ENHANCING STUDENTS’ WRITING PERFORMANCE THROUGH BLOGS N99C0028 Winni 王淑鈴

Purpose of study To explore students’ writing performance by using blogs

Introduction With the growing popularity of computers and Internet, there are more and more learning ways in English. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) provides multiple ways for learners. CMC has been widely utilized in English teaching and learning.

Literature Review Campbell (2003): three types of blogs 1. tutor blog: Teacher supplies special materials for reading and vocabulary activities. 2. learner blog: used as journals for writing practice or as free-form model for personal expression 3. class blog: like a free form bulletin board; share thoughts on a common topic assigned as homework.

Literature Review Advantages Campbell (2003): 1. access new information 2. structure their own thoughts 3. offer writing practice Dippold (2009): 1. increase students’ motivation 2. facilitate exchange of resources and feedback on process in writing

Research Question Does blogs enhance junior high school students’ writing performance?

Participants School A junior school located in Kaohsiung Founded in 1969 Approximately 52 classes, 100 teachers, and 1562 students 15 classes of 9th grade

Participants Teacher 2 certificated English teacher Approximately 5 years of experience in teaching junior high schools Both groups were taught by the same teacher.

Participants Students Two classes of 30 (both control and experimental groups) 9th grade (age 14-15) Native Language: Mandarin Chinese Have learned English since 3rd grade 19 weeks of the lessons Five times a week 45 minutes per session

Instruments   Pre-test (GEPT) blog Experimental group √ Control

Procedures 1. 4 : normal courses;1: blog(each week) Experimental group 1. 4 : normal courses;1: blog(each week) 2.The teacher posts an article on the blog every week. 3. Each student has to read, comment on, and respond at least two entries each week. 4. The instructor wrote comments on incorrect usage of vocabulary or grammatical structures. 5. Students must to correct their errors and rewrite their feedback.

Procedures Control group 1st Pre-test 2nd -17th Textbook Blog 18th Week Experimental Group Control group 1st Pre-test 2nd -17th Textbook (4 classes, each week) (5 classes, each week) Blog (1classes, each week) 18th Post-test

Data Collection Results of the pre-test (an elementary level GEPT writing) and post-test (an elementary level GEPT writing)

Data Analysis For Research Question, using T-test to see students’ performance through blogs.

Reliability and Validity GEPT(The General English Proficiency Test) was administered by LTTC(The Language Training and Testing Center ) Provide many test locations in major cities for examinees to test. More than 300 junior high schools or high schools, and hundreds of universities and government agencies recognize GEPT scores.