ERIC Number: EJ1063802
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Jun
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1094-3501
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
L2 Blogging: Who Thrives and Who Does Not?
Chen, Rainbow Tsai-Hung
Language Learning & Technology, v19 n2 p177-196 Jun 2015
While research has reported generally enthusiastic results regarding L2 blogging, some studies have found contrasting blogging experiences among individual learners. Consequently, this study investigated the factors underlying such discrepancies by exploring 33 EFL learners' experiences of participating in a blog project at a Taiwanese university. The students wrote personal blogs and responded to each other over a ten-week period. Data was collected through a questionnaire and individual interviews with 10 of the students. Drawing on a sociological approach, specialization codes of legitimation (Maton, 2007, 2014), the study found salient differences in the students' educational beliefs and practices, which appeared to be linked to their positive or negative blogging experiences. By analyzing the relations between the pedagogical design, learners' existing educational dispositions, and their blogging experiences, the study argued that the blog project assumed learners of a certain type--those who recognized themselves as "knowers" in terms of their blog content--while disadvantaging others who did not possess this attribute. Practitioners are therefore advised to exercise caution when designing blog activities.
Descriptors: Second Language Learning, English (Second Language), College Students, Computer Mediated Communication, Web Sites, Electronic Publishing, Questionnaires, Interviews, Student Attitudes, Student Behavior, Educational Technology, Technology Uses in Education, Foreign Countries, Web 2.0 Technologies, Statistical Analysis
University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center. 1859 East-West Road #106, Honolulu, HI 96822. Tel: 808-956-9424; Fax: 808-956-5983; e-mail: llt@hawaii.edu; Web site: http://llt.msu.edu
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Taiwan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A