MEETING 11

Day 1 Monday Date : 8 – 5 -2017
Time	20.21-20.59
Title	Engaging Students in Literature Circles: Vocational English Reading Programs
Sources	From Mr.Junjun’s
Background	This article reports the findings of ethnographic classroom research on the deployment of literature circles in English reading classes in the vocational secondary education sector in Indonesia. Grounded in micro-interactional, thematic, and discourse analyses, empirical findings showed that the students engaged actively in text selection, role assignment, and text meaning making through sharing and discussion sessions.
Research question (s)	(1) In what ways do students engage in literature circles or small peer-led discussion group activities? (2) What are students’ reactions to these activities?
Research procedure	Firstly, the teachers and the students negotiated how to form groups. The students were offered two options of whether they chose their own group members (studentchosen) or of whether the teacher picked group members (teacher-chosen). In this study, the students chose their own group members. Despite this, the teacher encouraged the students to include group members with mixed language ability so that high proficiency students could support their low proficiency peers. This is the core of collaborative work. In what follows, once the students formed groups, they were assigned different roles. In this literature circleoriented reading instruction, there were two major roles each group had to play: host and guest. Host groups presented the selected text to guest group members. The guest group members posed questions regarding content or vocational knowledge (e.g., accounting topics: the recording process, the accounting cycle, and financial statements and hotel hospitality: hotel room reservation, international hotel websites, and guest registration) and language (e.g., vocabulary and grammar). Thus, the presentation of the chosen text had to touch upon these two areas: vocational knowledge and use of genre and language in the text. This is the nature of VE reading instruction.
Result/ Findings	Based on selective data analysis, three finding themes were identified, such as (1) navigating and selecting VE texts, (2) assigning roles through teacher-mediated negotiation, and (3) collaborative meaning-making activities. These findings are presented in a narrative way accompanied with discussions. Following Rowland and Barrs’ (2013) argument, I would contend that the main findings provide readers with a contextual understanding of the adoption of literature circles in reading classes, which is useful to ‘‘a wider audience of fellow practitioners and researchers interested in what goes on inside classrooms’’ (p. 64
Conclusion	The adoption of literature circles in the VE reading lessons definitely encourages student engagement and empowerment. The present study has showed how literature circles worked in intensive reading programs. I acknowledge that a more complete picture of the enactment of literature circles in both extensive and intensive reading programs could be provided in future studies. For example, an experimental study may be conducted to look at to what extent literature circle-oriented extensive and intensive reading programs impact on students’ reading fluency and achievement. A qualitative case study  may also be undertaken to investigate in what ways different types of teacher scaffolding and peer support in literature circle-based extensive and intensive reading instruction help students become competent and engaged readers. There is an urgent need for investigating the use of literature circles inA both intensive and extensive reading programs in the EFL/ EAL context. These future research agendas aim to document more empirical evidence regarding the use of literature circle- oriented reading programs in different educational contexts in general and in other ELT contexts in particular.
The amount of paragraphs	50
What makes you interested in this journal	I have a research project so I need to read more about qualitative research.
Comment after reading	I think my teacherhasimlementig this method, but i forgot who has he/she is.
New Vocabularies found	Practitioner

Time	21.03-21.29
Title	Key Issues in Teaching EFL/ESL Intensive Reading: A Videotaped Self-Observation Report
Sources	From Mr.Junjun’s
Background	This paper reports a videotaped self-observation of a 47 minute ESL reading lesson. The focus of the lesson was on intensive reading. The entire teaching session was videotaped; the videotaped data were analyzed using (a) ethnographic microanalysis, (b) selective verbatim transcripts, (c) Seating Chart Observation REcord (SCORE), (d) conversational analysis, and (e) Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) sequences. The paper addresses key issues on the nature of reading questions and the nature of teacher-student and studentstudent interactions at pre-, while-, and post-reading stages. It also addresses how the intensive reading lesson could be integrated with other language skills and what roles a teacher, students, and teaching materials played.
Research question (s)	to provide critical issues in teaching intensive reading that EFL reading teachers may take into account. Overall, the paper treats self-observation methods, data analyses and discussions, the use of video and reflection in higher education and teaching.
Research procedure	The lesson was video recorded until the end of the session. Before the session began, I asked my fellow to volunteer as a videographer. He videotaped the whole session. Once the camera along with the tripod was already set up, he signaled me to start the lesson. Once the lesson was done, I transferred the videotaped data into a MPG version recording so that I could play the recording in a MP4 player. In analyzing the videotaped data, I used a variety of instruments like ethnographic microanalysis, selective verbatim transcripts, Seating Chart Observation REcord (SCORE), conversational analysis, and Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) sequences.
Result/ Findings	Videos and reflection have a close relationship because videos can serve as a mediating tool for critical and focused reflection. In addition, videos allow one to understand observational contexts when looking at videotaped data. In such a way, videotaped data enable one to recall what she or he observed, thereby enhancing a degree of reflexivity because videotape data can be played many times. Video recording can also enhance the validity or trustworthiness of the one’s interpretation of being observed or done because the use of reflection and video recording altogether can be a means of method and data triangulation. By considering the reasons for blending videos and reflection, both are potentially applied to doing self observation or self appraisal for one’s own teaching and reflective teaching. Both videos and reflection can be powerful tools for doing qualitative studies like ethnographic research, ethnographic classroom research, classroom action research, ethnographic classroom observation, participant observation, and ethnographic narrative inquiry (e.g., ethnographic auto-ethnography). Thus, videos and reflection can be tools for doing teacher professional development through reflective teaching and selfobservation and carrying out qualitative research so as to improve or maintain teaching quality, thereby allowing teachers to better serve their students in higher educational contexts. Conclusions
Conclusion	First, in one group, as I observed, one of the students nominated the group discussion. This observation suggests that student-student interaction could not automatically promote equal opportunities for the students to participate (Johnson, 1995). For this reason, it is crucial that providing particular roles to the students in group/pair discussions may promote equal opportunities because each student has a responsibility for contributing to the outcomes of class discussions (e.g., a list of the opinions shared during the discussions). In short, such equal class participation would allow students to have a sense of ownership of the ideas shared (Tsui, 2007). Second, noticing a particular text would help students spot particular features of the text before they were asked to discuss the reading questions. This noticing activity may include identifying linguistic and non-linguistic features of the text like identifying text types (i.e., narratives or recounts), text forms (e.g., short stories or newspaper articles), the generic structure of the text type (i.e. narratives: orientation, complications, resolutions, or coda), and particular grammatical features of the text type. Although SLA researchers (e.g., Truscott, 1998) have argued that the foundations of the noticing hypothesis in cognitive psychology are weak due to a lack of its empirical evidence, in language teaching and learning, noticing activities have played crucial roles in internalizing new knowledge and rule linguistically (Doughty, 2001; Schmidt, 2001) and helping learners become aware of non-linguistic features of the given input or task (Skehan, 1998). Third, allowing students to initiate class discussion and participate fully in it is the key to promoting student-centered learning and teaching activity. In other words, providing the students a chance to read the questions and to talk more in the pair/group discussions would facilitate students’ greater participation, thereby tapping their potentials to take more initiative and responsibility for their own learning (Clifton, 2006). In this respect, a teacher should position herself or himself as a facilitator whose task is to assure students’ active engagement in both in-group and whole class discussions.
The amount of paragraphs	69
What makes you interested in this journal	I have a research project so I need to read more about qualitative research.
Comment after reading	Its almos the same with last one.
New Vocabularies found	assure

Day 2 tuesday Date : 09 - 05  - 2017
Time	20.15-20.51
Title	The Effectiveness of Using Blogs as an Independent Learning Tool to Develop Reading Skills for University Students
Sources	From Mr.Junjun’s
Background	The emergence of web 2.0 technologies has created new opportunities and challenges in the field of second and foreign language learning. Among all web 2.0 tools, blogs can be considered the most well-known one. The present study was an attempt to determine the effectiveness of using blogs as an independent learning tool to develop students' reading skills. Blogs can be divided into three main types; teacher's blog, class blog, and learner's blog. Participants were 22 first level students in the English Department at Qassim Private Colleges in Saudi Arabia. The experimental group (N =11) used teacher's blog with an independent reading program, whereas the control group (N=11) didn't have any additional exercises. This program ran for two months during the second semester, 2014/2015. The pre-posttest comprised two reading comprehension passages. Results of the t. test analysis revealed that using blogs yielded significant effects on students' reading skills, i.e. the experimental group outperformed the control group.
Research question (s)	1- What are the theoretical bases of using blog in teaching ? 2- What steps should be undertaken for developing learner's independency?
Research procedure	The quasi-experimental design was used in this study, where a sample of fourth level students in English department was assigned to the experimental and control group. A pre/post test was conducted to measure the effectiveness of the program. The participants of this research were twenty two undergraduate English major male students in Qassim Private Colleges, Saudi Arabia. Their ages ranged from 21 to 32 years and they were in the first-year of their studies. They spent one year in preparatory program before joining English major. The research was conducted in the second semester, 2014/2015. The students were enrolled in reading course (Reading 112). The students met in class three  times a week (50 minutes per period). The students were then divided into two groups – the control group and the experimental group. Both groups were administered to the Pre-test which showed uniformity in the results with very little variation that shows the two groups are similar in their reading ability. Both the groups were instructed by two of the teachers for a full semester in reading course that was designed for them. The experimental group had some information about blogs and computer.
Result/ Findings	The statistical analyses of data indicate that the experimental group students who used blog in reading skills course performed much better on the post-test in reading than the students who received regular reading course. Moreover, the experimental group students achieved significant progress in their final exam results after the treatment as compared to performance before the treatment. Hence, these positive findings proved the effectiveness of using blogs in developing university students’ reading skills.
Conclusion	Reading, as one of the receptive skills, should be dealt in our curriculum in a different way. In addition, adopting technology in teaching English language creates a new atmosphere in our classrooms. Blogs, as one of the mostimportant tools in web 2.0, could be an effective tool in developing students' autonomy. blogs could be used as a starting point in their understanding of the wider concept of autonomy. The learner feels he has his own freedom to learn independently. Moreover, students feel more motivated to learn a foreign language if they are given this freedom of choice. In the present study, the students got involved into online reading program through blogs. The students discussed the reading passage together. They could negotiate the meaning of the passage. Then, they could answer the reading passage questions. Finally, the students could summarize the main ideas of the passage. This is in line with Izquierdo and Reyes (2009) in assuring the effectiveness of discussion-based instruction to enhances learners’ achievements in reading skills and that using blogs is an effective technique for leading classroom discussions as students increase their achievement level. Therefore, the experimental group shows a significant difference in its posttest and the final exam results. This research is in line with Ayden, 2014 in stating that blogging enhances literacy and critical thinking skills. In addition, blogs provide learning with an environment for autonomous learning and knowledge and information sharing.
The amount of paragraphs	62
What makes you interested in this journal	I have a research project so I need to read more about qualitative research.
Comment after reading	This research help me to finish my own research.
New Vocabularies found	Uninformty

Day 3 wednesday Date : 10-05-2017
Time	21.09-21.50
Title	Blogging as an Instructional Tool in the ESL Classroom
Sources	From Mr.Junjun’s
Background	Theories on emerging technologies have stated that using blogs in the classroom can engage students in discussion, support peer learning, and improve students’ literacy skills. Research has pointed to many ways that blogging is beneficial to student learning when used as an instructional tool. The researchers conducted a project that investigated the use of blogs in ESL instruction. Graduate education students who were taking coursework in order to earn a master’s degree in TESL and/or teacher certification in ESL learned how to create and use blogs for educational purposes. While completing their ESL field experience requirement in U.S. K-12 school settings, these students noted how they observed blogs being used, and they interviewed ESL teachers about their experience in using blogs in the classroom. After their observations and interviews, these students completed a questionnaire in which they reported, summarized, and reflected on the use of blogs in an ESL curriculum and instructional implications. The article shares the results of this qualitative research study.
Research question (s)	The researchers conducted a project that investigated the use of blogs in ESL instruction.
Research procedure	All participants reported that they had blogged as part of their coursework; 85% of participants considered blogs to be an effective instructional tool. In an open-ended question, participants were asked, based on their blogging experience as a student and/or as a teacher, to make suggestions that might optimize the use of blogs as instructional tools. More than half of the participants recommended that the instructor spend adequate introducing blogs and explaining how they work and also detailing the rules and expectations for how blogs will be used in the instructional activity. Multiple participants named clear criteria as essential to successful instructional blogging. Two participants noted that it is important to ensure that blogs are easily accessible. One participant advised that the instructor should anticipate challenges and problems in order to be prepared to address them. Some participants suggested that the instructor should have a blog that serves as a model, and the instructor’s blog should be easy to access. One participant proposed that a master list of all students’ blogs and their links should be created for use during the class activities. Over half of the participants wrote that consistent participation is important. One participant followed a call for consistent participation with this explanation, “If blogs are used consistently, students can build on what they have learned before. If blogs are only used sometimes, students forget how to use them, and the technology becomes the focus, instead of the content and the writing.” Participants stressed that blog topics should focus on relevant information that warrants discussion. “Nothing is more frustrating that a blog prompt that is about a topic that’s pointless to discuss,” one participant wrote. Finally, eight responses mentioned teacher monitoring. One response urged, “Teachers need to monitor what students are doing on blogs so that blogs are being used properly and so that the learning community is supported and developed.” Participants also named parent involvement as a way to optimize the use of blogs as an instructional tool. After completing their field experience, participants were asked to share their observations regarding challenges of using blogs in classroom instruction. Participants identified limited access to computers as the biggest challenge. Numerous participants also pointed to censoring software that school districts sometimes use that might block websites that teachers had planned to use in blogging projects. Participants cited organization and management as a challenge. “It’s a lot of work to organize a blogging activity for students and to manage it well,” reflected one participant. Another expressed a fear about the “lack of control over what’s posted.” One participant stated that a major challenge was that the adult students who were involved in the blogging project, “really didn’t understand what blogs were.” TESL-EJ 20.1, May 2016 Featro & DiGregorio 5 Participants were asked to name reasons that instructors do not use blogs in instruction. Sixteen responses pointed to instructors either not being knowledgeable about the technology or being intimidated by the technology. One participant said that the teacher who was observed reported a desire to “not want to overwhelm students with content and technology together.” Furthermore, ten responses suggested that many teachers are unsure of the effectiveness of blogs. Specifically, one participant shared that teachers stated they were not sure if blogs would work well with younger students. Six participants wrote about instructors making choices to not use blogs, because there were other ways that the same instructional goals could be met. Fifteen participants reported that lack of computers and lack of access to computers with the Internet was a major factor that prevented teachers from doing blogging activities with students. Eight participants identified time constraints as a reason that teachers do not use blogs in instruction. Four participants cited teachers’ concerns that blogs would be difficult to manage. Additionally, four survey responses pointed to worries that students might post inappropriate content, and one participant named concerns that blog content is not always credible. One response voiced the opinion that blogs were not being used because they were no longer new and appealing. Participants were asked to report the amount of access that English language learners had to computers at school. Twenty percent of participants reported that student computers are in the ESL classroom and are always available for student use. Sixty percent of participants described ESL students’ access to computers as “adequate.” Most noted that computers can be used almost anytime if planning is adequate. The planning process most often involves reserving time in advance in a school library or a computer lab. Twenty percent of participants reported that English language learners had either limited or no access to computers in school. The questionnaire invited participants to list blog activities that they hope to use with students in the future. Eight participants shared that they hope to use blogs to allow students to respond to books or articles they have read, and three participants stated that they hope to use blogs as electronic writing portfolios for students. Seven participants wrote that they desire to use blogs in order to give students the opportunity to write personal reflections on their learning. Peer editing was suggested by a participant who explained that an initial piece of writing would be posted, and comments would then guide the student writer to edit and improve the text. Four participants noted that they plan to require students to post assignments to blogs. Three participants expressed that blogs could be a place for students to share their experiences and feelings, and three other participants wanted blogs to be a venue for “free writes.” Eight participants conveyed a hope to use blogs to promote group discussions, and six participants stated that they hope that group projects could be facilitated through blogging. Debates were named as possibly being accomplished through blogs by three participants, while six participants saw a possibility for reflection on current events via blogs. Two participants wrote that blogs could be a place for sharing information, and two other participants expressed that tutoring could occur with blogs as the medium. Keypals projects, in which students are partnered with other students from a different location to engage in regular written communication, were named by two participants. TESL-EJ 20.1, May 2016 Featro & DiGregorio 6 Additionally, participants shared the idea of blogs being a way for students to get to know each other, a resource area for students to find out work that is missed when they are not in class, a space for field trip reflections to occur, and a resource for posting and sharing videos along with text. Some participants wrote extended responses, detailing how they hope to use blogs in order to accomplish learning goals via these project ideas.
Result/ Findings	Participants provided overwhelmingly positive responses to the use of blogging as an instructional tool based on their use of blogs as graduate students and their observation of blogging use in the ESL classroom during their required field experience sessions. At the same time, participants recognized that there are many challenges to using blogs with English language learners as a part of classroom instruction. Despite these challenges, the graduate students had many ideas for how to optimize the use of blogs as an instructional tool and reported a desire to use blogs for many learning projects in their future teaching.
Conclusion	Based on the literature reviewed and the results of this study, the researchers believe that blogs have merit as an instructional tool in the ESL classroom. Blogs allow students “to participate actively in their own learning, determine their learning goals, and share their knowledge in order to develop their own understanding of the target learning activities” (Bakar, Latif, & Ya’acob, 2010, p. 122). In this research study, participants expressed an overwhelmingly positive view of blogs as instructional tools that can augment classroom learning. Teachers recognized the multiple challenges that exist when planning and implementing blogging in educational settings. The graduate students who participated in this study shared many ideas that they have for ways that blogging can be used in their future teaching of ESL. Research that has shown positive effects of classroom blogging projects supports the assertion that blogs have a place in the ESL classroom.
The amount of paragraphs	43
What makes you interested in this journal	I have a research project so I need to read more about qualitative research.
Comment after reading	This research help me to finish my own research.
New Vocabularies found	overwhelmingly

                               

Day 4 Thursday Date : 11-05-2017
Time	21.56-22.30
Title	Factors of Participants and Blogs that Predict Blogging Activeness During Teaching Practice and Induction Year
Sources	From Mr.Junjun’s
Background	The blog as a type of social software has been used in education for several years, and its positive effect in the field has been asserted in many studies. This study presents the factors of participants and blogs that predict blogging activeness during teaching practice and induction year. During the teaching practice and induction year all participants could use a blog to share experiences, ask questions, receive support, and so on. The blogs were supported by the tutors and all blogs were collective blogs, but they were organised differently and used differently. The data collected included 1,137 blog posts from 192 participants using 13 collective blogs along with their self-reports via pre- and post-period questionnaires. Multiple regression analysis was used in this study. The results showed that the most influential positive factors predicting participant activeness on the blog were the strength of social relationships between the participants and the pleasant and supportive atmosphere in the blog so that learners can feel blogging is suitable.
Research question (s)	To know Factors of Participants and Blogs that Predict Blogging Activeness During Teaching Practice and Induction Year
Research procedure	The study was in the context of teaching practice and induction year. The settings of these two conditions can be described briefly.. Teaching practice lasts from 7 to 12 weeks, and it begins at different times depending on curriculum and university. Student teachers are distributed between the different schools and they have mentor-teachers from the school or kindergarten, who supervise their practice. Also a supervisor from the university visits the school/kindergarten and observes student teachers' practice. During the teaching practice student teachers have to observe lessons and conduct supervised lessons. Induction year activities starts at the end of September or at the beginning of October (depending on the university) and ends at the beginning of May. During the induction year newly qualified teachers have a mentor at their school and they meet also in the university with the other newly qualified teachers and the leader of a seminar group four times. They work at the schools and kindergartens as ordinary teachers, but they also get feedback and advice from their mentor, who observes their lessons, and during the seminars in universities they discuss the crucial incidents. During the academic year 2010/11, the research team (four members, who had experience with blogging and who had acquainted themselves with the field) introduced the blogging environment to all student teachers and newly qualified teachers who were selected to the sample. They helped to create accounts in the Blogger (https://www.blogger.com) environment and helped those participants who had never used blogs to enter the first blog post. Collective blogs were used and all participants were divided between 13 blogs according to the university, the length of practice or induction year period, and the beginning time of practice/induction year. Participants were told that this environment is totally voluntary for them, but they were told about the possibilities offered by collective blogging. The blogs were used for reflecting and sharing their experiences. According to Krishnamurthy's (see Herring, Scheidt, Bonus, & Wright, 2004) classification our blogs were topical (the topic was teaching practice/induction year) and community blogs. One tutor (the member of the research team) and in some cases the coordinator of practice also participated as a contributor to each blog. Her task was to support the participants, answer questions and solve emerging problems. Tutors were not active in the blog, they did not initiate discussions and did not give tasks. None of the tutors was the evaluator of practice or induction year. All participants were asked to blog voluntarily and to write about the topics they wanted to share with others or to ask questions. They were told that their mentor-teacher and university supervisors are not on the blog and the blog is not part of evaluation of their practice/induction year. In this way, the blog provided the opportunity to be connected with other pre-service teachers or induction year teachers and also receive advice from the tutor in a more practical way. All the blogs were password-protected.
Result/ Findings	According to the pre-questionnaire, 69 participant (35%) had blogging experience. The average number of new posts per participant was 4.05 (SD=7.59), the average number of comments per participant, 3.27 (SD=9.60), and the average total number of posts, 7.33 (SD=15.81). The average length in words of new posts was 120.42 (SD=128.32), and the average length in words of comments, 78.86 (SD=444.90). On average, the number of comments per new posts was .65 (SD=1.01). Twenty-six of the participants (13.5%) did not visit the blog during the teaching practice or induction year according to the data from the post-questionnaires. Six participants did not post anything in the blogs, but according to their answers in the post-questionnaire they visited the blog, read the posts and reflected on these. Eighty-four participants (44%) marked in the post-questionnaire that they did not comment on others’ posts in the blog, but they did so in their mind.
Conclusion	The characteristics of the participants and blogs predicted blogging activeness. The most significant predictors seemed to be the two following: the strength of social relationships between the participants in the blog, and the evaluation that blogging was suitable, which both predicted participant blogging activeness in two cases. All other predictors were different for different indicators of blogging activeness, and all of them were predictors only for the one characteristic describing blogging acitivity.
The amount of paragraphs	44
What makes you interested in this journal	I have a research project so I need to read more about qualitative research.
Comment after reading	This research help me to finish my own research.
New Vocabularies found	initiate

Day 5 Friday Date : 12-05-2017
Time	15.57-16.32
Title	The Use of Blogs in Learning English as a Foreign Language
Sources	From Mr.Junjun’s
Background	Within the context of English as a foreign language (EFL), using blogs has emerged as a language learning tool. However, how teachers effectively incorporate blogs within the confines of an instructional framework and what the current research shows about using blogs as a learning tool remain unsolved issues. Thus, the current paper presents a review of the research on the use of blogs in EFL learning contexts. The study first introduces blogs and a theoretical framework for the use of blogs within the borders of the constructivist approach. Then, in accordance with the studies reviewed, the research is divided into the following five sections: effects on (1) the awareness of the target culture, (2) interaction and communication, (3) basic language skills, (4) learners’ motivation, perceptions and attitudes, and (5) autonomous learning. In conclusion, while the current literature reflects that using blogs is a valuable and effective technique that can be readily used in the context of EFL, more research is necessary. Finally, the paper ends with practical recommendations for EFL teachers and researchers.
Research question (s)	To know The Use of Blogs in Learning English as a Foreign Language
Research procedure	This section presents a review of the research, divided into five subsections, on the effects of the use of blogs in EFL learning. The first subsection reviews the studies on the effects of blogs on the awareness of the target culture, while the second one focuses on blog effects on interactions and communications in the target language. The third subsection presents the contributions of blogs to enhancing basic language skills, namely, listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, and the fourth subsection presents the research results on the effects of the use of blogs on EFL learner motivation and the learners’ perceptions of and attitudes towards the use of blogs. The last subsection focuses on the effects of blogging on autonomous learning, knowledge sharing knowledge, information exchange as well as on blogs as a learning space.
Result/ Findings	From this review of studies on the use of blogs in EFL learning, several conclusions can be drawn. First, blogging as a language learning strategy makes significant contributions to enhancing learners’ cultural knowledge and cultural awareness about the target society. In addition, the use of blogs enhances learners’ cultural interactions, competencies and exchanges. Second, blogging plays an important role in developing learners’ interactions and communications in the target language. Third, blogs are effective tools for developing speaking, reading and writing skills. However, with respect to speaking skills, while blogs are effective for developing skills related to conceptualization, brainstorming, articulation, monitoring, evaluating, self-presentation and information exchange, they have no effect on fluency, accuracy, language complexity, or pronunciation. Furthermore, the research indicates that the use of blogs enhances reading processes, results in positive perceptions of reading, encourages classroom discussions, and develops literacy and critical thinking skills. However, the use of blogs has little effect on learners’ reading test results. Blogging positively affects learners’ writing performance, their ability to monitor writing, their attitudes towards and perceptions of writing, and their interactions and participation in writing. More specifically, blogs are effective for developing rhetorical strategies, improving grammar skills, designing paragraphs and essays, revising written works, giving and receiving feedback and participating in peer review activities. The use of blogs also facilitates academic writing and enhances the sharing and exchanging of knowledge, provides a learning space for learners’ to interact, allows for reflection on learning, develops autonomous learning, and improves selfexpression. The use of blogs has also been found to considerably enhance learners’ motivation, to affect positively students’ perceptions of learning, and to result in positive attitudes towards learning. However, one study found that students have both negative and positive views regarding blogging. Finally, blogs have been found to enhance autonomous learning and knowledge and information sharing while also serving as a learning space for ELF learners.
Conclusion	Apart from these practical recommendations for teachers and researchers, the use of blogs in EFL learning can be evaluated from a constructivist perspective. It is evident that the results of the studies reviewed in this paper support the sociocultural theory, which emphasizes the importance of learner interaction (Kern, 2006). In other words, the use of blogs in EFL learning promotes not only social interaction and active and social learning but also knowledge construction within a learner-centered, constructivist environment, as posited by Ferdig (2007). In a socio-cultural framework, it is obvious that blogging constitutes a virtual environment for the cognitive development, which is influenced by society and culture, of EFL learners (Driscoll, 2005; Vygotsky, 1978). Most importantly, given that blogging contributes significantly to peer interaction in EFL learning, the research supports social construction as it allows for learning in both independent work scenarios and in peer and group work scenarios.
The amount of paragraphs	56
What makes you interested in this journal	I have a research project so I need to read more about qualitative research.
Comment after reading	This research help me to finish my own research.
New Vocabularies found	-

Day 6 saturday Date : 13-05-2017
Time	17.19-20.31
Title	Promoting Interaction through Blogging in Language Classrooms
Sources	From Mr.Junjun’s
Background	This study aims to explore the university students’ perception on integration of blogging in EFL classes. In this study, the participants were first year university students (n=103) who created their group blogs in order to share their blog entries during their oral communication classes. Students interacted with their peers via blogs simply by reading and commenting on each other’s blog posts. The data was collected from the blog entries and a questionnaire administered at the end of the project in order to understand the perceptions of students on effectiveness of using blogs in developing their language use. It is hoped that the findings of this study provides some insights into a number of pedagogical and theoretical issues.
Research question (s)	It is hoped that the findings of this study provides some insights into a number of pedagogical and theoretical issues.
Research procedure	The aim of the study is to explore students’ interpretation on the effectiveness of integrating the use of blogs in developing their communication skills. 103 first year university students who are majoring in English Language Teaching at the Faculty of Education in English-medium university in Turkey. The data for the present study were collected during their first year Oral Communication classes. In this study, the participants created their group blogs and they published their posts every week in order to share their ideas with their peers. The group work project lasted for 8 weeks and students interacted with each other through simply by reading and commenting on each other’s blog entries. Further, the participants were engaged in face-to-face discussions on their weekly blog topics during the class hours. In this study, the data were mainly collected by a survey questionnaire (Abu Bakar, Latif and Ya’acob, 2010), consisting of 30 statements, from 1st year students in a university in Ankara. The questionnaire was administered at the end of the semester. Abu Bakar, Latif and Ya’acob (2010) piloted their questionnaire and they improved their piloted questionnaire based on the students’ feedback. The questionnaire employed a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (1=Strongly disagree) to 5 (5=Strongly agree). The questionnaire data collected were analysed using SPSS software. The data was analysed by using descriptive statistics in the form of frequency analysis.
Result/ Findings	In this section, the main findings are reported using categories derived from the related items of the questionnaire. the students’ perception on integration of blogging in language teaching. Similar to the earlier studies, blogging was seen to enhance interactive discussion with their peers and promote collaborative learning. Furthermore, most of the students responded in their questionnaires that they were encouraged to use their critical thinking skills while blogging. Engagement in negotiation of meaning among peers and providing views on each other’s blogs on several issues might promote students’ critical thinking skills.
Conclusion	This study provided some insight into how the integration of blogs into language learning contexts can contribute to the development of students’ communication skills. It emerged that blogs can be useful tools to motivate students by encouraging them to interact with each other and express their ideas freely. The use of blogs in writing process also gave students the opportunity to foster their critical thinking skills by thinking about the content of their blogs and expressing their views on their peers’ blog entries. The findings highlighted that blogging gives the students opportunity to learn through communication. As Isisag (2012) suggests, integrating technology, in foreign language teaching will have positive effects on both the teachers and students to help them meet the current demands of the new era. However, it should be considered that some students might be cautious about such practices in the classroom and practices like blogging might increase student anxiety and discourage them from writing regularly. Peer feedback might increase some students’ writing anxiety and negatively affect their motivation.
The amount of paragraphs	31
What makes you interested in this journal	I have a research project so I need to read more about qualitative research.
Comment after reading	This research help me to finish my own research.
New Vocabularies found	discourage