Augmenting ESL Class Evaluations through Oral Journals.

An experiment using audiotaped student journals for course evaluation is described. Subjects were 200 native Cantonese-speaking technology students taking credit-bearing courses in English communication skills for building. One of the required tasks in the course was to indicate, in their oral journals, what they liked about an instructional module on communication skills for building purposes, and what they would do to improve it. The report summarizes the study and presents excerpts from both students' and teacher's comments on specific module activities, including: reading of newspaper and magazine articles on building-related topics; writing about both physical attributes and building processes in technical writing tasks; group oral work; oral journals; general oral activities; and listening quizzes. It is concluded that substantial information concerning curriculum strengths and weaknesses was derived from the students' oral journals, and that the method is useful for tapping student perceptions that might otherwise not be revealed. (MSE)