Investigating the Use of Blog for Teaching Writing Courses to Undergraduates

Abstract

In contrast to the product approach to writing, the process approach entails planning, drafting editing and revising stages. Blog an online platform for practicing process approach has long been used by EFL teachers to develop their students' writing skill. But in Bangladeshi rural higher education context, its efficacy is yet to be investigated. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of using blogs to enhance student writing skills at tertiary level at a private university located in a rural area of Bangladesh. It focuses on the advantages of incorporating blogs as a virtual writing platform for teaching writing to a group of students used to the traditional product approach. Research participants were 98 undergraduate level students of third semester in the Department of English at a private university in Bangladesh. The research method is mixed based on primary and secondary data. Online survey was conducted on 98 participants and the test scores of 25 samples were seen through random sampling techniques. The primary numerical data were analyzed through the Google form and the secondary data were manually analyzed. We found students' attitude to writing in blogs more positive in comparison with the traditional way of writing. Students felt writing in blogs to be more effective and motivating due to its continuous interactive feedback and correction and editing facilities. The test score also indicates gradual development of writing skill. It indicates that in spite of being a new platform to the participants, it can be effective to develop the rural students' writing skill.

Exploring the Academic Writing Problems Faced by Pakistani PhD Students

“…Pakistani studies have highlighted that English language writing skills of both the university students and their teachers are under-developed (Irfan, 2017;Chowdhury, Behak, Hassan, & Sultana, 2022;Sultan, 2015). A study conducted at two public sector universities in Pakistani revealed that both students and teachers are in dire need of interventions such as English proficiency courses and workshops to improve their English language competence to meet the research needs of the country and participate in international research communication.…”