An investigation of the integration of blogs into EFL classes: Learners' views toward blogs and preferences for writing classes

Abstract

Writing is especially considered to be a difficult language skill to master for beginner learners. However, this century offers innovations in language education through Information and Communication Technology tools. For instance, blogging platforms like Tumblr, Blogger, and WordPress can be employed in writing classes. At this point, the present research aimed to investigate the views and preferences of English as a Foreign Language learners after they practiced their writing skills with blogs for eight weeks. The research utilized WordPress blogs, and a group of 28 learners attended the study. These students were supposed to start a blog and write an essay each week on their blogs. The research was designed as a qualitative exploratory case study. To collect the data, semi-structured interviews with ten randomly chosen learners were conducted to understand their views toward blogs and preferences for writing classes at the end of the treatment. The content analysis method was instrumented to analyze the qualitative data inductively; thus, the data was first coded, and themes emerged. Unlike the previous studies in the field, these findings have revealed the learners' views towards their self-confidence, digital literacy, and writing habits, which changed in a positive manner. Besides, it was also understood that the participants made their preferences in favor of blogs rather than paper-based activities.