EFL Students’ Attitudes towards the Use of Diaries in Learning Writing Skills

Abstract

Being proficient in writing requires regular practice, while learners do not have enough motivation to write outside class. The study investigates the attitudes of EFL students towards the use of diaries as a pedagogical tool for improving writing skills. In order to achieve these central objectives, a mixed-method approach combining qualitative and quantitative methods was conducted. The participants were 60 sencond-year EFL students (at a Vietnamese university) who were interested in the research and returned the completed diaries and questionnaire document. The results of this study suggested that almost all of the students found writing diaries beneficial in the improvement of writing skills and motivation in learning writing. In addition, they liked using the diaries and desired to use them in their next language course because they were convinced of their effects on improving their writing and enhancing learning motivation.