Blogging: a resource to improve essay writing skills

San Miguel de Tucumán

Jornada; II Jornadas de Actualización para Profesores de Inglés; 2010

Universidad Nacional de Tucumán

As we are aware of the fact that writing is not an easy skill to acquire, we thought of a writing blog as a complement to other writing activities and as a possibility to offer our students a virtual space where they can interact, correct each other, make suggestions and work collaboratively in a dynamic and meaningful context, which also allows for the combination of the factors mentioned by Grabe (2003). By using a blog, we can create a comfortable environment in which students do not feel inhibited and therefore are able to produce tasks which are both, communicative and creative. Students know that they will be working collaboratively, since they will have to produce their own pieces of writing but they will also have to give and receive feedback. As a matter of fact, the blog allows for synchronous and asynchronous communication among participants. The latter provides enough time for students to write and edit their compositions at their own pace, which is benefitial for some students that might have difficulties and may need more time when producing a written text (Hyland, 2003). The blog is also characterized for being dynamic, since it is constantly updated by means of comments on existing tasks or by means of new posts. This creates not only a source for learning but also a resource for further research. In this paper we will describe a pilot experience using a writing blog. The experience was carried out with some of our English Language II students. The blog is intended to be used as a complement of English Language II classes and participation is optional. The activities are controlled and students? participation in the blog is guided and monitored at all times by the teachers of the chair.