Interactional and discursive features of English-language weblogs for language learning and teaching
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Rémi A. van Compernolle
and Lee B. Abraham
Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of the nature of authentic (i.e., non-educational) weblogs (blogs) and offers a number a recommendations for using blogs in the English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) curriculum to promote second language literacy. Our discussion centers around blog-writing as social practice as opposed to using blogs to help learners develop formal writing skills. Following a brief overview of a small corpus of diverse blogs, we provide a number of recommendations for integrating blog-reading and blog-writing in the ESL/EFL classroom. We extend Herring’s (2007) multifaceted approach to analyzing computer-mediated discourse to the field of second language (L2) learning and teaching, and we discuss ways in which students and teachers can construct, manage, and analyze a corpus of blogs. We also present a number of ways to design learning opportunities in the ESL/EFL classroom around the reading and writing of blogs.
Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of the nature of authentic (i.e., non-educational) weblogs (blogs) and offers a number a recommendations for using blogs in the English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) curriculum to promote second language literacy. Our discussion centers around blog-writing as social practice as opposed to using blogs to help learners develop formal writing skills. Following a brief overview of a small corpus of diverse blogs, we provide a number of recommendations for integrating blog-reading and blog-writing in the ESL/EFL classroom. We extend Herring’s (2007) multifaceted approach to analyzing computer-mediated discourse to the field of second language (L2) learning and teaching, and we discuss ways in which students and teachers can construct, manage, and analyze a corpus of blogs. We also present a number of ways to design learning opportunities in the ESL/EFL classroom around the reading and writing of blogs.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- About the contributors vii
- Introduction 1
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Part I. New literacies
- English in cyberspace 11
- Navigating and interpreting hypertext in French 43
- Web-based translation for promoting language awareness 65
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Part II. Chat
- Learner noticing, negative feedback, and uptake in synchronous computer-mediated environments 87
- Teaching language variation in French through authentic chat discourse 111
- Exploring native and nonnative interactive discourse in text-based chat beyond classroom settings 127
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Part III. Podcasts
- Podcasts and second language learning 153
- Discourse analysis of podcasts in French 169
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Part IV. Blogs
- Interactional and discursive features of English-language weblogs for language learning and teaching 193
- Second-person pronoun use in French-language blogs 213
- Blogs in Spanish beyond the classroom 241
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Part V. Discussion forums
- Linguistic and social dimensions of French-language discussion forums 263
- The discussion forum as a locus for developing L2 pragmatic awareness 291
- The discussion forum as a component of a technology-enhanced Integrated Performance Assessment 319
- Index 345
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- About the contributors vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. New literacies
- English in cyberspace 11
- Navigating and interpreting hypertext in French 43
- Web-based translation for promoting language awareness 65
-
Part II. Chat
- Learner noticing, negative feedback, and uptake in synchronous computer-mediated environments 87
- Teaching language variation in French through authentic chat discourse 111
- Exploring native and nonnative interactive discourse in text-based chat beyond classroom settings 127
-
Part III. Podcasts
- Podcasts and second language learning 153
- Discourse analysis of podcasts in French 169
-
Part IV. Blogs
- Interactional and discursive features of English-language weblogs for language learning and teaching 193
- Second-person pronoun use in French-language blogs 213
- Blogs in Spanish beyond the classroom 241
-
Part V. Discussion forums
- Linguistic and social dimensions of French-language discussion forums 263
- The discussion forum as a locus for developing L2 pragmatic awareness 291
- The discussion forum as a component of a technology-enhanced Integrated Performance Assessment 319
- Index 345