Exploring Learners’ Autonomous Abilities in Blogs Designed for Independent Learning A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Nurenzia Yannuar June 2010 © 2010 Nurenzia Yannuar. All Rights Reserved. 2 This thesis titled Exploring Learners’ Autonomous Abilities in Blogs Designed for Independent Learning by NURENZIA YANNUAR has been approved for the Department of Linguistics and the College of Arts and Sciences by Greg Kessler Assistant Professor of Linguistics Benjamin M. Ogles Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 3 ABSTRACT YANNUAR, NURENZIA, M.A., June 2010, Linguistics Exploring Learners’ Autonomous Abilities in Blogs Designed for Independent Learning (105 pp.) Director of Thesis: Greg Kessler Teachers have always been challenged to integrate technology and teaching; and with the emergence of Web 2.0, they are allowed to make use of collaborative technologies such as moodles, wikis, and blogs in their language classrooms (Bloch, 2007; Ducate & Lomicka, 2008; Kessler, 2009; Kessler & Bikowski, 2010). Most previous research on the blogosphere discourse was conducted in either a face-to-face classroom or blended course environment. To fill this gap, this research focuses on a blog that was established independently and not as part of any language classroom, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Language Learning Blog. This study uses Littlewood’s framework to examine the interaction between teachers and learners of English in blog postings to identify learners’ autonomous abilities. The results suggest that learner autonomy was not a static concept, but rather exists on a continuum. Additionally, learner autonomy was developed when learners accessed the blog voluntarily, posted questions, and replied to teachers or other learners’ responses. Approved: _____________________________________________________________ Greg Kessler Assistant Professor of Linguistics 4 DEDICATION To Eri Yoga Sidharta Because time has given us a way to eternity… 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am heartily thankful to my committee chair, Dr. Greg Kessler, for his sincere guidance and encouragement. His extraordinary knowledge and enthusiasm motivated me throughout the whole writing process. I could not imagine having a better advisor for my thesis. I am also very grateful to have Dr. Dawn Bikowski on my committee. I really appreciate her tremendous help. Her thoughtful comments and feedback helped me complete a thesis that I can be proud of. I would like to thank Dr. Peter Githinji, my committee member, for his great support. His insightful ideas have been very valuable for me. I am also indebted to my teachers in the Linguistics Department of Ohio University, Dr. Hiroyuki Oshita, Dr. Scott Jarvis, Dr. Richard McGinn, Dr. Harry Aveling, Dr. Liang Tao, Dr. Ludmilla Marchenkova, Dr. Michelle O’Malley, Dr. David Bell, Dr. Alla Zareva and also the other members of the Ohio University Department of Linguistics for their guidance, patience, understanding, and inspiration. I owe my deepest gratitude to my parents, Nurhadi and Sri Endah Tabiati, and my little sister, Devi, for always being there for me. I would also like to thank all of my friends in Ohio University and the United States, for their support, love, and friendship. Finally, I would express my deepest appreciation for my Fulbright advisors both from IIE and AMINEF. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 3 Dedication ........................................................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... 5 List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... 8 List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................ 17 Web 2.0 and Blogs ........................................................................................................ 17 Web 2.0 in Language Classrooms ................................................................................ 19 Blogging Alternatives in Language Classrooms .......................................................... 24 Autonomy in Language Classrooms ............................................................................. 25 Traditional Views on Language Teaching .................................................................... 28 Teachers’ Feedback to Students’ Writing ..................................................................... 30 Chapter 3: Methodology ................................................................................................... 32 The BBC Language Learning Blog .............................................................................. 33 The Content of the BBC Language Learning Blog ...................................................... 34 Teacher Blog Section .................................................................................................... 35 BBC Learning English Teacher Blog Participants ....................................................... 37 Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 38 Procedure ...................................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 4: Findings ........................................................................................................... 41 The Language Questions Learners Asked .................................................................... 41 Form .......................................................................................................................... 42 Meaning-Related ....................................................................................................... 50 General Questions ..................................................................................................... 54 Idioms/Expressions ................................................................................................... 58 Vocabulary ................................................................................................................ 61 Old English ............................................................................................................... 63 Writing ...................................................................................................................... 65 Speaking .................................................................................................................... 66 7 Questions that Initiated Ongoing Discussions .............................................................. 67 Responded to by Other Learner Questions ................................................................... 71 Ignored Questions ......................................................................................................... 73 Chapter 5: Discussion ....................................................................................................... 81 Language Questions Learners Asked in the Blog ......................................................... 81 Most Popular Questions ............................................................................................ 81 Reasons for Asking Language Questions ................................................................. 83 Language and Technology ........................................................................................ 86 Teachers’ and Learners’ Interaction within the Blog ................................................... 87 Ongoing Discussion Questions ..................................................................................... 90 Learners’ Autonomy ..................................................................................................... 91 Creating a More Autonomous Environment ................................................................. 93 Pedagogical Implications of Research .......................................................................... 95 Suggestions for Further Research ................................................................................. 96 References ......................................................................................................................... 98 8 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Focus of the Language Questions Distribution ........................................................42 2. Form Questions ........................................................................................................43 3. The Distribution of Responses in Form Category ...................................................50 4. Meaning Related Questions .....................................................................................51 5. The Distribution of Responses in Meaning Related Category .................................54 6. General Questions about Language Learning Strategies or Tools ...........................55