A learner’s diary: Learning, growth,

and change in consciousness on a homestay sojourn

Lee ArnoldSeigakuin University

JALT 2016 Learner Development SIG forum

Such studies emerged in the 1970s

Significant works from Jones (1977), Schumann (1980), Schmidt & Frota (1986), Ellis (1989), and Peck (1996)

Diary studies came to lessen somewhat in research literature within the last 10-15 years

Reasons may be from merger with reflective learning studies or exhaustion of new research findings

Learner diary studies

Changes undergone by a Japanese university female homestay learner on one-month sojourn in Australia

Learner had never previously traveled outside Japan but was eager to undergo experience

Learner reported some trepidation before departure but believed sojourn beneficial for language gain and cultural expansion

Aim of study to review validity of diary study concept

Overview of present study

Diary guidelines & content

Learner was asked prior to departure to keep a journal for the month she would spend in Australia

Guidelines for the journal included:• To write in English whenever she could• To write as much in English as she was able

There would be no pressure on her to write every day and no specification of content – she was free to write whatever she wanted

Initial entries within first days were impressionistic but by end of first week were already becoming longer with greater complexity in syntax

Some further entries from end of first week and into second week

By middle of sojourn some entries became more impressionistic again from her more active extracurricular socializing beyond classroom study

Some frustration with L2 came through but was tempered by social interactions and excursions

Some final entries

AnalysisJournal began as straightforward chronicle in L2

Collection brought forth growth in writing but also reflected some emergent change in consciousness

Learner reported post-sojourn change in orientation with university study upon return to Japan

ConclusionLiterature of diary studies may have dropped off but concept may remain valid for analyzing impact of study abroad on individual learners

Longer-term sojourns may naturally lend themselves to greater growth in L2 and change in consciousness but shorter-term stints can still have affirmative effect on L2 and consciousness

Validates Carroll’s (1967) early findings on benefits of even short-term study abroad sojourns for L2 development

Thank you for listening!