Welcome to our blog!

The aim of this talk is to show you a very interesting tool we now have available to anyone who’s interested in the use of technology in ELT. Below, you have the basic steps I will follow to help you get acquainted with the world of blogs. The underlined headings offer links to where I got the information from. The other links lead you to the blogs I currently write with my students and a very famous tutor blog by Aaron Campbel.

There’s plenty on the net about weblogs and their use in ELT, I just collected the basics and made some changes and adaptations to adjust it to my own experience.

I hope you enjoy the talk!

Leo Costa

Let’s blog! A brief talk on the use of weblogs in ELT

What is a blog?
· It’s a website
· It’s frequently updated
· Requires minimum technical know-how

Types of blogs used in language teaching

1. The TUTOR BLOG
· It’s run by the teacher
· The content can be limited to syllabus, homework assignment, discussions related to prior classes, grammar topics, reflections on culture, interesting news, feedback on learning process, etc.
· Students are supposed to comment on posts.
· See http://thenewtanuki.blogspot.com/

2. The CLASS BLOG
· It’s a shared space in which both teacher and students can write and make comments.
· It can be used as an extension of reflections on themes touched in class – in writing
· See http://livewritelearn.blogspot.com/

3. The LEARNER BLOG
· Each student has an individual blog.
· Teacher sets up and moderates.
· It provides more interaction.

Why blog?
· It provides real audience and authenticity to writing.
· It provides extra reading practice for students.
· It provides familiarization with computer resources.
· It provides an online journal of students’ experiences, enhancing interaction.
· It provides links to other sites that offer online resources.
· It helps shy students to interact with the group.
· It encourages a process writing approach.
· It keeps a record of students’ work.

Where to start

· http://www.blogspot.com
· http://www.blog.uol.com.br

Tips for managing blog settings
· Don’t forget to activate ‘comments’ button.
· Make sure your students have the user name and password to access CLASS BLOGS as managers.
· It’ really useful to go to the Multimedia Lab and show students, in practice, what a blog is and how they can comment and post.
· It’s possible to receive an e-mail every time a student makes a comment. Activating this feature is up to you.

Keeping students interested

· Respond quickly
· Ask questions
· Explain the objectives of the blog and how much they can learn from this experience.
· Praise students for comments and posts personally.
· Provide extra motivation, such as competitions – especially in the beginning, when they’re still getting familiar with the blog.
· In case your school offers a Multimedia Lab and you know that all your students have free access to the Internet, writing on the blog could be part of homework assessment.
· Choose the best written works and post them.
· Provide links that could be useful for practicing other skills such as listening and language aspects, such as grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.
· You may want to send your students e-mails reminding them of the new updates.