Effects of using blogs on writing performance of students in a secondary school, Kuantan, Malaysia

The present study aims at answering two research questions. The first research question is if there is a significant improvement in the writing performance of secondary school students in using weblogs in the English classroom. Students’ writing performance is evaluated based on five components fro...

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主要作者: Subramaniam, Sri Shangari
格式: Thesis
語言:English
出版: 2015
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在線閱讀:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/59300/1/FPP%202015%2014IR.pdf
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id my-upm-ir.59300
record_format uketd_dc
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
collection PSAS Institutional Repository
language English
topic Blogs
Internet in education

spellingShingle Blogs
Internet in education

Subramaniam, Sri Shangari
Effects of using blogs on writing performance of students in a secondary school, Kuantan, Malaysia
description The present study aims at answering two research questions. The first research question is if there is a significant improvement in the writing performance of secondary school students in using weblogs in the English classroom. Students’ writing performance is evaluated based on five components from the Jacob’s ESL Profile (1981). These components include content, organization, sentence construction, voice as well as mechanics and proofreading. In addition, it also aims at answering the second research question which is to identify secondary school students’ perception of using weblogs in their English classroom to help them write better. The participants in this study comprised of 17 form four students from a secondary school in Kuantan, Pahang. Data was collected by comparing the scores for their first three blog entries and their last three blog entries. The evaluation was done by two external raters using the ESL Profile. A Pearson’s product-moment correlation was performed to determine the coefficient of interrater reliability on the first three blog entries and the last three blog entries. The result showed a positively strong and significant relationship. A mean mastery score is provided for each component of the evaluation (content, organization,sentence construction, voice and mechanics and proofreading). A t-test was then conducted to see if there was a significant improvement in the scores of the students’ writing performance from the first three blog entries to the last three blog entries. To test the second research question, a survey method was utilized. Students were provided with a questionnaire adapted from a study conducted by Aljumah (2012). Cronbach’s alpha analysis was conducted and the score was 0.897 which showed high reliability. The data analysis showed a significant improvement in all aspects of writing performance except for the aspect on voice. The mean mastery score for content on the first three blog entries (M=2.29) was significantly different from the mean mastery score of the last three blog entries (M=3.00). The mean mastery score for the first three blog entries on organization was M=2.71 which is significantly different from the mean mastery score of the last three blog entries for organization (M=3.15). The mean mastery score for the first three blog entries for sentence construction was M=2.68 and the mean mastery score for the last three blog entries was M=3.06. However, there was no significant difference in the mean mastery score for the first three blog entries on voice (M=2.68) compared to the mean mastery score for the last three blog entries (M=2.91). A significant difference was found on the final aspect of writing performance on proofreading and mechanics. The mean mastery score for the first three blog entries was M=2.09 and the last three blog entries M=2.41. On students’ perception of using weblogs in writing classrooms, the secondary school students revealed that they had enjoyed using weblogs as it helped them improve their content and sentence construction. They preferred blogging to the traditional method of writing on paper as they are able to add pictures to make their articles more interesting. However, students did mention disadvantages of using the weblogs and many of them agreed that technical problems hampered their writing process. As a conclusion, the study found that using weblogs improved students’ writing performance in terms of content, organization, sentence construction and mechanics and proofreading. There was no significant improvement in terms of students’ voice from the data analysis. On the second research question,students were very positive about using weblogs in their English writing classroom. Weblogs pose an informal writing environment that made students feel comfortable in expressing their thoughts and ideas.
format Thesis
qualification_level Master's degree
author Subramaniam, Sri Shangari
author_facet Subramaniam, Sri Shangari
author_sort Subramaniam, Sri Shangari
title Effects of using blogs on writing performance of students in a secondary school, Kuantan, Malaysia
title_short Effects of using blogs on writing performance of students in a secondary school, Kuantan, Malaysia
title_full Effects of using blogs on writing performance of students in a secondary school, Kuantan, Malaysia
title_fullStr Effects of using blogs on writing performance of students in a secondary school, Kuantan, Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Effects of using blogs on writing performance of students in a secondary school, Kuantan, Malaysia
title_sort effects of using blogs on writing performance of students in a secondary school, kuantan, malaysia
granting_institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
granting_department Faculty of Educational Studies
publishDate 2015
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/59300/1/FPP%202015%2014IR.pdf
_version_ 1747812238066974720
spelling my-upm-ir.593002018-03-05T04:29:42Z Effects of using blogs on writing performance of students in a secondary school, Kuantan, Malaysia 2015-01 Subramaniam, Sri Shangari The present study aims at answering two research questions. The first research question is if there is a significant improvement in the writing performance of secondary school students in using weblogs in the English classroom. Students’ writing performance is evaluated based on five components from the Jacob’s ESL Profile (1981). These components include content, organization, sentence construction, voice as well as mechanics and proofreading. In addition, it also aims at answering the second research question which is to identify secondary school students’ perception of using weblogs in their English classroom to help them write better. The participants in this study comprised of 17 form four students from a secondary school in Kuantan, Pahang. Data was collected by comparing the scores for their first three blog entries and their last three blog entries. The evaluation was done by two external raters using the ESL Profile. A Pearson’s product-moment correlation was performed to determine the coefficient of interrater reliability on the first three blog entries and the last three blog entries. The result showed a positively strong and significant relationship. A mean mastery score is provided for each component of the evaluation (content, organization,sentence construction, voice and mechanics and proofreading). A t-test was then conducted to see if there was a significant improvement in the scores of the students’ writing performance from the first three blog entries to the last three blog entries. To test the second research question, a survey method was utilized. Students were provided with a questionnaire adapted from a study conducted by Aljumah (2012). Cronbach’s alpha analysis was conducted and the score was 0.897 which showed high reliability. The data analysis showed a significant improvement in all aspects of writing performance except for the aspect on voice. The mean mastery score for content on the first three blog entries (M=2.29) was significantly different from the mean mastery score of the last three blog entries (M=3.00). The mean mastery score for the first three blog entries on organization was M=2.71 which is significantly different from the mean mastery score of the last three blog entries for organization (M=3.15). The mean mastery score for the first three blog entries for sentence construction was M=2.68 and the mean mastery score for the last three blog entries was M=3.06. However, there was no significant difference in the mean mastery score for the first three blog entries on voice (M=2.68) compared to the mean mastery score for the last three blog entries (M=2.91). A significant difference was found on the final aspect of writing performance on proofreading and mechanics. The mean mastery score for the first three blog entries was M=2.09 and the last three blog entries M=2.41. On students’ perception of using weblogs in writing classrooms, the secondary school students revealed that they had enjoyed using weblogs as it helped them improve their content and sentence construction. They preferred blogging to the traditional method of writing on paper as they are able to add pictures to make their articles more interesting. However, students did mention disadvantages of using the weblogs and many of them agreed that technical problems hampered their writing process. As a conclusion, the study found that using weblogs improved students’ writing performance in terms of content, organization, sentence construction and mechanics and proofreading. There was no significant improvement in terms of students’ voice from the data analysis. On the second research question,students were very positive about using weblogs in their English writing classroom. Weblogs pose an informal writing environment that made students feel comfortable in expressing their thoughts and ideas. Blogs Internet in education 2015-01 Thesis http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/59300/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/59300/1/FPP%202015%2014IR.pdf text en public masters Universiti Putra Malaysia Blogs Internet in education Faculty of Educational Studies