Does the use of dialogue journals affect the writing fluency of low-literacy adult Somali students?

Motivated by the search for an effective writing tool to use with low-level students, the author examined dialogue journaling with seven adult Somali students. Word counts, recasting, and confidence levels were studied within the context of classroom action research conducted in a suburban school. Key influences included students, teaching colleagues, and journaling experts like Peyton, Staton, and Jones. Through an analysis of the journals, questionnaires, and interviews, the author analyzed what improvements occurred when journaling. This study showed that word counts gradually increased as the weeks progressed, that written recasting was generally not noticed by the students, and that students\u27 confidence levels in their writing abilities increased as a result of using the dialogue journals. An unexpected result lay in word counts being influenced by which topics were selected word counts soared when relating to Somali traditions, while topics that seemed more academic produced journal entries with fewer words