Reflection #1: Blogging and ELL Students

In one of my TELL classes, the professor was telling us how she's used blogs to connect with other classes who are learning English. I think that this is an amazing idea. It helps the students to practice their English in practical ways where communication and understanding is necessary. It's one thing to talk to your teacher, but it's another to talk to other students, in a different classroom--possibly in a different country.

It could work something like the blog that Alison reviewed where there was one blog site, but all the students were reading the same book and creating a project together. There is one end goal, or one project, that both classrooms can work on and share their information. I think that my favourite example of this was a multicultural culinary blog. The students, in groups of 2-4, the students had to find different restaurants of varying ethnic backgrounds and take some photos of their food and then review the and post the photos on the blog. It was really interesting, and it got the students talking and using English in a functional way.