INTRODUCTION
A weblog (or blog) is a web-based space for writing where all the writing and editing of
information is managed through a web browser and is immediately and publicly available on the Internet.(Godwin, 2003) There are a range of potential applications of blogging technology in education and training including for student and teacher communication, delivery of learning materials, the provision of mentoring to students, collaboration and professional development for teachers and knowledge management.
As blogs become more and more commonplace, educators in recent years have begun seeing the potential of blogs for teaching and learning. At this time, using blogs in education, and particularly in language learning, is still novel and there have not been many formal studies done on this topic.
Studies that have been published include research on blogging’s effect on learner autonomy, increasing writing fluency, as a place for completing writing assignments (Ward, 2004; Wu,2005), posting class materials (Johnson, 2004), and as a way to open communication with bloggers outside the classroom (Pinkman, 2005). From a simple search of the Internet, however, it is clear that much language classroom blogging is occurring and simply not being reported in English language learning literature. Research focusing on blog use in English language classes is still relatively scarce in the literature. The focus for this article is on the possibilities of blogs as learning journals in the virtual teaching and learning environment. This thesis encompasses five parts. The first part is an introduction. The second part is the general observation about weblog in education. The third part focuses on the effectiveness of using blog for English language writing, according to the previous research on students’ perceptions and reactions to the use of blogs. It points out three types of blog in English language learning, and some influences of using of blog for students in English writing. The fourth part in this thesis describes the reflections with blogs for English language learning. The fifth part is the conclusion.