The main
purpose of using a blog in an ESL course is to serve as a tool for both
teachers and students to enhance and promote language learning by providing
activities for self-study with online material.
Blogs can promote
critical and analytical thinking, promote creative, intuitive and associational
thinking, promote analogical thinking, promote potential for increased access
and exposure to quality information, and promote a combination of solitary and
social interaction.
Aaron Campbell (2003) has outlined three types
of blogs for use with language classes:
The tutor
blog. - It gives daily reading practice to the learners. It promotes
exploration of English websites. It encourages online verbal exchange by use of
comment buttons. It provides class or syllabus information. It serves as a
resource of links for self-study.
The learner
blog. - It’s run either by individual learners or small collaborative groups of
learners. It’s best suited for reading and writing classes.
The class
blog. - It is a shared space, with teacher and students being able to write to
the main area. It is best used as a collaborative discussion space, an
extra-curricular extension of the classroom. Students can be encouraged to
reflect in more depth, in writing, on themes touched upon in class. Students
are given a greater sense of freedom and involvement.
Blogs could
be an excellent tool to provide extra reading practice for students, to guide
students to online resources appropriate for their level, to increase the sense
of community in a class, to encourage shy students to participate, to stimulate
out-of-class discussion, to encourage a process-writing approach, to help build
a closer relationship between students in large classes.
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