An Analysis of How In-Service EFL Teachers Comment on Peers' Reflective Journals
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| Title: | An Analysis of How In-Service EFL Teachers Comment on Peers' Reflective Journals |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Katsuhide Yagata |
| Source: | TESL-EJ. 2025 29(2). |
| Availability: | TESL-EJ. e-mail: editor@tesl-ej.org; Web site: http://tesl-ej.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 17 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | English (Second Language), Language Teachers, Foreign Countries, Reflection, Student Journals, Feedback (Response), Peer Evaluation, Writing (Composition), Secondary School Teachers, Graduate Students |
| Geographic Terms: | Japan |
| ISSN: | 1072-4303 |
| Abstract: | Situated in a graduate course on dialogic reflective journal writing for in-service English as a foreign language teachers, this paper explores Japanese teachers' comment writing on their peers' reflective journal entries. Previous studies on reflective journal writing in second language teacher education have examined multiple aspects of teachers' reflective learning and have suggested that collaborative journal writing fosters teachers' introspective and analytic awareness about their pedagogical practices. However, few studies have explored the collaborative process of reflective journal writing. Focusing on peer comment writing in collaborative reflective journal writing, this study examines 1) what the structure and types of comments are and 2) how the teachers engaged in comment writing to their peers' reflective journals. Drawing on four teachers' written comments and interview data, it was found that their comments typically involved a shared structure: a) set phrases, b) non-critical comments, and finally c) critical comments. Their comment writing process involved negotiation between their previous habits of advice giving and the expectations of the class and navigation of sociocultural norms. The discussion suggests the necessity of context-specific awareness and that increasing scaffolding of difficulties arising from sociocultural factors may help more teachers make the most of written reflective collaboration. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1482890 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Situated in a graduate course on dialogic reflective journal writing for in-service English as a foreign language teachers, this paper explores Japanese teachers' comment writing on their peers' reflective journal entries. Previous studies on reflective journal writing in second language teacher education have examined multiple aspects of teachers' reflective learning and have suggested that collaborative journal writing fosters teachers' introspective and analytic awareness about their pedagogical practices. However, few studies have explored the collaborative process of reflective journal writing. Focusing on peer comment writing in collaborative reflective journal writing, this study examines 1) what the structure and types of comments are and 2) how the teachers engaged in comment writing to their peers' reflective journals. Drawing on four teachers' written comments and interview data, it was found that their comments typically involved a shared structure: a) set phrases, b) non-critical comments, and finally c) critical comments. Their comment writing process involved negotiation between their previous habits of advice giving and the expectations of the class and navigation of sociocultural norms. The discussion suggests the necessity of context-specific awareness and that increasing scaffolding of difficulties arising from sociocultural factors may help more teachers make the most of written reflective collaboration. |
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| ISSN: | 1072-4303 |
