THE EFFECT OF BLOGS ON STUDENTS FLUENCY IN WRITTEN LANGUAGE AND ATTITUDE ABOUT LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE

PravinApril 28, 2012

INTRODUCTION

Research Question

What is the effect of using blogs

on the students fluency in written language and attitude towards

learning a second language?

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? ESL Perspective- what works and what does not Familiar technology tools Learner engagement-enthusiasm & motivation Learning timeline- visual reinforcement Accessible Ownership Collaborative Increased readiness levels Constructive feedback Authentic audience Render to customization Wait time- for ESL learners Tool to foster editing skills

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The public nature of blogging improves and motivates students’ writing because they know that their peers and other people besides the instructor will be reading their work (Penrod, 2007).

Students develop their own voices (Pick, 2005) and self confidence through their responses on the blog

Blogs as a medium, act as a non threatening class environment for ESL learners to share their voices and views. (Richardson, 2006)

Learners get motivated and practice and groom their writing skills through Blogs (Campbell, 2003)

Positive attitudes towards writing and also enhance their organizational skills (Drexler, Dawson & Ferdig, 2007)

According to Franklin (2005) Blogging could affect learning in multiple ways and “exponentially turn up the volume on learning”

“Students are always happy when they see something happening in class that they think of as a practical skill,” (Forrest, 2006).

According to Zhang (2009) blogs “foster critical thinking by encouraging students to evaluate what they read and write.”

On the other hand Divitini, Haugalokken & Morken (2005) found that blogs have failed to motivate students.

Also Oikonomidoy (2009), found out that not all blog responses were mindfully crafted. It was also found that some responses were “quite superficial and to a degree meaningless”.

Dippold (2009) argues that blogs can be ineffective if students are not taught how to express their views.

Despite these findings research on using blogs in the field of education seem to have an overall positive effect. What is mandatory is to have students understand the purpose of blogging (Brownstein & Klein, 2006)

METHODS Research design -Two group pre post test design -Attitude measured by Write-on scale-pre and

post -Writing fluency- Writing prompt & rubric- pre

and post -Independent variable- Blogs -Dependent variable was the evidence that

students have shown a change in attitude and written fluency towards ESL. 

Intervention -Experiment group gets introduced to blogs -Control group- No change Sample & setting -Convenience sample -Grade 9- Control group- 11 students -Grade 7- Experiment group- 7 students -American Embassy School Instrumentation & data collection -Two group pre-post test design -Write-on scale -Writing prompt & rubric

Students at work during the study period

Student Blogs

Teacher’s Blog

Threats to validity -Researcher bias -Show an inclination to prove my hypothesis -Some students receive tutoring at home -Mortality -Students might gauge what the scale is

trying to measure

RESULTS Attitude -Experiment group depicted greater gains pre

and post test in their attitudes about learning a second language- Statistically significant

-Control group - Statistically insignificant results

Groups Mean Standard Deviation (SD) t value N P value

Experimental 4.86 2.54 3.6068 7 0.0024

Control -0.36 3.23 11

Write-on scale t test results for experiment and control groups

Visual representation of Write-on Scale results pre and post test

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Pre testpost test

Experiment Group Control Group

Mea

n At

titud

es

Writing Fluency -experimental group revealed no significant

changes in writing fluency after intervention -control group showed gains in writing

fluency overtime

Groups Mean Standard Deviation (SD)

t value N P value

Experimental 0.343 0.244 1.0486 7 0.3100

Control 0.518 0.395 11

t test results of the mean scores for the experiment and control groups

Experiment Group Control Group0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

Pre TestPost Test

Visual representation of writing fluency pre and post test means

DISCUSSIONPositive relationship between blogs and attitude

Students are engaged while using technology

Writing fluency does not necessarily depend on blogs (technology)

Focus and developmental stage essential

Perseverance matters

Continue to integrate technology especially

ACTION PLAN

Why Blog?

Engagement and Time-lag engaging

students with tools that they use outside of the classroom everyday will help teachers make strong connections

Encourage learners to think before they publish

Include parents

Differentiate learning and assessment

Technology is a tool- integrate technology to enhance learning and create “magic”

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