There are three types of Weblogs for use in ESL classrooms
The Tutor Blog
This is a type of weblog that is run by the tutor for the learners. It serves
the following purposes:
- It gives daily reading practice to the learners. Sometimes students
find assigned reading material too boring, difficult, or hard to relate with.
This is because it is often written with another purpose in mind. So who
better to write to them than the person who knows them best: the teacher.
Entries are kept short, geared towards the learner interest, and linked to
related online sources for further reading if desired. Vocabulary used in
class can be recycled this way. New vocabulary words can be linked to definitions
on other sites found with a search engine. Furthermore, a casual, natural
writing style can be used by the tutor to develop learner familiarity with
native language patterns.
- It promotes exploration of English websites. Any entry
made by the tutor can and ought to encourage further exploration of the Internet
in English by linking to related articles, and content based websites. For
those learners reluctant to step outside the comfort of exploring the Web
in their native language, being led to interesting English language sites
will increase their confidence and help to overcome their aversion.
- It encourages online verbal exchange by use of comment buttons.
At the bottom of each entry, any blog reader can make a comment that can be
read and further commented on by all who access the site. Ask your students
questions, give them riddles, challenge their views; whatever it takes to
encourage them to comment.
- It provides class or syllabus information. Entries in
the blog can also serve to remind students about homework assignments and
upcoming discussion topics. Links can be provided to sites that introduce
relevant topics of discussion. The tutor can also follow up on difficult
areas of classroom work that might need review or clarification. In addition,
a permanent link to the classroom syllabus and rules can be included on the
blog.
- It serves as a resource of links for self-study. In the
right and/or left margins of the blog, permanent links can be set-up and
organized to aid the learner in self-study, for example links to online quizzes,
English news sites, key-pal networks, audio and video files for listening
practice and ESL interactive websites.
The Learner Blog
These are blogs that are either run by individual learners themselves or
by small collaborative groups of learners. In ESL, learner blogs may be best
suited for reading and writing classes. A common reading assignment can be
followed by blog postings on the thoughts of each learner or group of learners.
Furthermore, the act of constructing the blog may encourage the use of search
engines and net surfing in English to find the appropriate sites to which
links can be made. This will empower the learner to direct the reader
to sites of choice for further reading. Individually, blogs can be used as
journals for writing practice, or as free-form templates for personal expression.
The idea here is that students can get writing practice, develop a sense
of ownership, and get experience with the practical, legal, and ethical issues
of creating a hypertext document. In addition, whatever they write can instantly
be read by anyone else and, due to the comment features of the software,
further exchange of ideas is promoted. Tutors can even run a mega-blog of
select topics of interest gleaned from student blogs so that the broader
issues are brought into focus on a single website.
The Class Blog
This type of blog is the result of the collaborative effort of an entire
class. The following are some possible uses:
- In conversation-based classes it could be used like a free-form bulletin
board for learners to post messages, images, and links related to classroom
discussion topics. It could also be a space for them to post thoughts on a
common theme assigned for homework.
- With intermediate and advanced learners, class blogs might also
useful for facilitating project-based language learning, where learners can
be given the opportunity to develop research and writing skills by being
asked to create an online resource for others.
- Class blogs could also be used as a virtual space for an international
classroom language exchange. In this scenario, learners from different
countries would have joint access and publishing rights to the blog. The entire
exchange would then be transparent to all readers and could be followed and
commented on by other learners, tutors, parents and friends.
- For reading and writing classes, it might also involve the use
of knowledge management software, like Userland's Manila, that allows for
a great deal of threaded discussion behind the scenes. Much like a publishing
group, individual learners can be given varying amounts of responsibility
to publish material arising from postings on the discussion list. The results
of this effort are what is seen on a website by the public at large.
The Learner Blog
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