Exploring%20the%20Blogosphere:%20Use%20of%20Web%20Logs%20in%20the%20Foreign%20Language%20Classroom

1
Exploring the BlogosphereUse of Web Logs in the
Foreign Language Classroom

• Lara C. Ducate
• Lara L. Lomicka
• PP Presentation Alan Itkin

2
Introduction

• What is a blog? A blog is an electronic journal
  kept by a blogger, who regularly updates the
  journal (known as blogging) (410).
• What does this mean? The authors thoughts
  personality, informal tone, links.

3
Advantages of Blogs over Discussion Boards

• They showcase the unedited voice of a person.
• They are user friendly.
• They are multilinear Thoughts can easily be
  connected with resources or articles on the World
  Wide Web with little or no technical knowledge
  (411).

4
Current Uses of Blogs

• Individual pursuits.
• Business endeavors.
• Educational uses (jackpot!).

5
Blogs in Foreign Language Teaching

• Four benefits of blogging (Ferdig Trammel
  2004)
• Students can become subject matter experts.
• Students interest and ownership in learning is
  increased.
• Students become active participants in a
  community of practice.
• Blogging opens the door for a multitude of
  diverse perspectives (413)

6
Foreign Language Reading

• Reading blogs of interest to the students can
  enhance cultural learning and connections with
  other disciplines.
• Students can gain the insiders perspective on
  various cultural topics (41).
• Students can read native-language travel and
  cultural blogs.

7
Foreign Language Writing

• Writing blogs offers students an interactive way
  to improve their writing skills and to encounter
  and build new ideas through discussion with other
  students.

8
French Special Project

• Fourth-semester French travel blog, March 2004
• Students in a French class in the US were paired
  with a French student with whom they would spend
  a week during the trip abroad. Two weeks after
  the trip to France, the French correspondents
  traveled to the US to visit their American hosts.
  The travel blog was active for a 2-month period
  (415).

9
Reactions to French Project

• Very few students had ever used a blog before
  traveling overseas, and most were not even
  familiar with the term. The results of the
  questionnaire revealed that students enjoyed
  both reading and writing blogs (415).

10
German Special Project

• Second-semester German class
• Students were asked to read the same German blog
  every week for 6 weeks, summarize it in English,
  and write five new vocabulary words they learned
  (415).
• Students gained access to current events
  accompanied by a German perspective.
• The instructor provided them with the background
  information (417).

11
German Special Project

• Second-semester class (continued)
• After reading for 6 weeks, students were asked
  to write their own blogs.
• The students were asked to use their blog as a
  way to think critically about cultural topics.
• Writing the blogs provided students with a means
  to use critical thinking skills to examine
  specific aspects of German culture and compare it
  to their own (417).

12
Blogging Caveats

• Bloggers are not writing with a class of
  students in mind and therefore do not always
  write according to a regular, predictable
  schedule, do not always write content that is
  appropriate for students to read, or use language
  that students can easily understand (418-19).