Using Blogs to Meet Learning Standards

Interacting with others is an effective way to learn language, and because of the power of Internet, interaction becomes more and more convenient and interesting. Blog, as one of the popular internet tools, allows people to share information and their thoughts with each other whenever they want. Thus, as an English teacher in the future, I would love to use blog to build a platform for my students to inspire and motivate each other.

Language proficiency should be accomplished through four language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In the following, I will describe how blogs could be used in reading and writing. 

 

Reading:

Before starting a new lesson, teachers usually ask students to preview the texts. For example, the next paragraph is an excerpt from Oxford English S1A (Shanghai Edition), Unit 2 Care for hair:

        “Shampoo and conditioner

         Choose a shampoo that suits your type of hair (i.e., oily, dry or normal hair). Apply it after wetting your hair with warm water. After shampooing, squeeze out the extra water."

In this paragraph “shampoo” , “conditioner” and “squeeze” are new words. I could link pictures with new words to help students remember the meaning and have a direct view of them. Besides, I could share links of some course-related reading materials or videos, such as A Brief History of Hairdressing Salon, What Hairstyles Suit What Faces,Barber by Chaplin, etc. Blogs could help students to read the text in a vivid and fun way.

Writing:

After reading the materials, I could ask students to share their tips about how they take care of their hair. Or students can draw(sketch-paint) their favorite hairstyle and other students can make comments. Writing skills can be improved gradually by commenting others' work. Furthermore, this could motivated students before they learn the text, and helps me to make sure that everyone gets involved.

Based on American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTEL), 3 National Standards for Foreign Language Education could be met in blogging this way:  

• Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emptions, and exchange opinions.
• Standard 3.1: Students reinforce and further their knowledge od other disciplines through the foreign language.
• Standard 5.1: Students use the language both between and beyond the school setting.

To sum up, blogs can be used as a tool for students to communicate for social, intercultural and instructional purposes based on school settings. Blogs can provide a comfortable atmosphere to let everyone speak, and it is easy for teacher to keep in connect with students even outside of class.