The Use of Blogs on EFL Students’ Writing and Engagement in a Saudi Private School

Abstract

The blog is one of the recent technologies in use for teaching, learning, and practicing writing (Aljumah, 2012). Blogs are an educational tool for continuous learning outside classrooms (Vurdien, 2013). The current study aims to add to the research on blogs in EFL writing by observing the writing development of EFL learners in a Saudi context. The study also investigates learners’ perceptions of utilizing blogs as tools to increase classroom engagement. The data are collected from 36 female high school students by analysing the students’ writing samples before and after the intervention, conducting a questionnaire at the end of the intervention, and interviewing select participants. Although the findings did not show any significant differences between the two writing samples, the responses from the surveys indicated positive perceptions of blogs in writing and of blogs as a tool for increasing engagement. The active interaction in peer feedback and class discussion revealed that the blog is a useful tool for learning writing.