The Utility of Second Language Blogging

The Utility of Second Language Blogging PDF Author: Rashed Saad Alaboudi
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Technology is advancing in continuous and swift steps, producing many tools that can be utilized in language teaching and learning practice. This study aims to examine the perceptions of 16 male English writing students in a Saudi university towards the utility of using blogging in their writing classes. The instrument of this study includes a survey of 19 Likert-scale questions, three open-ended questions, and five demographic questions. Six major areas of interest are explored in view of participants' perceptions of blog-based writing classes, including usefulness, benefits, advantages and disadvantages and whether or not they would choose a blog-based writing class in the future. The results reveal that the utility of blogging is perceived positively by the majority of participants in this study and is associated with an increased motivation and involvement in the learning process. Blog-based English writing classes are found useful for improving learners' critical thinking skills, vocabulary knowledge, writing style, sentence structure, grammatical competence, audience awareness, punctuation, organizational structure, and creativity of ideas. Among all these benefits, the highest mean is observed in relation to the benefits of blogging for participants' growth as critical readers of other students' writings. Overall, the results of the present study add further support to the postulations of Collaborative Learning Theory (Dillenbourg,1999) and the Expectancy Theory (Groom, 1964), according to which collaboration in learning facilitates the process of reaching the expected learning outcomes. Based on the results of the present study, the use of blogging as a teaching tool seems to facilitate both the collaborative nature of learning and the level of learner expectancy. This observation is supported by the high percentage (56%) of participants who agreed that by writing blogs they have learned to write for different audiences. The findings of this study also draw attention to the fact that some negative observations were made about the quality and effectiveness of peer work and peer feedback. This is one area that needs to be considered in future research in order to find effective ways of incorporating peer collaboration in the development and assessment of students' writing skills in English blog-based classes.

The Utility of Second Language Blogging

The Utility of Second Language Blogging PDF Author: Rashed Saad Alaboudi
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Technology is advancing in continuous and swift steps, producing many tools that can be utilized in language teaching and learning practice. This study aims to examine the perceptions of 16 male English writing students in a Saudi university towards the utility of using blogging in their writing classes. The instrument of this study includes a survey of 19 Likert-scale questions, three open-ended questions, and five demographic questions. Six major areas of interest are explored in view of participants' perceptions of blog-based writing classes, including usefulness, benefits, advantages and disadvantages and whether or not they would choose a blog-based writing class in the future. The results reveal that the utility of blogging is perceived positively by the majority of participants in this study and is associated with an increased motivation and involvement in the learning process. Blog-based English writing classes are found useful for improving learners' critical thinking skills, vocabulary knowledge, writing style, sentence structure, grammatical competence, audience awareness, punctuation, organizational structure, and creativity of ideas. Among all these benefits, the highest mean is observed in relation to the benefits of blogging for participants' growth as critical readers of other students' writings. Overall, the results of the present study add further support to the postulations of Collaborative Learning Theory (Dillenbourg,1999) and the Expectancy Theory (Groom, 1964), according to which collaboration in learning facilitates the process of reaching the expected learning outcomes. Based on the results of the present study, the use of blogging as a teaching tool seems to facilitate both the collaborative nature of learning and the level of learner expectancy. This observation is supported by the high percentage (56%) of participants who agreed that by writing blogs they have learned to write for different audiences. The findings of this study also draw attention to the fact that some negative observations were made about the quality and effectiveness of peer work and peer feedback. This is one area that needs to be considered in future research in order to find effective ways of incorporating peer collaboration in the development and assessment of students' writing skills in English blog-based classes.

Handbook of Research on Web 2.0 and Second Language Learning

Handbook of Research on Web 2.0 and Second Language Learning PDF Author: Thomas, Michael
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1605661910
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 636

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Book Description
"This book investigates how those involved in education can respond to the opportunities offered by the Web 2.0 technology"--Provided by publisher.

A Guide to Composition Pedagogies

A Guide to Composition Pedagogies PDF Author: Gary Tate
Publisher: OUP USA
ISBN: 9780199922161
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A Guide to Composition Pedagogies is the essential bibliographic guide written for newcomers to the field. This best-selling guide familiarizes writing instructors with the current topography of Composition Studies and directs them to the best books and articles for further exploration.

The Effects of Blogging on the Writing Achievement of Third-grade Second Language Learners

The Effects of Blogging on the Writing Achievement of Third-grade Second Language Learners PDF Author: Mayela Adriana Hernandez
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Blogs
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
A skill that second language learners struggle to acquire is writing. This study is based on the Huebner (2008) study which findings indicated that there was no significant difference in the writing achievement of third-grade second language learners when they responded to writing prompts in writing journals and in a blog. A limitation of the Huebner (2008) study was that the participants had no prior keyboarding skills. Two research questions were explored. Will there be a difference in writing achievement between third-grade second language learners who participate in a three week training in keyboarding skills, compared to students who do not when they blog? "Will the use of blogs versus journals cause third-grade second language learners to write more words, use more sophisticated language, and have less grammatical and mechanical errors?" (Huebner, 2008, p. 4). Twenty-two third-grade second language learners and 2 native English speakers participated, 12 in the experimental and 12 in the control group. The experimental group was exposed to a three-week keyboarding training. Both groups for three weeks answered 12 writing prompts 6 in their journal and 6 a blog. The results indicated that the experimental group had a higher word count when the word counts of only blog and blog and writing journal entries were added. However, the control group had a slightly higher writing rubric score. There was no significant difference in writing achievement. KEYWORDS; computers, keyboarding skills, second language learners, web 2.0 sites, weblogs (blogs), writing achievement

Exploring the Dynamics of Second Language Writing

Exploring the Dynamics of Second Language Writing PDF Author: Barbara Kroll
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521822920
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
A collection of 13 original articles, this book is intended to provide a series of discussions about multiple aspects of second language writing, presenting chapters that collectively address a range of issues that are important to new teachers at the post-secondary level. The chapters provide scholarly visions, insight, and interpretation oriented toward explaining the field of teaching academic writing to non-native speakers. The book is designed to provide foundational content-knowledge in this area, each chapter authored by recognized experts in the field. Throughout the chapters, presentation and review of scholarship is presented primarily in the interest of understanding how such knowledge directly or potentially impart teaching, making this a pedagogically relevant book. In addition to helping train new teachers, the book will serve as an updated reference book for practicing teachers and scholars to consult.

Fluent Forever

Fluent Forever PDF Author: Gabriel Wyner
Publisher: Harmony
ISBN: 038534810X
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • For anyone who wants to learn a foreign language, this is the method that will finally make the words stick. “A brilliant and thoroughly modern guide to learning new languages.”—Gary Marcus, cognitive psychologist and author of the New York Times bestseller Guitar Zero At thirty years old, Gabriel Wyner speaks six languages fluently. He didn’t learn them in school—who does? Rather, he learned them in the past few years, working on his own and practicing on the subway, using simple techniques and free online resources—and here he wants to show others what he’s discovered. Starting with pronunciation, you’ll learn how to rewire your ears and turn foreign sounds into familiar sounds. You’ll retrain your tongue to produce those sounds accurately, using tricks from opera singers and actors. Next, you’ll begin to tackle words, and connect sounds and spellings to imagery rather than translations, which will enable you to think in a foreign language. And with the help of sophisticated spaced-repetition techniques, you’ll be able to memorize hundreds of words a month in minutes every day. This is brain hacking at its most exciting, taking what we know about neuroscience and linguistics and using it to create the most efficient and enjoyable way to learn a foreign language in the spare minutes of your day.

Second Language Development and Blogging

Second Language Development and Blogging PDF Author: Karine Vardazaryan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783659247149
Category : Blogs
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description


A Case Study on the Impact of Weblogs on the Writing of Low-Level Learners in the University of Chile

A Case Study on the Impact of Weblogs on the Writing of Low-Level Learners in the University of Chile PDF Author: Simon Higginson
Publisher: Universal-Publishers
ISBN: 1612337562
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 102

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Book Description
Since the turn of the century the use of computer-mediated-communication (CMC) has become more widespread in educational contexts and weblogs (blogs), one of the more popular forms of CMC (Bloch, 2007), have been the focus of numerous studies. However, whilst these studies have listed the potential benefits of blog use for language learners, few studies have offered any practical tips for educators who wish to implement the use of writing blogs in the EFL classroom. Moreover, the vast majority of studies have focused on the use of blogs with relatively high-level learners in academic contexts. This small-scale study focuses on how the use of blogs impact on the writing of a group of low-level learners in a tertiary EFL context in Chile. Moreover, it presents a tentative model to explain the different factors that contribute to writing development using weblogs as these learners grapple "not only with a written code but with a linguistic code that is still being acquired" (Raimes, 1985: 232). The findings report that blogs have the potential to aid low-level learners develop their L2 writing, and a number of suggestions are made that may help practitioners facilitate the process.

Recent Developments in Technology-Enhanced and Computer-Assisted Language Learning

Recent Developments in Technology-Enhanced and Computer-Assisted Language Learning PDF Author: Zou, Bin
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1799812847
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 454

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Book Description
The pace at which technology changes has created unique challenges in the integration of such technologies into language teaching and learning. Innovative pedagogies and strategies must be developed that adapt to these changes and accommodate future technological changes. Recent Developments in Technology-Enhanced and Computer-Assisted Language Learning is an essential research publication that focuses on technological influences on language education and applications of technology in language learning courses including foreign and second language learning. Featuring an array of topics such as artificial intelligence, teacher preparation, and distance learning, this book is ideal for teachers, language instructors, IT specialists, instructional designers, curriculum developers, researchers, education professionals, academicians, administrators, practitioners, and students.

Classroom Research on Chinese as a Second Language

Classroom Research on Chinese as a Second Language PDF Author: Fangyuan Yuan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351356496
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
This collection brings together a series of empirical studies on topics surrounding classrooms of Chinese as a second language (L2) by drawing on a range of theoretical frameworks, methodological strategies, and pedagogical perspectives. Over the past two decades, research on classroom-based second language acquisition (SLA) has emerged and expanded as one of the most important sub-domains in the general field of SLA. In Chinese SLA, however, scarce attention has been devoted to this line of research. With chapters written by scholars in the field of SLA—many of whom are experienced in classroom teaching, teacher education, or program administration in Chinese as a second language—this book helps disentangle the complicated relationships among linguistic targets, pedagogical conditions, assessment tools, learner individual differences, and teacher variables that exist in the so-called "black-box" classrooms of L2 Chinese.