Enhancing communication through e-mail : implications for the teaching and learning ESL writing

Studies done in the area of composition support that free writing activities helped to develop confidence and efficiency among LI and L2 students. Dialogue-joumal writing is one of the activities in free writing that can provide opportunity to explore and experiment the language. The emerging of microcomputer technology has given endless and remarkable enhancement in language teaching instruction. Studies done by Lee (1998) and Warshauer (1995) indicate the usefulness of e-mail in teaching English where teachers and students can communicate with each other^through formal and informal consultation. Apart from that, e-mail can be used in exchanging dialogue journals and writing conference. The aim of this paper is to look at the effectiveness of dialogue journal writing through e-mail in enhancing communication among the matriculation studnets at the National University of Malaysia. Pedagogical implications of the study on the teaching and learning of ESL writing will also be discussed.