Conversation Diary in EFL Class: A Perspective, Problem and Solution

Abstract

Conversation needs two people or more to be conducted. In doing conversation, diary is needed to help students to speak during conversation. Therefore, this study aimed to know the students’ perception on conversation diary, problems and solution. A mixed method was employed to achieve the research objectives. Thirty five students of English Education Study Program were the sample of this resarch. The instruments used were questionnaire and interview. The data were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed by the researcher. The quantitative data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics with calculating mean scores and percentage, while the qualitative one used several stages namely reduction, displaying, and concluding the data. The results showed that majority students had a positive perspective on using diary in conversation class because based on the questionnaire, many students opted strongly agree and agree to all items. However, students faced several barriers namely speaking and psychologycal factors. In speaking skill, several students were lack of vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar, while the psychological factors covered anxiety, self confidence and motivation. Another finding displayed that improving motivation and joining public speaking can be alternative ways to deal with those barriers. In conclusion, conversation diary had benefits for students to support them in speaking.