Dialogue journals are, in a nutshell, written conversations between two people. This interactive approach to developing writing skills can be used in the classroom in many ways and can be adapted to any level.

In a classroom with non-native English speakers, dialogue journals are a simple but high-quality learning tool. Where writing a five-sentence paragraph can be quite a challenge for these students, writing about their day, or about an individualized scenario, pushes students to write more. Writing in their journals also encourages them to learn new vocabulary that pertains to their own lives, and to fine tune grammar, mechanics, and spelling. When writing back to students, teachers can use the language style of the student (i.e., informal, conversational) while exemplifying correct grammar, sentence structure, and spelling.

Through dialogue journaling, writing comes naturally to students. Writing becomes fun as students express themselves in their own personal styles, and await a response from their teacher.

For the GED classroom, dialogue journaling with the teacher provides an outlet for the students to clear their heads before beginning class. There is so much on their minds—from single motherhood to refugee stories to homelessness to DSS to blind dates to upcoming GED tests—and writing about their days enables them to better focus during class. More-over, being able to respond to their students individually allows the teachers to develop more personalized interaction with students.

There are other creative ways to use dialogue journaling in the GED classroom; another form is when students are paired up and write to each other. This technique is especially beneficial when teaching poetry. Teachers can use the art of written conversation to give the students an opportunity to explore their reflections on poetry, and a chance to respond to the reflections of others. This exchange of ideas encourages more personal interaction with the poems, as well as between the students. It also gives students who are more passive a chance to express their ideas, and non-native English speakers more time to formulate their responses. Students can even pick out phrases from this type of dialogue journal and write their own poems.

Julie Franke and Amie Cressmen teach at the Notre Dame Educational Center in South Boston and can be reached at 617-464-7924. They were also active participants in the Notre Dame Writing Team over several months in 2003 and 2004.