Parallel blogging as an interactive pedagogical tool to enhance writing skills in EAP contexts

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study is to present the results of the action research conducted at Alecu Russo Balti State University of Moldova. It aims to understand the students’ perception of academic writing in general, on the one hand, and consider whether blogging can be used as a tool to enhance academic writing skills, on the other. Consequently, there are two main foci of interest. The first focuses on outlining whether the students realize the specificity and use of written communication in academic settings. The second examines the results of the experiment in order to show whether blogging can help students to develop their academic writing skills. The analysis of the findings has shown the students’ overall positive attitude towards the use of blogs. Blogging seemed to have contributed to the students’ development of academic writing skills as it offered the optimal context for the teacher/student scholarly communication, which helped to boost the students’ confidence and motivation. It also enhanced peer interactions where students tried to scaffold each other’s development of writing skills. Besides, the use of blogs helped to create a sense of affiliation to a concrete discourse community in students, thus making the process of academic writing more purposeful and pleasurable.