This semester I am teaching a Spanish 102 class. (Earlybird special at 8AM!) In my opinion, one of the more interesting and useful activities for this semester is blogging in Spanish. There are many benefits of blogging for the foreign language learner. Among these include the ability to work on all four language skills, increases in motivation, the opportunity or possibility to connect with the world outside the classroom, the ability to integrate sights and sounds from the target language culture(s), a way to track the growth of a student over time, and help students engage in meaningful reflection on their own work and the work of others.
So far I have been quite pleased in how the blogging is going. Many of the entries have been well thought out and I love the pictures they have put up. As expected, there has been some initial hiccups mostly involving the students remembering to do their posts, or remembering to give feedback on their partner’s blog. There has been minimal technology issues, but overall it has gone quite smoothly. The basic weekly breakdown of the blogging assignment is as follows:
Monday– Student writes on an assigned topic or if applicable a topic of choice. The student also comments on their own post, copying the text of their entry and asking for feedback on 2 or 3 areas they are uncertain about. (This could be grammar, spelling, word choice, flow, etc.)
Tuesday– Student writes a second post for the week and gives feedback on their partner’s blog pot (Post from Monday). After the partner has given feedback I give additional feedback.
Wednesday-Student writes a third post for the week and gives feedback on their partner’s blog (Post from Tuesday). After the partner has given feedback I give additional feedback.
Thursday-Student gives feedback on their partner’s blog (Post from Wednesday). After the partner has given feedback I give additional feedback.
Friday– Student does a video blog entry, focusing on producing language without a written script. I give feedback on pronunciation, flow, etc. Student works on the feedback I give them for the next entry.
The following Monday by 8am– Written posts should be revised based on the feedback which was given from both their blog partner and myself.
I’m excited for a great semester of blogging! See the blog entry assignment blog for the class at http://gacspan.blogspot.com/. Links to the student blogs can be found on the right-hand side.