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Enhancing Writing Skills through Blogs in an Undergraduate English Language Classroom in Pakistan
... In most of the studies (Aydan, 2014;Dehneliler, 2013;Farooq, Fatima & Javid, 2015;Sulistyo, Mukminatien, Cahyono & Saukah, 2019;Temir, 2015;Üzer, 2016;Karsak, Fer & Orhan, 2014;Arifeen & Billah, 2018;Çakıroğlu, 2013;Koç & Koç, 2016;Özdemir, 2015) about undergraduate level, it is seen that the effect of using blog as a teaching tool on a skill in English such as reading or writing is investigated. ...
... As a result of the analyzes made to answer the sub-problem whether the methods applied in the experimental group have an effect on academic achievement, the data showed a normal distribution. Farooq et al. (2015) and Temir (2015). ...
... In most of the studies (Aydan, 2014;Dehneliler, 2013;Farooq, Fatima & Javid, 2015;Sulistyo, Mukminatien, Cahyono & Saukah, 2019;Temir, 2015;Üzer, 2016;Karsak, Fer & Orhan, 2014;Arifeen & Billah, 2018;Çakıroğlu, 2013;Koç & Koç, 2016;Özdemir, 2015) about undergraduate level, it is seen that the effect of using blog as a teaching tool on a skill in English such as reading or writing is investigated. ...
... As a result of the analyzes made to answer the sub-problem whether the methods applied in the experimental group have an effect on academic achievement, the data showed a normal distribution. Farooq et al. (2015) and Temir (2015). ...
... Thus, weblogging as an approach in a writing class has enhanced the students' organisation skill. This result supports Farooq et al. (2015) who articulated that weblogging caused a significant gain to students' skill in sequencing and organising ideas. Similarly, Said et al. (2013) revealed that most of their participants in their study agreed that weblogging does not only make them use writing style and register correctly but also seasons them to choose the correct sentence and paragraph structure, helping them to decide on their word choice and spelling cautiously, and alter their writing style. ...
Advancements in educational technology have kept teaching and learning undisrupted during unprecedented times. Individual and collaborative web-based learning activities have addressed language teachers’ dilemma on how to approach teaching and learning remotely. Weblogging characterised by online journals has been considered to address students’ difficulty in mastering writing as a productive skill. In this study, the effectiveness of a collaborative weblog-based (CWB) project approach was explored. Utilising a quasi-experimental design, 56 English pre-service teachers enrolled in a state university were purposively selected to be the study participants. The validated pre-post-test questionnaire, course syllabus, lesson exemplars, and scoring rubric were used to gather the needed data on students’ writing skills. Results of the paired t-test revealed a significant increase in the three aspects: organisation, elaboration and grammar, usage and mechanics. The CWB project approach is an alternative way to improve students’ writing performance. It is recommended that CWB project may be used by teachers handling writing courses and other related disciplines to address writing proficiency.
... Further studies which have focused specifically on the impact of blogs on learners' writing skills have also reported positive effects in relation to the structure and content of students' written work. Farooq et al. (2015), for example, examined the impact of a six-month program in which Pakistani undergraduate students used blogging as a medium to write, and to receive instruction and guidance. The researchers reported significant improvements in language structure, sequencing of ideas, and creativity in the students' written output, and concluded that blogging appears to "provide an opportunity for learners to shift from surface to deeper levels of learning" (p. ...
This study investigated how English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students at a university in Pakistan experienced blogging on their smartphones as a means to gain more extensive autonomous practice writing in English. The blogging was done as a stand-alone activity, independent of the students' university EFL programme. Using a mixed-methods case study design, data were collected from 23 undergraduate students through interviews, surveys, and reflective written accounts. This paper foregrounded the students' voices to reveal their attitudes to blogging, their experiences using smartphones for that purpose, and perceived changes in their English writing skills. The findings indicated that many of the participants developed a virtuous cycle, in which their interest and enjoyment of blogging, along with perceived improvements in their ability to communicate in English, contributed to increase both confidence and motivation to write more. The findings also pointed to other worthwhile social and educational outcomes that could be fostered through this type of activity. As a result, the study has implications for teachers and learners in a wide range of EFL contexts, i.e., offering further insights into strategies for harnessing existing digital tools in order to extend students' opportunities to use the target language, within and beyond formal educational settings.
This paper examines the definitions of 'weblog', explains the weblog's history and discusses how weblogs develop writing, reading and communication skills. The positive and negative potential of weblogs for language teachers is discussed, the use of weblogs in a writing class for non-native English speakers in the first year of university study is demonstrated, and feedback from these students is considered. What is a Weblog?
Journalism has been slow to develop distinctive forms in response to the new contexts provided by the internet. One rapidly developing form, unique to the world wide web, is the weblog. This article reviews the claims made by proponents of the form and explores, through the case study of a weblog produced by the British Guardian newspaper, epistemological differences to the dominant Anglo-American news form. The article argues that the rearticulation in this institutional product of the relation between journalists and users, of the claim to authority made in the news text and of the news text as product, provides historians of both journalism and new media with a case study of the adaptation of journalism to new contexts.
Learner development depends to a great extent on language awareness which is not only a focus on language itself, but also a cognitive reflection upon language functions. Language awareness can be fostered by giving learners various choices in learning activities. The variety of choices stimulates learner interest and has a potential for learner development. This research addresses the application of the latest innovation of Information Communication Technology, which has been coined blogging, for fostering language awareness. A weblog, or blog for short, is a personal site that allows instant publishing online. An increasing interest to using blogs in education suggests their application in teaching / learning English. In this study, students created their own blogs and used them for accomplishing various activities. The implications of blog application in learner development have been discussed.
Lately e-learning has become a fast-moving discipline online because the Internet offers a diversity of activities for learners in particular. Since e-mail has proved to be the most important and unique method for communication all over the world, pedagogical benefits of using e-mail in teaching and learning a foreign language include extension of learning time and place beyond the classroom, real life communication and asynchronous interaction, promotion of autonomous learning, and learner collaboration. This report presents theoretical analysis of scientific literature on e-mail communication for learning purposes, collaboration in learning, students learning experiences while learning online; a research into an ICT collaborative project between two groups of e-key partners who studied English for Specific Purposes at tertiary level. The project aimed at placing students in authentic professional situations. Learners were expected to perform a series of negotiation tasks with e-partners they have never met face to face. The exchange of e-mails constructed a continuous interaction chain, from requests, replies to requests, suggestions, and responses to suggestions, negotiations, taking decisions, making adjustments, and finalizing tasks. The research was conducted into learning outcomes, analysis of language styles in messages, gender differences on error points in messages, self-and peer-assessment of task completion. Learning effects were estimated by analyzing students' performance such as the ability to get the message across at the first attempt and avoiding erroneous attempts or reformulations. Two types of statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data on e-mail language style and errors between female and male students. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the central tendency and to show the dispersion around the centre. Inferential statistical processing of quantitative data was employed and statistical significance was calculated. Double statistical processing proves that the findings could be generalized in spite of the small size of the investigated sample.
The purpose of this thesis is to introduce the blogging phenomenon and the effectiveness of using blog exchanges for English writing. Firstly the thesis points out that the blog is an effective tool for students to improve English writing on the basis of the general observation of features and its application in education. Then it further described the influences of using blog for students in English writing. This thesis also discussed how to engage students' reflective learning in English writing through the blog. There are also suggestions for the research on blogging and its potential for its pedagogical application to education, especially the teaching of English writing.
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