As a foreign language teacher, one of my objectives is the development of student fluency and proficiency in the target language. From my own experiences as a learner and a teacher of different foreign languages, I have long been interested in what are the best ways to learn and to teach a foreign language.

My first contact with a foreign language was a French class in 5th grade, then followed by English in 6th grade. But, as many other foreign language students, after years studying the 2 languages, I knew how to conjugate verbs and how to change a sentence from the present to the past or future tenses; or how to transform a sentence from the active to the passive voice. And yet, I was unable to communicate with native speakers of the language.

Later, when I began teaching English and later Spanish and Portuguese, I knew I did not want to perpetuate the old didactic approach to teaching. I believed that to gain fluency in a foreign language, students need to be able to engage in meaningful communication. Simply practicing grammar drills and listening to the teacher lecture in front of the class, were not sufficient to develop proficiency in a foreign language.

The old method of language teaching, also known as Grammar Translation method (focused primarily on grammar rules and language structure), may be appropriate if one wishes simply to be able to read or translate foreign language materials into another language. But, to build communicative competence, one needs to communicate. So, the job of the teacher then changes from the old presentation of grammatical rules and memorization of countless dialogues (as it was when I was going to school), to the creation of the proper learning environment and providing the opportunity for students to engage meaningfully with the language.

But, how do we do that? How can we engage our students and ensure they have the opportunity to use the target language for meaningful communication?

In this work, I will first look at the principles of collaborative learning, how it can be beneficial for learning in general, and why sometimes it does not work so well. Then, I will examine one tool in particular, blogging, that can be very useful in the language classroom to foster collaboration among students. I will provides some ideas and activities teachers can use to generate greater student engagement and autonomy leading to higher proficiency in the language.

Much of the literature about collaborative learning starts with a statement regarding the apparent common assumption regarding the benefits of collaboration in education (Khun, 2015; Curry, 2001; Nokes-Malach, Richey, & Gadgil, 2015; Nunan, 2003). However, some scholars do present examples of instances where collaborative work generated negative results; or the results of the group were inferior to the results of the individuals working alone (Barron, 2003; Khun, 2015; Nokes-Malach, Richey, & Gadgil, 2015), as we shall see in more detail in the next section.

So, let us first define what collaborative learning is; and then examine how it can benefit language learning, and what might be some of the challenges and potential shortcomings of collaborative learning.

Some scholars do make the distinction between collaborative and cooperative learning. According to Panitz (1999):

“collaborative learning (CL) is a personal philosophy, not just a classroom technique. The underlying premise of collaborative learning is based upon consensus building through cooperation by group members, in contrast to competition in which individuals best other group members. Cooperative learning is defined by a set of processes which help people interact together in order to accomplish a specific goal or develop an end product that is usually content specific. It is more directive than a collaborative system of governance and closely controlled by the teacher.”

Nunan (2003), on the other hand, does not differentiate between cooperative and collaborative learning and uses the two terms interchangeably. Nunan defines collaborative learning as “students working together to achieve common learning goals” (p.3). He examines collaborative learning mainly as a departure from competitive learning. Nunan is specifically interested in how languages are learned and the best way to teach a foreign language. For Nunan, collaborative learning in the language classroom takes the form of tasks in which learners have to work together and negotiate meaning among themselves to accomplish a pre-determined goal or objective. Based on Nunan’s research on language teaching, when compared with individual, competitive learning, task-based instruction and cooperative learning have shown to produce better results, with higher levels of language production.

It should also be noted that not all collaborative work requires the use of technology. Nunan’s research and work on collaborative learning was mostly conducted in face-to-face language classrooms, and collaboration involved students working side-by-side to accomplish tasks inside the classroom. Collaborative learning is not a new concept, and some of the work on collaborative learning dates back to the early 80s.

But, technology today is revolutionizing how collaboration is perceived and understood; and many new possibilities for collaboration are now available, breaking down the barriers of time and space. Siemens (2004) highlights how knowledge itself is changing due to new advances in technology. Knowledge today is changing very rapidly and the speed at which it changes continues to increase. He states:

“One of the most persuasive factors is the shrinking half-life of knowledge. The ‘half-life of knowledge’ is the time span from when knowledge is gained to when it becomes obsolete. Half of what is known today was not known 10 years ago. The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the past 10 years and is doubling every 18 months.”

Siemens proposes a new learning theory he calls Connectivism. For Siemens, knowledge can no longer be stored in a single person’s brain. We cannot experience everything, he says, we must now rely on other people’s experiences, and it is through the connections with many individuals that the collective knowledge is formed. Because one person can no longer “store” all the necessary knowledge to function in the world, it is the connections with others that enable the individual to learn and accomplish his goals. Siemens states:

“I store my knowledge in my friends’ is an axiom for collecting knowledge through collecting people.”

Downes (2005) also provides some interesting insights for understanding the nature of collaboration in education with his work on Connective Knowledge. For Downes, connective knowledge is not a process through which individual points of view are collected and stitched together. Knowledge is also not simply decided by the majority. What matters, according to Downes, is what is produced through the interaction of the individuals working together. It is the synergy created through the interaction among all the members of the group that creates new knowledge. Downes calls this Connective Knowledge, which is greater than the sum of the parts.

For the purpose of this work, I will focus on collaborative learning, defined generally as a pedagogical approach where students work in pairs or groups to solve a problem, perform a task, or build something together. Collaborative learning draws from Vygotsky’s social learning theory. It is through the social interaction with the instructor or other more knowledgeable peers that learning occurs (Lightbown & Spada, 2006).

As mentioned briefly above, not all research on collaborative learning has produced positive results. Barron (2003) provides instances where collaborative work did not always result in greater performance by the students. Barron’s study found that in less successful groups, students ignored or rejected correct proposals. Barron concludes that not all student collaboration is successful and there is variation in the type and quality of interaction among students, suggesting that instructors need to pay attention to how students interact with each other. Barron suggests that there is a need for specific instruction on the types of communication needed for successful student collaboration.

Kuhn (2015) also describes instances where students do not appear to benefit from collaborative work. Kuhn analyzes some of the possible reasons and instances when collaboration may not yield positive results, such as overconfidence in the abilities of the combined efforts of the group. Another factor that may lead to collaboration failure according to Kuhn is when the strongest member of the team solves the problem ahead of the others, but fails to share or ensure the other group members are up to speed. Even though in such instances the group may come up with the correct answer or product, not all members of the group will benefit, or learn from the collaboration.

Nokes-Malach, Richey, & Gadgil (2015) also describe some situations in which collaboration may not be successful. They find that if individuals in the group are able to solve the problem by themselves, then they will likely show no benefit from working with others. These students may, in fact, show worse results due to the added time and effort required to coordinate their work with others. The authors also mention how, according to Vygotsky’s social learning theory, when the problem is outside the group’s collective performance ability, then the outcome will likely be negative. Another factor for potential poor performance of groups is what the authors call “social loafing,” when a student does not contribute to the group, or has a diminished performance, counting on the others to do the work. Fear of being poorly evaluated by their peers, is also suggested by these authors as a factor that may affect group members’ performance.

There are many reasons why sometimes collaborative learning does not work. It should not be assumed that students know how to collaborate; and that they have the types of communication skills needed for successful collaboration. These skills need to be taught. Let’s now turn to what are some of necessary elements for successful collaboration.

Collaborative learning is not as simple as assigning students to work in groups and giving them a problem to solve or a task to perform. Teachers need to first ensure some additional conditions are met in order to generate cognitive benefits from collaborative work.

Barron (2003), suggests 4 conditions for positive collaborative work.

1. Giving students a problem to solve.
2. Giving students the necessary authority to resolve the problem.
3. Providing students with the needed communication skills and holding them accountable to following the norms.
4. Providing relevant research resources.

In Barron’s research, what differed between more and less successful groups was how peers responded to the ideas proposed by their peers. Barron also suggests a shift from viewing collaboration as merely a tool for learning, to viewing learning to collaborate as a goal in itself.

Curry (2001) suggests that nowadays with all the new technology available, collaborative learning can serve to diminish student isolation and help increase student social interaction. Students can work together to solve problems, collaborate and help each other despite being separated physically across the continents. But, for Curry, the teacher should not assume that students have the necessary skills to work as a team. Curry highlights some of the qualities needed for successful collaboration, such as the ability to clarify and commit to goals, a genuine interest in the success of the other team members, the ability to deal with conflict positively, the willingness to listen and understand others’ perspectives and value diversity, the willingness to include everyone in the decision-making process, commitment from all team members to contribute to the work of the group; and open and honest feedback of all team members and work performed.

Curry also stresses that for collaboration to work, the problem or task must be challenging enough to require the combined effort of all team members. Team members need to feel that the success of the project is dependent on the effort of all members. Another requirement proposed by Curry is clearly defined project requirements and clearly defined member roles. When these requirements are met, then according to the author’s own experience, then “collaborative projects can result in outcomes far exceeding the expectations of the instructors.”

Kuhn (2015) states that: “it is not enough simply to put individuals in a context that allows for collaboration and expect them to engage in it effectively. Kuhn begins by identifying some of the underlying mechanisms under which collaborative work is likely to succeed. The first condition identified is the need for group members to directly engage with each other’s ideas. Group members need to learn to listen and appropriately respond to others’ ideas and suggestions. According to Kuhn’s research, in some instances it was the need to solve a problem, and not the collaboration itself that proved to be the most important factor in increased learning on the part of the students. Kuhn stresses that collaboration skills do not come naturally. For Kuhn, “intellectual collaboration is a skill, learned through engagement and practice and much trial and error.”

Nokes-Malach, Richey, & Gadgil (2015) also identify mechanisms hypothesized to account for successful collaborative work, such as devising projects and tasks that required pooled knowledge for their successful completion. Teachers need to set up collaborative work that requires the creation of common ground between group members, tasks that benefit from multiple and diverse perspectives; and sharing of resources and information.

Current technological advances are transforming how collaboration takes place in education. Many new technological tools are now enabling new forms of collaboration both inside and outside the classroom. One such tool increasingly used in education in general and in particular in language classrooms for the purpose of student collaboration is Blogging. 

Blogs can be a very powerful tool to transform the learning process from one where the teacher is the center of attention and the sole transmitter of knowledge to a model where the student starts to take charge of their own learning process.

The word blog is short for weblog, which is a term used to designate a frequently updated website. Blogs usually consist of a series of entries of informal writings or articles, and were not created with education in mind. Writers often use blogs to publish their ideas, and groups of like-minded individuals use blogs to share and discuss topics of interest. Blogs have become a very popular form of publication because of the ease afforded the author. Producing and updating a blog is very simple, requiring only access to the Internet and some basic technical knowledge. It is this simplicity that has helped promote the use of blogs in education. Many educators have discovered the benefits of using blogs in the classroom, as they have become one of the easiest ways to publish student writing.

Types of blogs used in language teaching:

Blogs can have many different forms and serve different purposes. Currently there are three main types of blogs that are often used in language teaching.

• Teacher Blogs — these are created by teachers for teachers. Typically, they contain a space in which teachers can collaborate with their peers and share ideas, ask questions, or discuss classroom issues. Teachers can post and comment on each other’s posts. It can be a tool for professional development, for showcasing their students’ work, or for publishing action research. Teacher blogs can be a fantastic tool for teacher collaboration.
• Class Blogs — these are created by teachers for students. Teachers can use class blogs to share information with students and their parents. The content of this type of blog can include the course syllabus, lesson information and additional resources, homework assignments, etc. Class Blogs can be a good alternative for disseminating information and uploading classroom and course content.
• Learner Blogs — these can be a shared space, where students take charge of the content and become the main creators of the blog. The Learner Blog is used as a collaborative discussion space, and becomes an extension of the classroom — the students’ own personal online space. Students can be encouraged to write frequently about what interests them, and can comment on other students' posts. Learner Blogs have a great potential in language learning, providing a forum where students can express themselves and take charge of their learning. When students begin to use the blog to have meaningful communication with one another, the teacher is no longer the center of the classroom or the learning process. By using the blog for meaningful communication in the target language outside the classroom, students take the first steps towards becoming autonomous learners.

One reason to use blogs in the classroom is to provide a real audience for student writing. Traditionally, the teacher is the only person who reads what the students write, and often the focus of this reading is on form, not content. With blogs, students can write for an audience that, in addition to the teacher, may include their peers, students from other classes (or possibly guests from outside the school or even in the target-language country…)

Blogs can serve a variety of purposes in the language classroom. Students can use blogs for journal writing and their entries can be shared among their peers. When students write and share ideas in a blog, and use it to communicate with one another, a sense of community starts to take shape in the classroom.

Blogs can also serve to encourage shy students to participate. Many students may feel more at ease communicating in writing rather than speaking in front of a whole class. Even if writing is not the focus of some language courses, it can help students with different learning styles find their voices.

Blogs can help stimulate out-of-class discussion. Students can post in the blog as a homework assignment and thereby extend their time spent engaging with the target language. Blogs can encourage a process-writing approach — students are more careful if they know others (i.e., not just the teacher) will be reading their work; and they are more likely to understand the value of re-writing their work before going “public” with their work.

Students can use the blog to create an online portfolio of their written work. As they move through the course, students can look back and reflect on their progress.

Here is a short video produced by teacher Lindsay Jordan, where she reflects on some of the reasons why she began using blogs to deepen her own learning process and then discusses how teachers can use blogs with their students:

There are many options available for creating and starting a classroom blog. One of the first and best-known blogging platforms is Wordpress.com. This is a very reliable program with many different features available. Many of the most desirable features, however, are not available in the free version. To take full advantage of Wordpress and all of its useful features, users must upgrade from the free account. The same is true for Edublogs.org, a blogging program designed specifically for educators. They have great customer service and offer many features to make the teacher’s job easier. But, again, many of the features needed to make Edublogs an effective tool for the language classroom, are not free.

A third option available for creating a blog is Blogger.com. The free version of Blogger.com offers all the necessary basic features for free and is relatively easy to set up. To alleviate any concerns about identity and privacy issues, this platform allows teachers to make their blog private with settings and access rights that create a closed community. Access can be restricted to class members, giving access only to those registered, as determined by the teacher.

Here is a short video with a tutorial on how to set up a blog on Blogger.com:

 And here is a quick comparison of the 3 platforms mentioned above:

This chart was created by Richard Byrne. For a full version of the chart you can visit his blog: Freetech4teachers.com.

 There are many ways in which blogs can be used in the language classroom. Here are some suggestions of activities that can help promote student engagement and peer collaboration:

• Mystery guest — Invite another teacher or someone from another department or school as a mystery guest to the class blog. Ask the students to engage this person in a dialog and then see if they can guess the identity of the guest.
• Project work — A blog is an ideal space for developing a project, especially if the project is a shared one between multiple classes. Students from different classes can work together to share ideas, comment, and provide feedback to each other.
• International link-ups — Contact another educational establishment to see if they are interested in a joint blogging project. Students can write about their lives, culture, interests, etc., and be encouraged to read about the other class and comment on each other’s posts.
• Photo and Videoblogs — ask students to use photographs and videos in their blog, and encourage others to comment and respond. Photos, videos and other multimedia can help make the blog more interesting and help engage different learning modalities.
• Journals — Use a blog as a teacher-student or student-student journal in which teachers and students post comments, reactions, and reflections on work done in class. Students can provide feedback on each other's work and the teacher can use the space to call the students' attention to the learning process and assist where needed.
• Reflections — Ask the students to use the blog to document their contact with the target language outside of the classroom, or to reflect on their learning process, their successes and struggles. All along other students should be encouraged to read each other's reflections and comment or ask questions to further develop their self-reflection.
• Reactions — Have the students discuss topical issues by posting reactions to a reading or answers to thought-provoking questions.
• Collaboration — Use the blog to organize collaborative writing and peer review among the students.
• Invite guests — ask other teachers or content-area experts to add comments and interact with the students in the blog - always trying to increase the audience for students work. The more the students are aware of who will be reading their stories and articles, the quality usually improves.
• Community of Practice — Let the blog become an online community of practice in which teachers and students can interact, collaborate, network, help and learn from one another.

Here is another short video, by Rebecca Shinduke, an English language teacher, reflecting on how blogs can serve as a means to give learners a voice and build a sense of community inside and outside the classroom. She shares her experiences and describes how her students are not just producing a piece of writing for a homework assignment, but are actually connecting with each other connecting with each other in meaningful ways.

As is the case with many other collaborative tools and technology, blogs are not always successful. Sometimes blogs fail to generate the results desired and the amount of student interaction necessary for any learning to take place.

Blogs work best when learners are in the habit of using them regularly. If learners are not encouraged to post to their blog frequently, it can quickly become obsolete and be abandoned. Teachers should also be prompt in responding to student posts quickly, writing short comments on the content of posts. Teachers can ask provocative questions about what the learner has written to create stimulus for additional writing and to encourage discussion to keep the conversation alive. Students should be actively encouraged to read and respond (through the commenting feature of the blog) to their classmates.

Writing to the blog could be required and become part of the class assessments. Students should be encouraged to post their writing assignments on the blog as an alternative to handing it in.

All the recommendations mentioned regarding the necessary elements for collaborative work to be successful, also apply to using blogs in the language classroom. Teachers need to spend some time setting up the goals, guidelines, norms of interaction, and expectations regarding the blogs. And students need to learn how to communicate, listen to others' ideas, accept differences of opinion and learn how to give and receive feedback. Students also need to be held accountable for their work and for the feedback they provide for each other.

Blogs can be a useful way for faculty to engage with each other, share ideas, ask questions and discuss. Teacher blogs can be a great instructional resource for instructors to learn from each other and share what has worked well in their classroom or discuss issues they have encountered.

In addition to professional development for teachers, blogs can be used with the students to promote independent learning. As teachers continue looking for ways to engage students in meaningful communication and continue looking for effective ways to get students to collaborate in a productive way, blogs can be incorporated into the repertoire of tools used for that purpose. Blogging platforms can be good alternatives to expand the way students use the language they are trying to learn. Teachers should take advantage of blogs as an educational tool in the language classroom to promote communication among students — students communicating with other students…

The activities mentioned before, can help increase the students’ confidence in using the language for meaningful communication. When students use the target language to express their thoughts and ideas and to share their opinion with other colleagues, the target language is no longer a sterile set of grammar rules to be memorized, but instead becomes a tool for real-world communication.

When students know that they have an audience for their work, they become much more invested in what they produce and the quality of their work. They begin to take greater interest in reviewing and correcting their own work, and they take ownership of the writing and communication process. By engaging in the blogging process, students begin to take the first steps on the path of becoming autonomous learners.

Language Learning can be enhanced by a redefinition of the role and relationship between learners and teachers. Teachers are no longer transmitters of knowledge, but are instead facilitators of the collaborative process in which learners are engaged with and learning from each other; collectively creating new knowledge and engaging in New Learning. The value of the blog is not simply the sum of the individual posts by each student, but it is the collective knowledge generated by the group.