JALT2003 AT SHIZUOKA CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS399 The Learning Journal as an Agent of Attitude Change

This paper is a report of a case study in which an interactive/refl ective learner journal was used to encourage student English teachers at a National University in Korea to investigate their beliefs and attitudes regarding language learning. The goal of the research was to examine the extent to which increased awareness of these factors would promote positive modifi cation of self-esteem, intrinsic motivation and attitudes to learning. Students were given a learning journal which consisted of in-class interactive activities focusing on various issues of foreign language learning and teaching, and out-of-class individual refl ection pages. Having completed the journal, students were asked to report their perceptions of their learning abilities, study skills, confi dence, motivation, independence and attitudes to self/ peer-assessment. These reports were compared with identical pre-course questionnaires, and results over 5 semesters showed a signifi cant increase in the use of positive keywords and in the length of responses. Given these results, it is suggested that awareness of the learning process, when discussed in an ongoing manner (as lesson content) and reinforced by individual refl ection, leads to positive modifi cation of the affective factors which drive learning, and hence promotes effective, autonomous learning