Diary studies in TESOL

Types

Learning diary

There are two broad types of diary study in the field of TESOL: learning diary and teaching diary. Learning diaries, also known as learner diaries, can be documented as a pedagogical tool for teachers in the EFL classroom to discover learners' perception of classroom activities, learning difficulties and their interaction with teachers and peers. They can be adopted as a research tool to gain insight into learners' language learning experiences. A well-known diary study in this field is Schmidt and Fronta's research on Schmidt's Portuguese learning diary in Brazil. In addition, learner diaries can be documented as a teacher training tool in teacher education programs to help pre-service teachers have varied and rich perceptions about teaching. A learner diary can not only fill gaps between what we generally think and what diarists really think, but also enhance learner autonomy. By keeping the diary, learners can have a clearer idea of their current learning progress and try to find different strategies to manage their own learning.

Teaching diary

Teaching diaries can offer a fresh perspective of teachers' experiences, their teaching styles and strategies, their feelings about the students, and their judgments in the classroom. Teaching diaries can help teachers to find the patterns in their classroom, make appropriate instructional decisions, adjust their teaching and reconsider their future roles while teaching. Numrich in 1996, for example, found interesting issues about early preoccupations of novice ESL teachers and the reasons why they chose some instructional methods through her diary study.