Since social media permeates communication in today’s world,
it logically should be used in the foreign language classroom. Our students
constantly communicate through text with a wide variety of audiences: why not
expand that communication and audience even further and allow them to
communicate authentically in the target language?
This authentic communication can be achieved with a blog, a
tool with immense possibilities. Here are a few practical ideas for an L2 class:
- Class blog. The task could be as general and simple as students serving as classroom reporters; each week one student writes a post about what is happening in class. This could be what he or she learned, feedback about the class’ weekly events, or a just some comments about an interesting class. Other members of the class may then read and expand, comment, agree, or disagree, etc. with the reporter’s post. A great way for students to reflect and serves as an online "keepsake" of the year. See an example class blog from a third grade class at the Inter-American School. (ACTFL Standards 1.1, 1.2, 1.3)
- Journal. A blog could also be a place for students to share and express their thoughts and opinions while using the target language (appropriately). Students could receive weekly prompts or guided writing assignments in addition to free writes. Depending on the age and maturity of the students, links to the blog sites could be posted to encourage audience growth and perhaps communication with native speakers. (ACTFL Standards 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 5.1)
- Research project. Another option is to give students the opportunity to research and report their findings for others to read. A topic or theme could be assigned to the class, such as “Día de los Muertos.” Each student could then have a different task – one creates an introduction explaining the origin of the day, why and where it is celebrated; another writes a post about specific customs in Mexico; another compares and contrasts traditions with Halloween in the US. When the blog is complete, students must then read posts and make connections to their own research. My high school students created a blog all about Guatemala. (ACTFL Standards 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.2, 4.2)
Student blogging is a great way to engage students in the
type of writing that they enjoy and want to do, but in L2! It not only allows authentic
communication, but further motivates students to
produce quality work for their readers while meeting ACTFL standards. Above all, students are able to express themselves,
interact with others, and have fun!
I really like your idea for a class blog that reports what is going on in class each week. It is a great way to get students involved and to reflect on what they have learned. Best of all, it is a record for everything learned over the year! I would like to try this in my own classroom sometime!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your students class blog project about Guatemala. The use of different pages for each topic worked very well.
ReplyDeleteLiz,
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas for blogging in your Spanish classroom! I particularly liked the "class reporter" concept. I find student absences, especially when they occur over a prolonged period of time, very challenging. It can be so difficult to get everyone caught up. The Class Blog idea is a great way to combat this! It would allow students to see what they missed before returning to school. Also, using a blog for journaling is a great way for students to practice their writing skills in a more authentic context. I do however worry about the potential use of an Internet translator. Wonderful ideas overall!
I think you did an amazing job formatting this post and with the language that you used. I feel like that's kind of a bizarre comment to make, but this is a very professional-looking post.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I love your ideas! I haven't thought of too many ways that students could use blogs outside of giving basic feedback to specific prompts, but you proved that a blog can be used from the simplest task to something like a research topic! Excellent post.