Reading Promt 2

*BLACKBOARD – Egbert, J. (2005). CALL Essentials: Principals and Practices in CALL Classrooms.—Ch. 1. Introduction: Principles of CALL.
*RICHARDSON Ch. 3. Weblogs: Getting Started

Egbert describes the optimal conditions for classroom language learning. Discuss how blogs and blogging can be a tool for achieving these conditions with ELL students. Finally, describe your own experience creating your blog this week. What topic or topics do you plan to blog about?

Response:
Egbert (2005) introduced 8 conditions that are used as supports for optimal classroom language learning environment. And I really think blog can be an effective tool for achieving these conditions with ELLs. First, blog allows ELLs to use target language actively and creatively in authentic social setting, and they can interact with other ELLs. A lot of ELLs are speaking different languages, in order to exchange ideas, they would use target language to response each other, so it’s a good way to achieve “Condition 1” and “condition 2”. Second, ask ELL students to use blog to fulfill an authentic task may stimulate students’ interests, they can practice the target language in a real world but not only in classroom, thus can they master it more effective. Moreover, blog provides ELLs with variety options of expressing themselves and learning languages, for slow-working students, they can take more time to complete the task, and teachers can instruct appropriate feedback as “guideline” in the process of the task. In these ways, blog can be a good tool to achieve “condition 3, 4, 5and 6”. Third, using blog to complete task can create a safe and comfy environment for ELLs, they don’t need to worry about the stress or pressure, and can finish task efficiently. For some ELLs, they may have difficulties to follow rigid schedules, blog can offer them options to choose their own book to read, crest their own topic, complete their interested task, and teachers can assist them to refine the target language and fulfill the task. So blog can be effective tool to achieve “condition 7 and 8”.

I am really interested in editing my blog, and I have confidence that I will make a good blog. But I came across some small difficulties in creating my blog, for example the “slide show”; I spent a lot time to figure out my Flickr’s account name, and finally succeeded! I am going to use this blog to work for my CALL class, and I am planning to focus on relevant CALL topics. And I still have two more blogs, and I will use them to record my daily life.