knowledge of English, whereas, Mei-Li is very secure in her abilities to the point that she feel
she is always correct. In fact, she often says she dose not make changes on her writing because
she always thinks everyone is wrong and she is right. Nestor is an enigma because he dose not
have confidence in his writing skills, but he is the best writer in the class. Several students feel
comfortable with his suggestions because they recognize his good writing skills. However, he is
insecure about the advice he is giving to his classmates.
REFLECTIONS WITH BLOG FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE
LEARNERS IN WRITING
Reflective learning and thinking is widely regarded as being important within all contexts,
especially, in English language learning. Reflective thinking was originally defined by Dewey
(1933) as purposeful thinking oriented toward a goal. Reflection in learning involves a process of
recording experience and then revisiting the description with the intent of refining learning
processes and strategies. For English learners, two propositions are important in this context: one,
that students find it difficult to engage in reflection over time without external support and two,
that the learner is primarily responsible for identifying important experiences and then linking
experiences to learning. Reflection is governed by both cognitive and affective components and
the reflective act is preceded and accompanied by individual feelings and perceptions that could
either form barriers to or enhance learning. Understanding the affective components of reflection
and their effect on student learning and experiences is essential for identifying appropriate uses
of reflection to assist individual language writing.
1. THE ROLE OF REFLECTIONS IN ENGLISH WRITING
Within a constructivist philosophy of English writing, learners are the determinants of the
structure and sequence of their knowledge construction. Ultimately, the learner is responsible for
his or her own writing and the teacher acts as a facilitator to guide the students writing. From a
cognitive perspective, writing is made more meaningful when it is integrated—that is assimilated
and accommodated—within the learner’s prior knowledge (Galina, 2006). The British Further
Education Curriculum and Development Unit (FEU) proposed that reflection occupies a central
place in English writing: specific reflective activities are vital for extracting specific learning of
skills and knowledge from an experience. Current and previous experiences affect the
perceptions of the learner during the reflective act: positive experiences can enhance writing,
while negative experiences can form barriers to writing.
Many persons regard reflection as a form of meta-cognition or “thinking about thinking”. It is
suggested that reflection enables us to evaluate experience, learn from mistakes, repeat successes,
revise, and plan. No better listing of the uses of reflection in the writing classroom can be found
than the five:
First, reflective statements shed important light on the form and content of students’ written
work. Second, they help students become aware of their preferred approaches to writing, and
enable them to take risks to try new and more productive strategies on a particular task. Third,
when revising, students may examine their reflections on their earlier process of writing and
consider alternative processes or approaches. Fourth, reflective writing produces an intimacy
between students and teachers that enables teachers to respond to and encourage students’ growth
in writing skills. Lastly, the reflective statements give teachers insights into students’ thinking
and development not normally accessible otherwise.