Logbook o Diario di bordo: uno strumento per l’apprendimento dentro e fuori la classe di lingua

One of the aims of language learning is that learners can apply outside the classroom what they learn at school and, vice versa, can use in classroom what comes from their experience in ‘real’ life, that is, outside school walls. However, as nearly a century of experimental research on the field has proved, knowledge transfer does not occur spontaneously, on the contrary, this capacity seems to be particularly complicated and difficult to encourage. It is therefore crucial to help learners gain awareness and make use of existing language learning opportunities as well as the learning strategies they can employ so to increase their capacity to make connections. Among the different tools that can be used to enhance both language competence and metacognitive awareness, logbook is considered one of the most handy and purposeful. This paper will try to explain what a logbook is and how it can be used with students with the intention to promote their language learning both in and out of the classroom.