Students and the Teacher’s Perceptions on Incorporating the Blog Task and Peer Feedback into EFL Writing Classes Through Blogs

Abstract

With the availability of Web 2.0 technologies, blogs have become useful and attractive tools for teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in their writing classes. Learners do not need to understand HTML in order to construct blogs, and the appearance and content can be facilitated via the use of photos, music, and video files (Vurdien, 2013). To provide an authentic and motivating writing environment, a blog task was designed and integrated into three writing courses for 57 applied English or English major students at two southern Taiwan universities. Using the triangulated approach, this study collected data from three different angles (students’ questionnaires, students’ focus group interviews, and the teacher’s observation log) to investigate whether participant perceptions empirically supported the theoretical hypothesis that blogging contributes to writing performance. The findings showed that both the teacher and students had a positive attitude towards the blog task and may indicate that blogging is a useful alternative approach but may also be regular incorporated in writing classes to enhance EFL writing motivation. Nevertheless, blogs may not be the most suitable tool for all types of writing tasks and the most appropriate medium for all components of feedback. The conclusions of this study are consistent with previous findings on the practicality and potential of using blog software to promote peer feedback as well as to facilitate effective writing instruction.