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