Teaching Reading and Writing Skills to Young Learners in English as a Foreign Language Using Blogs: A Case Study

Abstract

This study focused on the development of reading and writing skills to a group of B1 level learners of English in a private language institute in Athens, Greece with the aid of blogs (a web tool), since Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) enhances foreign language learning. To this end, two groups of young learners were formed; the control group which was taught through the traditional coursebook and the experimental group which was taught through a differentiated approach to language teaching. The differentiated approach which was applied involved eight teaching sessions in a private language institute. Pre-tests and post-tests were administered to both groups in order to evaluate the use of CALL in the improvement of literacy skills. Pre- and post- semi-structured interviews were also conducted with the students of the experimental group to evaluate their attitudes and feelings before and after the instruction. The aim of using blogs, as a web tool, was to enhance collaborative learning and social interaction. This research attempted to prove that blogs create a social interaction between students, and between the students and the teacher. For the purposes of this research, students were involved in process writing by making drafts and writing their posts and in active reading when they read other posts and texts from other web sites.

Development of English Writing Skills through Blended Learning among ESL Learners in Malaysia

“…A number of previous studies have concentrated on the effectiveness, effects, and benefits of blended learning using varying designs, scopes, and participants (e.g. Abdul Rahman et al, 2020;Alrouji, 2020;Annamalai, Tan, & Abdullah, 2016;Anggrawan, 2020;Camalahan & Ruley, 2014;Jin, Su, & Lei, 2020;Lam, Hew, & Chiu, 2017;Lien, 2015;McCall, 2017;Milad, 2017;Permana & Santosa, 2018;Permanda, 2017;Scott, Ulmer-Krol, & Jason, 2020;Spanou & Zafiri, 2019;Yusuf, Yusuf, Erdiana, & Pratama, 2018). These studies proved that blended learning is significantly effective in developing positive learning outcomes among ESL students.…”

“…In essence, previous studies found that students' writing performance had improved significantly after learning through the blended learning approach (Annamalai et al, 2016;Camalahan & Ruley, 2014;Jin et al, 2020;Lam et al, 2017;Lien, 2015;Milad, 2017;Permana & Santosa, 2018;Scott et al, 2020). Blended learning was found to improve ESL learners' writing ability, essay composition, critical arguments, linguistic competencies, grammar, spelling, topic sentence, punctuation marks, capitalization, organization, planning as well as reduce language anxiety and outline ideas (Adas & Bakir, 2013;Challob, Bakar, & Latif, 2016;Lam et al, 2017;Permana & Santosa, 2018;Spanou & Zafiri, 2019;Yusuf et al, 2018).…”

“…The studies used various designs such as experimental design (eg. Permanda, 2017;Spanou & Zafiri, 2019), observation and interviews (e.g. Challob et al, 2016), and focused group discussion (e.g.…”

“…Keshta & Harb, 2013), Greece (e.g. Spanou & Zafiri, 2019). A few studies focused on the Malaysian context (e.g.…”

Didactic Aspects of Teachers’ Training for Differentiated Instruction in Modern School Practice in Ukraine

“…They include the following elements: personalized scaffolding to support learners in bridging the gap between learner's needs to complete the tasks; using flexible means to reach defined results by offering multiple paths to achieve set goals; "mining subject area expertise" by using various navigations; creating caring classrooms that acknowledge and value the unique learner's attributes. Spanou and Zafiri (2019) proposed the ways of applying differentiation via the implementation of information technologies.…”