Uses of Blogs in L2 Instruction
碩專應英二甲
N97C0008
吳淑敏 Frances
Background
Ward (2004)
1. “ a free online publishing house for anyone
who cares to write and for those who care
to read it.” (p.2)
2. Benefits
(1) in composition classes- authentic,
communicative, peer review and editing
(2) reduce inhibitions
Background
(3) facilitate an interactive relationship with
an infinite and unknowable audience.
3. drawbackslead to superficial reading and sloppy
writing
Background
Godwin-Jones
advantages of blogging
1. maintain a lot of exchanges among
students
2. a more serious consideration of language
3. the encouragement of community
language learning by electronic means
Setting
in
public university courses
technological resources, including highspeed Internet-connected computer labs
elementary, intermediate, advanced-level
Spanish classes
most students rated their “familiarity with
computers” very high
the majority are technologically trained
Goals and Objectives
improve
student writing
decrease inhibition in writing
encourage self- and peer-editing
practice writing strategies
increase opportunities for reading of
authentic materials
Activity Types
main types of activities – assignment
prompt, free write, describe a scene,
structured, peer-edited process writing
four
A fifth
activity - authentic blog reading
Activity Types
1. Assignment Prompt
The instructor posts a prompt and students
are expected to respond to it.
Prompts are often directly related to the
vocabulary.
Blog prompts allow for a sense of
community to develop.
Activity Types
2. Free Write
Each week, students were asked to post
something on the blog.
purposely generic and open-ended – lower
students inhibitions to write
much more open
Students were reminded as to what would
be inappropriate to post on the blog.
Activity Types
3. Describe a Scene
was done during class time in two computer
labs
mimic a typical, authentic communication
exchange over the Internet
the class was divided into two rooms with
computers
Activity Types
In Room 1—write a post describing the scene in
the picture
In Room 2—read all the posts from the other room
and recreate the scene
After the sketch, students compare their drawings
and discuss in L2.
Choose one of the pictures that is most
representative of the posts they had read.
The two groups rejoin in the language lab.
Activity Types
4. Structured, Peer-Edited Process Writing
Brainstorm ideas, post first drafts, receive
peer feedback, request feedback from the
instructor, and post final drafts..
Highlighting the process is more important
to this activity than the product.
Activity Types
5. Authentic Blog Reading
This activity was used only briefly at the
beginning of the semester.
Students were asked to join an authentic
target language blog.
Students were asked to read posts from the
blog on a weekly basis.
Affective Concerns
The
use of new technology creates its own
affective concerns.
Most students use the blog with ease, but
some experience technical problems.
To avoid anxiety and frustration, the
instructor distributes a handout.
Culture
Both
“big C” and “little c” cultures can be
integrated in blogs.
The
use of blogs encouraged discussion on
the real-life use of technology in Spanishspeaking cultures.
Practical Concerns
Students’
comments are divided into three
areas: amount of technical knowledge
necessary, preference for medium, and
organization of posts.
Conclusion
Blogs
proved effective for teaching writing
skills.
the facilitation of peer review and
collaboration
some future topics for research
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