Málfríður - 15.10.2008, Blaðsíða 8

 MÁLFRÍÐUR
1. Introduction
“Weblogs  or  Blogs,  as  they  are  known,  are  easily 
created,  easily  updateable  websites  that  allow  an 
author  (or  authors)  to  publish  instantly  to  the 
Internet from any Internet connection. They can also 
be  interactive,  allowing  teachers  and  students  to 
begin conversations or add to the information pub-
lished there. Weblogs are the most widely adopted 
tool of the Read/Write Web so far.”
Will Richardson, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other
Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.
In a know-how society where marketing is fast and 
competence domains are widened and in rapid evo-
lution,  organizations  are  forced  to  move  towards 
the  so-called  web  2.01model,  characterized  by  an 
intensive  use  of  blogs,  wikis,  social  bookmarking 
and RSS. 
1   Web 2.0  is a  living  term describing changing  trends  in  the use of 
World Wide Web technology and web design  that aims to enhance 
creativity,  information  sharing,  collaboration  and  functionality  of 
the web. Web 2.0 concepts have led to the development and evolu-
tion  of  web-based  communities  and  its  hosted  services,  such  as 
social-networking sites, video sharing sites, wikis, blogs, and folks-
onomies.  The  term  became  notable  after  the  first  O‘Reilly  Media 
Web 2.0 conference in 2004.
The  web  2.0  and  its  development  of  the  social 
platforms have supposed a change  in  the IT-based 
communication.  In  this  new  social  web,  all  of  us 
create  the  content  and  interact  with  each  other. 
“Communication”  and  “Interaction”  are  the  terms 
that best describe this new reality. 
Communication is a fundamental part of learning. 
As instructors, we communicate with each other, as 
well as with our students, who also interact with us 
and each other. It would be a waste therefore not to 
use  these  IT-based  communication  tools  and  apply 
them  in  the  learning  context,  and  especially  in  the 
process of teaching and learning a foreign language.
2. Blogs in the foreign language classroom
2.1 An input source
My teaching context is a non-Spanish native speak-
ing country with a very small population, where the 
chances  for  my  students  to  practice  their  Spanish 
are very limited and they get most of the input from 
the classes. Taking into account the fact that all my 
students  (as  most  of  the  Icelandic  people)  have 
access to the internet2, Blogs proved a good tool to 
apply  in  my  courses.  The  most  positive  aspect  is 
that  they gave me  the chance  to  create a “Spanish 
environment”  where  my  students  could  express 
themselves in Spanish.  
The  Blogs  also  let  me  focus  on  the  oral  skills 
(speaking and listening) during the lessons, and the 
rest of the week I keep connected with my students 
through the blog, where special emphasis is put on 
writing and reading. 
2   According to the seventh survey published by the Statistical Bureau 
of Iceland on the use of ICT and the Internet by Icelandic households 
and  individuals,    results  show  that  the  vast  majority  of  Icelandic 
households have a computer and access to the Internet. In 2008, 92% 
of  the households had a computer and 88% of  the households had 
access to the Internet. The Organization for Economic Co-operation 
and Development found that  Iceland is a most web-savvy country, 
with a study showing it has the highest concentration of broadband 
users.  
Pilar Concheiro is an adjunct
teacher of Business Spanish at the
University of Reykjavík. She has
been a teacher of Spanish as a for­
eign language for more than 10
years at different universities in
Spain and abroad. She is also a
teacher trainer and has collaborated with Insti­
tuto Cervantes. Currently she is doing her Phd
research about applying new technologies to
the teaching and learning of Spanish.
Pilar
Concheiro
Pilar Concheiro
Learning through blogging:
an experience with Business Spanish students
at Reykjavík University