1. e-Learning in an EFL Academic Writing Class: An Online Forum Example
By Aranya Srijongjai
Department of Western Languages
Faculty of Humanities, Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand

2. Outline Purpose Introduction Theoretical Framework
Online Forum Activities
Outcomes
Lessons Learned
Conclusion
Q & A

3. Purpose
To share a one semester experience using an online forum to integrate reading into an academic writing class

4. Introduction Axelrod & Cooper (2002)
Writing is one of the survival skills required of university students. It can contribute to their academic achievement as well as their work life.

5. Introduction
To help students develop their writing skill, many teachers encourage their students to read.
Linking reading activities effectively in a writing class is a challenge for EFL teachers.

6. Introduction EN395 Reading and Writing Process of English I
A compulsory major course for the B.Ed. Program in English at Srinakharinwirot University
19 third-year students

7. Introduction Course Objective:
To help students develop their skills in academic writing while integrating reading into the writing process

8. Introduction ATutor 1.6.3 Online forum
The supplementary part of the classroom-based course

9. Theoretical Framework
The objective of the online forum:
To have students practice critical thinking by analyzing the purpose, audience and organization of the reading texts, so as to help them better understand the elements of writing and apply what they have learned in their writing

10. Theoretical Framework
Tompkins (2003)
“There are practical benefits of connecting reading and writing. Reading contributes to students’ writing development, and writing contributes to students’ reading development” (p. 60).

11. Theoretical Framework
Students’ awareness of purposes, audience and organization of the reading texts is also important for writing.

12. Theoretical Framework
Barnes (2000)
Students gain better outcomes when they write with the consideration of a purpose and an audience.
Axelrod and Cooper (2002)
“Students who learn to write for different readers and purposes do well in courses throughout the curriculum” (p. 3).

13. Theoretical Framework
Cali and Bowen (2003)
Organization is one feature of effective writing. As different genres are for different purposes and audiences, they need different text structures.

14. Theoretical Framework
Chan and Yap (2008)
Models of online forums in English language learning websites:
‘ask-the-expert’ forum
student community forum
serious discussion forum
creative writing forum

15. Theoretical Framework
The serious discussion forum model was selected for the course since it closely matched the online forum’s objective.

16. Online Forum Activities
1) Reading articles
2) Student roles
3) Instructor roles
4) Evaluation

17. 1) Reading articles
Three reading articles were selected and distributed to students in the three genres taught in class: narrative, persuasive and opinion.

18. 1) Reading articles “Mom, You Never Told Me…”
by Jeffrey L. Aran (as cited in Scull, 1987, pp. 7-8)
“Stopping Youth Violence: An Inside Job” by Fawcett and Sandberg (1996: pp )
“Uniformed Students, Uniform Minds: Why Uniforms Have No Place in a University”
by Patrick Jory (2006)

19. 2) Student roles
Students were required to read the articles outside class and answer questions posted on the ATutor online forum.
Students’ opinions were solicited, as they enhanced the students’ development of ideas.

20. 2) Student roles
Table 1: Examples of questions in the ATutor online forum
Topics
Questions
Purpose
- What is the writer’s purpose?
Audience
- Who is the audience of this article?
Organization
- What is the thesis statement of this essay?
- How many reasons does this writer give to back up the thesis statement? What are they?
- The writer tried to express his opinion on the use of uniforms in Thai universities. He supported his idea with many reasons. What are they?

21. 3) Instructor roles Distribute the reading materials
Provide backgrounds to reading materials
Offer ideas to rouse students’ interest in the reading topics
Post the questions in the forum’s threaded discussions
Monitor the ATutor online forum activities
Guide the students on reading when necessary

22. 4) Evaluation Student performance was evaluated in two ways.
Contributions to the ATutor online forum were marked as a part of their participation score.
One part of the final exam was based on the three reading articles designed to test their critical thinking on the purpose, audience and organization of the texts.

23. 4) Evaluation Table 2: Examples of questions of the final exam Topics
Audience
If you wanted to change the audience of the article, “Mom, You Never Told Me…,” from parents to children, how should you revise it? Give some examples.
Purposes & organization
If you wanted to change the purpose of the article, “Stopping Youth Violence: An Inside Job,”
from
teaching conflict resolution skills to all children to reduce youth violence to
banning violent computer games to reduce youth violence,
what should be in the body paragraphs of this article? Write three topic sentences for three possible body paragraphs.

24. Outcomes
The students’ participation in the ATutor online forum was constant and attentive.
Students also monitored one another in the forum.

25. Outcomes
Most students wrote longer answer and tried to back up their answers with supporting details.
The results of the final exam showed that every student was aware of the purpose, audience and organization of the texts.

26. Online course page

27. ATutor online forum

28. Examples of students’ responses

29. Examples of students’ responses

30. Outcomes
Example 3

31. Outcomes
Example 4

32. Outcomes
Example 5

33. Outcomes
Example 6

34. Lessons Learned The issue of plagiarism Students’ poor reading skills
Critical thinking

35. Conclusion
Online forums can be used effectively to integrate reading into academic writing courses.

36. Conclusion The success of the ATutor online forum depends on:
- the purpose of the forum
- the materials used
- the model applied

37. Conclusion de Vry and Brown (2000)
The success of threaded discussions can be achieved in three ways:
1) they must be weaved to emphasize discussion on narrow topics,
2) they must attentively overseen by an instructor, and
3) they must be graded.

38. Conclusion
Teachers of writing should consider an online forum as one of their choices for integrating reading activities into their writing courses.

39. Q & A

40. Thank you