetts state affiliate of TESOL and someday shehopesto publish a teachingmemoir usingstudent-teacherjournals.
