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. drawbacks- lead 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 high- speed 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  four main types of activities – assignment prompt, free write, describe a scene, structured, peer-edited process writing  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 Spanish- speaking 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