write better ESL blogs

So far the experiment of getting students to write blogs instead of writing journals is going quite well. Almost every student now has a blog and some are even writing regular entries – the target is to write at least once per week. A few suggestions to improve blogs follow:

1. Blogger doesn’t spell check – so I suggest you write in Microsoft word and then cut and paste into your blog. I’m doing this now, as it looks particularly bad when the teacher misspells.
2. Use lots of photos and even videos in your blogs – they make it more visually appealing.
3. Reference each other’s blogs so as to promote each other’s blogs and also to get the blogs more recognized by search engines.

Happy blogging!

This is my lovely daughter Jessie

ESL Free writing with blogs!

This semester I’m trying a new experiment with my class. Instead of writing journals like last semester, students will write blogs.

The main purpose of this activity is to get students involved in free writing. Free writing means that students try to write down their ideas quickly, without worrying about using the dictionary to check spelling and grammar. The value of the activity is that it can develop writing FLUENCY, which essentially means that students can write at greater speeds.

The main value of writing a blog versus a journal is that students can easily share their blogs with their friends and family overseas, add photos to enrich their writing, and the blogs are less likely to be lost or damaged than a paper journal. Students must write in their journals at least once per week and given my deep sense of egalitarianism, I shall endeavour to do the same!