Journal writing – students’ voices

Developing writing skills in L2 is challenging. Writing is believed to be time-consuming, difficult, boring, limiting and not rewarding. All of these challenges result in students having a negative attitude towards writing, both in L1 and in L2. Journal writing is a tool which helps students develop their writing and language skills, establish a regular writing habit, while at the same time allowing them space for self-expression. The present study aims at finding out how students perceive journal writing. The participants were 55 first year students of English Studies, who participated in a creative writing course. It was discovered that students view journal writing as pleasant; that it helped them in writing their final assignment; and that it helped them develop their language skills. The study also found that offering students writing prompts may be useful in the course of writing a journal, especially for those students who lack ideas for their entries. Finally, recommendations concerning the use of journals in any language class are provided. The study suggests that if administered properly and understood by the students, journal writing has the potential to help students change their attitude towards writing for the better and improve their writing and language skills. Keywords: journal, journal writing, Creative writing course, developing writing and language skills