Weblogs in EFL/ESL

Here are some articles/resources that are useful:

• Weblogs for Use in ESL Classes – an introductory paper on the subject.
• Blogging for ELT – another practical introductory article on blogs for language learning.
• Teaching Teachers to Use Weblogs in ESL/EFL – a link-rich resource.

Here are some examples of teachers who have their students run weblogs as part of their EFL/ESL learning activities:

• Barbara Dieu – a high school teacher in Sao Paulo, Brazil: Foreign Languages and Intercultural Competence
• Rosa Ochoa – an ESL teacher in Sydney, Australia who works with immigrants: Our Class 2006
• Nina Liakos – a university teacher in ESL in Maryland, USA: The 003 Blog (Fall 2006)
• Shawn White – a university teacher in Kansai, Japan: Internet Hassin
• Marc Sheffner – a university teacher in Nara, Japan: Sheffner’s Special English Class
• Aaron Campbell – a university teacher in Kyoto, Japan: IE Spring 2006

The following are some examples of teachers who run weblogs for their students:

• William Lucas – an ESOL teacher at Otago Polytechnic in New Zealand: William’s Class Blog 2006
• James M. Hall – a university teacher in Iwate, Japan who runs a blog for his students, in addition to having them run their own weblogs: Issues in EFL in Japan
• Sean Milton – a teacher who runs his own language school in Kyoto: Choice English Blog

class/group/community blogs

• CESL – The Center for English as a Second Language at Southern Illinois University has developed a large ESL blogging community, rich with voices and photos. Look for links to student blogs in the left sidebar: CESL Teachers.
• John Eidswick – a university teacher in Osaka, Japan whose students run blogs in small groups: My Communication Class

To find more examples of weblogs in EFL/ESL, visit Dekita.org.