Students perceptions of blog peer feedback for english writing practice

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY No2 PHAM MINH DUC STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF BLOG PEER FEEDBACK FOR ENGLISH WRITING PRACTICE A CASE STUDY AT FACULTY OF FO

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY No2

PHAM MINH DUC

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF BLOG PEER FEEDBACK

FOR ENGLISH WRITING PRACTICE

(A CASE STUDY AT FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HANOI

PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY No2)

SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN THI HONG NHAT, M A

Hanoi, May 2013

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

On completing the graduation paper, I owe profound indebtedness to so many people, without whose contribution and spiritual support I would not have accomplished it

First of all, I would love to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Nguyen Thi Hong Nhat M.A, for her scholarly instruction, critical comments, great encouragement and valuable materials, without which the thesis would not have been accomplished

I am greatly indebted to 10 students from Course 37 in the academic year

of 2012-2013 They took part in my blog writing course and filled in my survey questionnaires

I wish to thank all the lecturers at Hanoi Pedagogical University Number

2, especially the lecturers in the Foreign Language Faculty for their dedicated instruction during my years of university work

I am particularly grateful to my close friends for their enthusiasm and kindness helping me collects valuable reference documents and data for my research

Last but not least, I owe a debt of gratitude to my beloved family, for their whole- hearted encouragement and endless support

ABSTRACT

Blog is one of the recent innovations that provides students with opportunities to practice English writing outside the classroom More and more educators have applied this easy-to-use technology to classroom instruction and language learning (Campbell, 2003; Johnson, 2004) Two main objectives of the study are to evaluate the impact of blog peer feedback to facilitate EFL learner’ comments and revisions on writing task, and to find out the students’ perceptions toward the use of peer feedback on English writing A total of ten English major students of K37 at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Hanoi Pedagogical University No2 participated in this study Data are collected from students through questionnaires and blog comments conducted during the writing course in the second term, academic year 2013 Responses indicate that students have a favorable perception of blog peer feedback in their writing classroom Findings suggest that learner-perceived benefits of using blogs included increased interest and motivation to use English because of interaction with, and feedback from students

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Title: Students’ perceptions of blog peer feedback for English writing

practice

(A case study at foreign language faculty in Hanoi Pedagogical University No2)

I certify that no part of this report has been copied or reproduced by me from any other person’s work without acknowledgements and that the report is originally written by me under strict guidance from my supervisor

Date submitted: May 2013

Student Pham Minh Duc

Supervisor Nguyen Thi Hong Nhat, M.A

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Blog : Weblog

EFL : English Foreign Language

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

PART ONE INTRODUCTION I Rationale 1

II Research questions 3

III Research objectives 3

IV Research scope 3

V Research tasks 4

VI Research methods 4

VII Significance of the proposed research 4

VIII Design of the research work 4

PART TWO DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I.1 Literature review in brief 5

I.2 Writing skill 6

I.2.1 Definition of writing 6

I.2.2 The importance of writing 7

I.2.3 Approaches for teaching writing 8

I.2.3.1 The Product Approach 8

I.2.3.2 The Process Approach 9

I.3 Blogs 10

I.3.1 General observations about blogs 10

I.3.1.1 Definition of blogs 10

I.3.1.2 Types of blogs 12

I.3.1.3 Advantages of blogs 14

I.3.2 Using blogs for English writing 17

I.3.2.1 The effectiveness of blog in a English writing class 17

I.3.2.2 Influences of using blog on students in English writing 17

I.3.2.3 Helpful pointers to facilitate using of blogs for English writing 19

I.3.2.4 Reflections with blog for English language learners in writing 20

I.4 Peer feedback 20

I.4.1 Definitions of peer feedback 20

I.4.2 Modes of peer feedback 21

I.4.3 Benefits of peer feedback 24

CHAPTER TWO METHODOLOGY II.1 Research setting 27

II.1.1 Writing class 27

II.1.1.1 Overview 27

II.1.1.2 Participants 28

II.2 Data collection 28

II.2.1 Procedures of data collection 28

II.2.2 Instruments 30

II.2.2.1 Blog comments 30

II.2.2.2 Reflection essays 30

II.3 Data analysis 30

CHAPTER THREE: THE RESULTS, DISCUSSIONS, FINDINGS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

III.1 Blog peer feedback on EFL learners' comments and revisions 31

III.1.1 Nature of comments 31

III.1.2 Nature of revisions 33

III.2 Students’ perceptions of blog peer feedback 34

III.3 Findings 35

III.4 Recommendations 37

PART THREE CONCLUSION Summary 39

Limitations 40

Suggestions for further study 40

REFERENCES 41

EDITING CHECKLIST 45

APPENDIX A 45

APPENDIX B 46

PART ONE INTRODUCTION

I Rationale

In recent times, the Internet has emerged as a prominent new technology The influence of such a powerful technological tool has pervaded all aspects of the education, business, and economic sectors of our world (Singhal, 1997) Regardless of whether people use the Internet or not, people must know clearly about the fact that we have entered a new information age and the Internet is here to stay Because the use of the Internet is widespread in numerous fields and domains, without a doubt, it also carries great potential for educational use, specifically foreign language education The technology has a lot of advantages

in learning foreign language The use of technology helps teachers reach all students in different ways Technology relates the curriculum to life outside the classroom, which involves students in worthwhile, interactional activities, such

as interpersonal exchanges, information gathering, and problem-solving projects Using different aspects of technology helps motivate students to learn Moreover, technology adds many dimensions of foreign language learning, particularly with the use of multimedia programs Technology helps to make the study of foreign languages very practical and significant in students’ lives Students have the opportunities to work collaborative manner Technology gives students opportunities to use their productive and receptive abilities for real purposes, such as publishing a newsletter or writing interactive journals (“school computing”, e-book)

One of applications of technology to English learning is social networks

On social media sites like Facebook , Twitter, Google+, Zing Me or Weblog, users may develop biographical profiles, communicate with friends and strangers, do research, and share thoughts, photos, music, links, etc According to the web site “http://socialnetworking.procon.org”, the author mentioned that the proponents of social networking sites say that the online communities promote

increased interaction with friends and family, offer teachers, librarians, and students valuable access to educational support and materials, facilitate social and political change; and disseminate useful information rapidly And Blog is unexceptional Blog is relatively easy to use and intrinsically motivating It enables learners to communicate with the world in an authentic manner The use

of weblogs in English language classrooms can facilitate and enhance English language learning as learners are presented with the opportunity to interact and connect with materials as well as an authentic audience outside of the classroom, thus making the language learning process an interactive and intrinsically motivating experience for the learners (Wan & Tan, 2011)

Blogs can be applied to EFL writing classes in different ways Blogs can

be used to provide extra reading for learners, as online learner journals that can

be read by the other learners, to guide learners to online resources appropriate for their level, to increase the sense of community in a class, to encourage participation from shy learners, to stimulate out of class discussion, to encourage

a process writing approach, as an online portfolio of learners’ written work and

to help build a closer relationship between learners in a large class (Stanley, 2005) Weblogs also provide learners with a real audience, an opportunity for peer review as well as accommodate a range of process-based writing tasks that learners enjoy doing (Raith, 2009; Ward, 2004) They are extremely versatile and the number of ways that they can be used is limited only to the imagination

of the user There are three types of weblogs used in English language classrooms which are the tutor blog - run by the tutor for the learners, the learner blog - either run by individual learners themselves or by small collaborative groups of learners), the class blog - the result of the collaborative effort of an entire class (Campbell, 2003) However, the learner blog is supposed to be the most suitable for writing class

In conclusion, blogs can provide an exciting and motivating learning environment where students have a sense of ownership and readership They can

be used to enhance student analytical and critical thinking skills, create social

interactions between students and the instructor, students and their peers, and students and a global audience Blogs are recommended to foster students’ English language development in a genuine learning environment Thanks for advantages of blogs, it’s used widely in EFL writing classes and useful for both

of learners and teachers Influence of using of blogs on developing writing skills have to do with motivation and attitudes Attitudes towards EFL learning have been investigated in some very few prior studies with respect to integrating Internet technology with EFL (Gal-Ezer, 2002; Yoon & Hirvela, 2004; Stoel & Lee, 2003; Ocker & Yaverbaum, 2001) Therefore, it’s the reason why teachers apply blogs in EFL writing class The purpose of the study is to examine the effectiveness of blog peer feedback and students’ perceptions for English writing practice

II Research questions

The study is focus on two following questions:

II.1 To what extend can blog peer feedback facilitate EFL learners’ comments and revisions on writing task?

II.2 What are the students’ perceptions of blog peer feedback for English writing practice?

III Research objectives

The study is aimed at the following goals:

1) To evaluate the impact of blog peer feedback to facilitate EFL learners’ comments and revisions on writing task

2) To find out the students’ perceptions of blog peer feedback for English writing practice

IV Research scope

The research focuses on investigating the blog peer feedback and students’ perceptions for English writing practice

The population involved in the study is ten female English major students of Course 37 of Faculty of Foreign Language at Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2

V Research tasks

The study involves fulfilling the following tasks:

1) To study the features, classification, and the advantages of blogs

2) To study the features of peer feedback

3) To study the impact the blog peer feedback on improving English writing

VI Research methods

To achieve the objectives of the study, the following methods have been applied:

1) Quantitative analysis is involved through the process of data collection and analysis

2) Qualitative analysis is also applied in investigating the students’ perceptions for English writing practice

VII Significance of the proposed research

After the research, it is hoped that the result will be useful to:

1) Help students be more motivated to self- studying and learn from their peers

by using blogs in writing

2) Help students improve their writing by using blog peer feedback

3) Find out a new way of learning English writing

VIII Design of the research work

The research work has three main parts, namely: Introduction, Development, and Conclusion The part “Development” consists three chapters

Chapter 1 deals with theoretical background of blogs and peer feedback

including definition, classification, advantages, and impact on writing

Chapter 2 deals with the methodology including participants, research

procedure

Chapter 3 deals with result, discussion and recommendation

PART TWO DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

I.1 Literature review in brief

Peer feedback is considered to be a hotly debated topic And the term

“peer feedback” is differently defined by various researchers, such as Hyland (2005); Hansen and Liu (2005); Zainurrahman (2010); Topping (2009); Lewis (2002)… However, these researchers seemed to reach a consensus of the definition of “peer feedback”

According to Bartels (2004), peer feedback means feedback from your fellow students If one student is working on the same assignment as another student, peer feedback can mean exchanging drafts and comments on each other’s drafts

Peer feedback is defined by Yang (2006) as feedback that is given by peer That means having other students to read and to give comments, corrections, criticisms, corrections, criticisms, and suggestions on what other students have written

In addition, new ways of providing and receiving feedback seem to be beneficial and effective as well With the shift of focus from traditional methods

of giving feedback to computer-mediated feedback, the ways of giving and receiving feedback on writing have changed This shift has brought about significant changes to the pedagogy of writing (Giovanni & Nagaswami, 2001; Matsumura & Hann, 2004 cited in Morra & Romano, 2009) In view of this, new technologies like wikis, blogs, podcasts, Twitter and online forums are becoming popular in writing classes Among these user-friendly technologies, blogs appear to have suitable features and characteristics that can fully support peer feedback

Blogs have been described by many grammarians like Aljumah (2012), Campbell (2003), Dawns (2004), Ferdig & Trammell (2004); Istifci (2011); Kennedy (2003); Jones (2006) They each have their own way to describe the weblogs Generally, they focus their attention on the definition, features, types, benefits of weblogs, and weblogs in English language learning

Aljumah (2012) refers to Use of Blogs in Teaching English Writing Course

for EFL He also introduces the definition, types of weblogs & writing

instruction in ELT

Campbell (2003) in Weblogs for Use with ESL Classes just mentions to

the types of weblogs and their benefits

In the book Content Delivery in the Blogosphere, Ferdig & Trammell

(2004) gives a lot of information about weblog They give the pedagogy behind blogs, practical suggestions for implementing blogs, benefits of student blogging

Kitchakarn (2012) in the book Using Blogs to Improve Students’

Summary Writing Abilities gives a quite understandable picture of the weblogs

Overall, most scholars focus on definition, classification, benefits of peer feedback and blogs in writing class Besides, there are some studies researched

on the use of blog peer feedback in educational contexts (Chen et al., 2011; Gedera, 2011; Dippold, 2009; Wu, 2006) However, further research is needed

on aspects related to blog peer feedback such as the effectiveness of blog peer feedback and students’ perceptions for English writing practice Therefore, it is

essential to have a study on students’ perceptions of blog peer feedback for

English writing practice

I.2 Writing skill

I.2.1 Definition of writing

There are various definitions of writing, each definition is a reflection of the underlying theories or perspective that the authors assume

Writing is of fundamental importance to learning, to development of the person in each learner, and to success in the educational system As teachers, we

need to work continually to aid our students in their search for fulfillment as writers (Graham & Harris, 1993)

According to Byrne (1979, p.1), writing was considered as “act of forming graphic symbols” or simply “making marks on the flat surface of some kinds”

Lannon (1989, p.9) views writing as “the process of transforming the material discovered by research inspiration, accident, trial or error, or whatever into a message with a definite meaning- writing is a process of deliberate decision” It means that writing must convey a message with a meaning

In short, the word “writing” itself may imply an act, a process or a skill, which needs practice and study to develop It requires both physical and mental powers from the writers

I.2.2 The importance of writing

Ur (1996) categorized writing purposes into three sub-categories Firstly, writing is used as “a convenient means for engaging with aspects of language other than the writing itself” (p.162) Through writing activities, students attend

to and practice a “particular language point” Secondly, writing is considered “as

an end” Accordingly, various writing activities, including “micro” and “macro” activities, invite students to develop their writing skills The third kind of writing combines “as both means and end” (p 162) It is a mixture of “purposeful and original writing and learning or practice of some other skills or content” (p 162)

Doff (1988, p.148) provided a detailed comment on the importance of writing at lower levels of learning English as a foreign language “students’ need for writing is most likely to be for study purposes and also as an examination skill The main importance of writing at this level is that it helps students to learn”

Tribble (1996, p.7) made a list of reasons why school students have to involve writing in their study Writing has the positive effects on their creativeness and first language acquisition Accordingly, writing gives school

students opportunities for language practice by reviewing grammar and vocabulary and creative language use Because of a general educational value, writing in foreign languages can help students become better writers in their first language

In short, for students who study foreign languages, writing has current immediate values, including language practice and EFL examination Also it embeds future values such as professional benefits, development of creative language and educational values

I.2.3 Approaches for teaching writing

I.2.3.1 The Product Approach

Writing in 1986, Applebee pointed out that product approach is a largely

“prescriptive and product-centered” way of teaching writing Product approach pays much attention to the final outcome of a writing process and supposes that students need to produce only one version of the task Generally, product approach focuses on the result of the final writing paper of learners With this approach, the favorite class activities are engaged in imitating, copying, and transforming models of correct language

To assist teachers to analyze classroom behaviors of the product approach, Steele (2006) provide a model for it:

Stage 1: Model texts are read, and then features of the genre are highlighted For example, if studying a formal letter, students' attention may be drawn to the importance of paragraphing and the language used to make formal requests If studying a story, the focus may be on the techniques used to make the story interesting, and students focus on where and how the writer employs these techniques

Stage 2: This consists of controlled practice of the highlighted features, usually in isolation So if students are studying a formal letter, they may be asked to practice the language used to make formal requests, practicing the 'I would be grateful if you would…' structure

Stage 3: Organization of ideas This stage is very important Those who favor this approach believe that the organization of ideas is more important than the ideas themselves and as important as the control of language

Stage 4: The end result of the learning process Students choose from a choice of comparable writing tasks Individually, they use the skills, structures and vocabulary they have been taught to produce the product; to show what they can do as fluent and competent users of the language

I.2.3.2 The Process Approach

The process approach to writing has been seen as an improvement over the traditional methods of writing instruction in recent years and has been widely implemented in teaching writing in the first language and the second language as well Many educators are positive towards the process approach and think that the students will benefit greatly from this approach (Raimes, 1983; Stewart & Cheung, 1989; White & Arndt, 1991)

Process approaches to writing tend to focus more on the varied classroom activities which promote the development of language use: brainstorming, group discussion, re-writing Such an approach can have any number of stages, though

a typical sequence of activities could proceed as follows;

Stage 1: Generating ideas by brainstorming and discussion Students could be discussing qualities needed to do a certain job, or giving reasons as to why people take drugs or gamble The teacher remains in the background during this phase, only providing language support if required, so as not to inhibit students in the production of ideas

Stage 2: Students extend ideas into note form, and judge quality and usefulness of ideas

Stage 3: Students organize ideas into a mind map, spider gram, or linear form This stage helps to make the (hierarchical) relationship of ideas more immediately obvious, which helps students with the structure of their texts

Stage 4: Students write the first draft This is done in class and frequently

in pairs or groups

Stage 5: Drafts are exchanged, so that students become the readers of each other's work By responding as readers, students develop an awareness of the fact that a writer is producing something to be read by someone else, and thus can improve their own drafts

Stage 6: Drafts are returned and improvements are made based upon peer feedback

Stage 7: A final draft is written

Stage 8: Students once again exchange and read each other's work and perhaps even write a response or reply

In summary, both approaches can benefit students in their writing Deciding on which approach to use depends on many factors such as the teacher, the students, and the genre of the text

Product writing is the approach that imitates a model text; considers organization of ideas more important than ideas themselves; and focuses on one draft; features highlighted including controlled practice of those features, individual, and an end product Whereas, process writing views text as a resource for comparison and ideas as the starting point; focuses on more than one draft, purpose, theme, text type, collaborative; and creative process It also empowers students by getting them to talk about their writing process It is this

“talk” that you will be engaged in as tutors and writing assistants

I.3 Blogs

I.3.1 General observations about blogs

I.3.1.1 Definition of blogs

Blog is short for ‘Web log’; it is best described as an online journal The term ‘Web log’ was coined by Jorn Barger in 1997 (Blood, 2000) However, Justin Hall, who began his personal online journal in 1994, is considered to be one of the first bloggers Over 4 million Weblogs had been created by the middle of 2003 and over 60 million were created by May 2005 (Huann, Ow, &

Ho Pau Yuen, 2005) There are more than 900,000 blog posts a day with a new blog created every second (Richardson, 2005) Blogs can be about any topic and

can include pictures or even video They often incorporate links to other blogs or websites Most, though not all, blogs provide the option for readers to comment

on the journal entry This feature makes blog a truly social communication tool

Blog is a Web site that consists of a series of entries arranged in reverse chronological order, often updated on frequently with new information about particular topics The information can be written by the site owner, gleaned from other Web sites or other sources, or contributed by users

Blog often has the quality of being a kind of "log of our times" from a particular point-of-view Generally, blogs are devoted to one or several subjects

or themes, usually of topical interest, and, in general, can be thought of as developing commentaries, individual or collective on their particular themes Blogs may consist of the recorded ideas of an individual (a sort of diary) or be a complex collaboration open to anyone Most of the latter are moderated discussions

Since there are a number of variations on this idea and new variations can easily be invented, the meaning of this term is apt to gather additional connotations with time A popular blog is Slashdot.org, the product of programmer and graphic artist Rob Malden and several colleagues Slashdot.org carries discussion threads on many subjects including: Money, Quake (the game), Netscape, Sun Microsystems, Hardware, and Linux Slashdot.org solicits and posts interesting stories reported by contributors, includes a link to the story, and manages the threads of the ensuing discussion by other users Another well-known weblog is Jorn Barger's Robot Wisdom Log, which is more of collection

of daily highlights from other Web sites Jessamyn West's librarian.net is a daily log of items interesting to librarians and possibly others, too

As a format and content approach for a Web site, the blog seems popular because the viewer knows that something changes every day, there is a personal point-of-view, and, on some sites, there is an opportunity to collaborate or respond with the Web site and its participants

I.3.1.2 Types of blogs

Three types of blogs have been described by Campbell (2003): the tutor blog; the learner blog; and the class blog The tutor blog is run by the tutor for the learner, and its purpose is to give reading practice to the learners, promote exploration of English websites, encourage online exchange by use of comment buttons, provide class or syllabus information, and serve as a resource of links for self-study Learner blogs are run by individual learners themselves Learner blogs are best suited for reading and writing classes The class blog is the result

of the collaborative effort of an entire class It can be used for posting messages, images, and links related to classroom discussion topics Class blogs could also

be used as a virtual space for an international classroom language exchange (Campbell, 2003)

1) The Tutor Blog

This is a type of weblog that is run by the tutor for the learners It serves the following purposes:

It gives daily reading practice to the learners Sometimes students find assigned reading material too boring, difficult, or hard to relate with This is because it is often written with another purpose in mind So who better to write

to them than the person who knows them best: the teacher Entries are kept short, geared towards the learner interest, and linked to related online sources for further reading if desired Vocabulary used in class can be recycled this way New vocabulary words can be linked to definitions on other sites found with a search engine Furthermore, a casual, natural writing style can be used by the tutor to develop learner familiarity with native language patterns

It promotes exploration of English websites Any entry made by the tutor can and ought to encourage further exploration of the Internet in English by linking to related articles, and content based websites For those learners reluctant to step outside the comfort of exploring the Web in their native language, being led to interesting English language sites will increase their confidence and help to overcome their aversion

It encourages online verbal exchange by use of comment buttons At the bottom of each entry, any blog reader can make a comment that can be read and further commented on by all who access the site Ask your students questions, give them riddles, challenge their views; whatever it takes to encourage them to comment

It provides class or syllabus information Entries in the blog can also serve

to remind students about homework assignments and upcoming discussion topics Links can be provided to sites that introduce relevant topics of discussion The tutor can also follow up on difficult areas of classroom work that might need review or clarification In addition, a permanent link to the classroom syllabus and rules can be included on the blog

It serves as a resource of links for self-study In the right and/or left margins of the blog, permanent links can be set-up and organized to aid the learner in self-study, for example links to online quizzes, English news sites, key-pal networks, audio and video files for listening practice and ESL interactive websites

2) The Learner Blog

These are blogs that are either run by individual learners themselves or by small collaborative groups of learners In ESL, learner blogs may be best suited for reading and writing classes A common reading assignment can be followed

by blog postings on the thoughts of each learner or group of learners Furthermore, the act of constructing the blog may encourage the use of search engines and net surfing in English to find the appropriate sites to which links can

be made This will empower the learner to direct the reader to sites of choice for further reading Individually, blogs can be used as journals for writing practice,

or as free-form templates for personal expression The idea here is that students can get writing practice, develop a sense of ownership, and get experience with the practical, legal, and ethical issues of creating a hypertext document In addition, whatever they write can instantly be read by anyone else and, due to the comment features of the software, further exchange of ideas is promoted

Tutors can even run a mega-blog of select topics of interest gleaned from student blogs so that the broader issues are brought into focus on a single website

3) The Class Blog

This type of blog is the result of the collaborative effort of an entire class The following are some possible uses:

In conversation-based classes it could be used like a free-form bulletin board for learners to post messages, images, and links related to classroom discussion topics It could also be a space for them to post thoughts on a common theme assigned for homework

With intermediate and advanced learners, class blogs might also useful for facilitating project-based language learning, where learners can be given the opportunity to develop research and writing skills by being asked to create an online resource for others

Class blogs could also be used as a virtual space for an international classroom language exchange In this scenario, learners from different countries would have joint access and publishing rights to the blog The entire exchange would then be transparent to all readers and could be followed and commented

on by other learners, tutors, parents and friends

For reading and writing classes, it might also involve the use of knowledge management software, like Userland's Manila, that allows for a great deal of threaded discussion behind the scenes Much like a publishing group, individual learners can be given varying amounts of responsibility to publish material arising from postings on the discussion list The results of this effort are what is seen on a website by the public at large

I.3.1.3 Advantages of blogs

Although weblogs were not originally designed for language learning, they have immense potential for it Students generally find weblog writing valuable for language learning (Arani, 2005; Blackstone, et al., 2007; Hall, 2005; Pinkman, 2005; Tan et al., 2005b; Walker, 2005; Ward, 2004) Learners at

college level found writing weblogs a motivating activity as they were able to experience authentic writing in context (Brooks et al., 2004; Kavaliauskiené et al., 2006) Writing weblogs also allows learners to practice writing skills such as summary, paraphrases and development of voice (Brooks et al., 2004; Laitner, 2007) In addition, weblogs provide language learners opportunity to practice using the language that they have learned in class (Pinkman, 2005), raise language awareness and promote learner development (Kavaliauskiené et al., 2006), practice writing (Tu, Chen & Lee, 2007), help create a collaborative class environment where learners can give and receive feedback (Barrios, 2003; Kavaliauskiené et al., 2006; Kennedy, 2003; Laitner, 2007; Minugh, 2008; Tan

et al., 2005b) and present learners with a space to reflect on their language learning (Mynard, 2007) The use of class weblogs also allow students to see comments that were written for the class as a whole as well as comments that were directed to them individually Learners can also see for themselves how their writing has progressed over time through the use of weblogs (Johnson, 2004)

Some of the attributes of weblogs which provide potentials to be used in language learning are that they provide the students with an audience and comments, voice, conversations and dialogue, ownership and choices as well as archives (Davis, 2006, 2008) By providing students with an audience who are located outside the classroom walls along with the possibility of getting comments from them, weblogs give students a sense of recognition The students realize that their teacher is no longer the only member of audience for their work and that what they write and have to say on their weblogs are read by

a bigger audience made up of their peers, teacher and possibly other readers

This motivates them to produce better quality of work as they would not want to publish work that they would feel embarrassed about (Halavais as cited

in Online Classroom, 2004) The comments feature found in weblogs can be used to further enhance the interactivity of weblogs Through the comments feature, students now can receive feedback from not only the instructor but also

from their peers (Blackstone et al., 2007; Ward, 2004) Discussions between students are no longer bounded by time or place Students can now share ideas more effectively, review each other’s work and discuss corrections with one another (Blackstone et al, 2007; Flatley, 2005) Comments allow students to both give and receive feedback (Blackstone et al, 2007; Kavaliauskiené et al., 2006; Kennedy, 2003)

Blogs also provide students with an opportunity to develop their own voice via writing (Brooks et al., 2004; Davis, 2006, 2008) Developing a voice is important in learning and for students to participate in conversations on weblogs effectively In addition, weblogs permit shy students who are hesitant to speak

up in a classroom to share their ideas and to be heard by many (Downes, 2004; Song & Yuen, 2008) Blogs have great potentials for developing relationships between learners and building communities (Bloom, 2008; Tomei & Lavin, 2007; Stanley, 2005a, 2005b)

Students have been found to use the comments of weblogs to give each other compliments, to correct errors and give suggestions, to show care about the perception of their entry, give personal responses and additional information, express disagreements and different opinions, make comments on comments that have been written by others before them, pose questions to the blogger and answer their readers’ questions (Bloom, 2008)

Conversations and dialogues which take place in the students’ posts can promote critical thinking and the construction of knowledge among the students involved (Richardson, 2005, 2006) The use of weblogs in education enables students to make choices and take ownership not only of their weblog space but also of their learning process (Ferdig & Trammell, 2004; Davis, 2006, 2008; Tan et al., 2005a; Ward 2004) This empowers the students by letting them take control of how they learn The archives available on weblogs make them ideal for keeping records of the learning that is taking place and makes it easier for anyone to retrieve the students’ work as long as there is a computer and an Internet connection The archives also allow the students to view their own work

and progress over a period of time Teachers can also use the archives to evaluate the students’ work

I.3.2 Using blogs for English writing

I.3.2.1 The effectiveness of blog in a English writing class

Since 1998, many foreign educators have applied this user-friendly technology to classroom instruction and language learning (Campbell, 2003; Johnson, 2004); however, it seems that relatively few English teachers have ever used blogs in an English Foreign language (EFL) writing class around us Blogs not initially created for use in language education, but blogs have formidable potentials as a useful tool for the teaching of EFL writing class

In a short blog posting titled “Do weblogs improve writing?” Bernstein (2004) supported “Frequent writing improves writing”, “Writing for an audience improves writing”, “Writing that matters improves writing”, and “Writing on a computer improves writing” However, to EFL learners, frequent writing might not necessarily improve writing However, it will definitely be useful if students

do not only write frequently but also look up English dictionaries or use Internet

to help them express their ideas clearly and correctly EFL learners’ writings will be more or less influenced by their first language The improvement of writing will be questioned if EFL students write English frequently but present their thoughts with the style of their first language And some students answer that they will look up an English dictionary or ask someone else when they don’t know how to express their ideas in English To an EFL learner, it is a critical step to become a successful writer if whenever he is aware that something wrong with his writing, he can effectively find an answer from an English dictionary or Internet

I.3.2.2 Influences of using blog on students in English writing

1) Facilitating the Students’ Critical Thinking Skills

The students engaged in collaborative learning through their interactions with others which serves as a catalyst for critical thinking Blogs foster critical thinking by encouraging students to evaluate what they read and write Writing

blogs offers students a way to improve their writing skills and encounter new ideas through interaction with other students Blogs allow students to easily link

to resources that support their assertions, and thereby encourage critical thinking

2) Providing Examples for Students to Model and to Learn

Publishing reflective commentaries on the Internet is an effective way for students to share each other’s reviews Not only will readership increase, when students see each other’s works, they can learn from one another, thereby motivating them to produce better reviews Furthermore, the creation of online portfolios on the web amounts to a showcasing of their works over the development period of their learning Such knowledge artifacts are a display of learner’s growth and reflection on their learning When a sizeable number of interested visitors give comments and input to a blog, a community of learners may be formed

3) Affecting the Students’ Quality of Writing

The quality of writing is manifested in several ways Some students who study English state that they are always aware of their audience, and, as a result, write with their audience in mind They don’t know whether they are right or wrong The permanent nature of publishing online encourages students to pay more attention to the content and language in their blogs And the feedback received from the various sources as well as the different types, critical and non-critical; also affects the quality of their writing The students also enhance the quality of their writing by adding visual representation to their blogs This helps

to clarify concepts for the reader Visual literacy, visual thinking, and visual learning are concepts related to the purpose of Constructing Meaning Multimedia research shows that students with visual learning styles can benefit from technology with a multimedia format In other words, adding visual associations to their blogs helps the students express their points of views

4) Facilitating Meaningful Learning for Students

Blogging facilitates meaningful learning for the students because they explore other blogs and links to learn more about other countries, cultures, and the people who write to them In foreign language classes, the benefits of blogs include language gains and furthering cultural understanding Some students even use blogs exchange different culture with some foreigners By participating

as active readers of blogs, students can gain the insider’s perspective on various cultural topics, thus leading to better understanding of other cultures and what shapes them

5) Giving Students a Purpose for Writing

Blogs increase students’ interest and ownership in learning Students direct their own learning about topics important to them, while receiving feedback from others Students take ownership in blogging activities by actively searching for information The use of blogs gives students chances to participate

in a community They learn that posted content can be read by people other than their teacher and classmates The world can provide encouragement or feedback

on student writings Students interact with an authentic audience

I.3.2.3 Helpful pointers to facilitate using of blogs for English writing

1) Promoting Comfortable Interaction for Students

Most of the students prefer blogging interaction to face-to-face interaction because it is a more comfortable learning environment for them Some students maybe feel very comfortable with the blogging interaction because they don’t like interacting face-to-face with their classmates They indicate that they do not understand the accents and pronunciation of some of their classmates when they speak and read in English, which make them feel that the class interaction is a waste of time

2) Motivating the Students’ Writing and Interaction

Publishing in blogs motivates some students because they want to make

an impact on the readers with topics that were important for her Posting makes they feel emotionally connected, happy, and eager to get audience responses