Abstract:

The Reflective Journaling technique as the means of developing learners’ reflection, motivation formation and, as a result, improving learning outcomes has been worldwide used in teaching foreign languages for many decades. Still, for Russia it remains a relatively new technology.

The article deals with studying the place Reflective Journaling occupies in reflective education, particularly in reflective culture formation. Being an effective tool of reflective culture formation, the technique has both significant advantages and problems in implementation.

The experiments conducted in Kazan Federal University where four groups of Upper Intermediate students took part provided proof of Reflective Journaling efficiency in forming learning motives, analyzing ways of working with information, setting goals and planning ways of self-learning activity, developing conversational proficiency and grammar and vocabulary broadening. However, the study shows that to obtain all these, the teacher should well plan and organize the learners’ work on Journaling. On the whole, the results of the experiments allow us to outline the conditions of Reflective Journaling implementation under which it can be highly effective.

Keywords:

Communication competence, reflection, Reflective Journal, reflective thinking, techniques of writing, experiment.