Using Blogs to enhance the Literacy Skills of English Foreign Language Learners of a B1 level. A case study.

Stella Spanou & Makrina-Nina Zafiri, Hellenic Open University, Greece: This study focused on the development of writing and reading skills of B1 level learners of English in a private language institute in Athens, Greece with the aid of blogs (a web tool), since Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) enhances foreign language learning. To this end, two groups of young learners were formed; the control group which was taught through the traditional coursebook whereas the experimental group was taught through a differentiated approach to language teaching. The differentiated instruction which was applied involved eight teaching sessions in the private language institute. Pre-tests and post-test were administered to both groups in order to evaluate the use of CALL in the improvement of literacy skills. Pre- and post- semi-structured interviews were also conducted with the students of the experimental group to evaluate their attitudes and feelings before and after the instruction. The aim of using blogs, as a web tool, was to enhance collaborative learning and social interaction, since a blogosphere was created. For the purposes of this research, students were involved in process writing by making drafts and writing their posts and in active reading when they read other posts and texts from other web sites.

Key words: Computer Assisted Language Learning, blogs, literacy skills, differentiated instruction, action research, foreign language teaching