Using Blogs to Motivate Students to Write

By: Mónica Tamayo Maggi, Academic Consultant, Cambridge University Press Ecuador

Even with the most communicative approaches, EFL classrooms are limited in their ability to develop a learner’s proficiency for communication mainly due to the restricted hours of interaction in the target language and lack of exposure to meaningful and authentic language context. Computer technology has the potential to be used as a medium for providing learners with new opportunities to engage in meaningful interactions. How can teachers integrate technology in the EFL classroom to improve student language proficiency? One innovative approach is the use of internet for the implementation of a cycle of blogging activities within different levels in an English language program. Blogs, which are interactive homepages that are easy to set up and manage, enable students to engage in online exchanges, thereby expanding their language study beyond the physical classroom. Students´ knowledge as well as an understanding of the world is developed through the discussion of various cross-curricular issues. The cycle of blogging activities that can be implemented include students setting up blogs (www. blogspot.com), making blog posts, then reading classmates’ post and commenting. Writing assignments can include: guided and accuracy-based work, such as structured paragraphs, stories, summaries related to projects done in class or self-directed and fluency-based tasks, such as those often found in free writing and journals.

Blogs have also been used to address topics from other subject areas such as, Science and Humanities:

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http://www.gabytinajero1492.blogspot.com/

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http://www.paoasiri.blogspot.com/

http://www.montchery-bling-bling.blogspot.com/

http://www.juanfradh.blogspot.com/

From my experience, working with blogs was a great motivation for my students. They almost unanimously made their posts on schedule. My students also seemed to be encouraged to write without a concern for word limits in their post. Many posted not just as many words as the teacher suggested—at least 200 words, when specified—but significantly more.

In addition, some students were undoubtedly motivated by the fact that, while posted online, their blog posts were in essence published, and they can be accessed and read by any number of classmates, the teacher, and indeed anyone around the world with an internet connection. Several students even felt more immediate responsibility for what they wrote, which would presumably lead them to make improvements in content and organization and to achieve a higher quality work.

Blogging activities are not just as classroom exercises or homework assignments, but also as a meaningful and effective means for students to express their own ideas, learn about the ideas of others and respond appropriately. The challenge to teachers who utilize blogs, especially when they are creating assignments, aims at moving from teacher-centered to learner-centered instruction, focusing greater attention on diversity among learners, connecting school with the world beyond as a means of promoting holistic learning, and helping students to develop their own purpose of learning.

CUP Club - Ecuador

Using Blogs to Motivate Students to Write

Using Blogs to Motivate Students to Write