Open AccessEnhancing writing skills through blogs in an EFL class
Author(s) -
Ruby Vurdien
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
eurocall newsletter
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1695-2618
DOI - 10.4995/eurocall.2012.16214
Subject(s) - collaborative writing , class (philosophy) , pace , computer science , task (project management) , mathematics education , pedagogy , peer feedback , computer mediated communication , electronic publishing , collaborative learning , critical thinking , the internet , psychology , multimedia , world wide web , management , geodesy , artificial intelligence , economics , geography
Today Web 2.0 technologies, including blogs, are presenting both teachers and learners with new horizons in the field of language teaching and learning. A blog is an online journal which can be continuously updated by its users (Matheson, 2004). People can write their views at their own pace without space and time constraints. Blogs aid in the development of interpretive and critical thinking skills. The present study explores how a blog as a computermediated tool engages a group of EFL learners, at a language school in Spain, in reflective and collaborative learning, and argues that personal blogs can motivate students to build on their writing skills through self-reflection and peer feedback. The students had become more careful with planning their task and error correction before submitting their work. Collaborative skills were also fostered through students’ regular interaction on the blogs.