writing Classroom using Webquests

Engaging WebQuest in EFL Writing Classroom

  

Diah Fakhmawati
Madrasah Muallimaat Muhammadiyah
Jogjakarta

 Introduction

·         Writing is learned not taught (student-centered) (Hyland, 2002)

·         Socio-constructivist learning (Vygotsky, 1978)

·         Environment: learner-centred, authentic, social interaction opportunity, and scaffolding (Simina-Hamel, 2005).

·         Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) by engaging internet

·         WebQuest:  authentic resources for reading, elicits interaction in completing collaborative task, and encourages output to produce final task (Perez-Torres, 2005,  Hamel, 2006).

 Why WebQuest?

·         Socio-Constructivism

·         learners construct the knowledge by collecting and organizing information with scaffolding to accomplish a modeled on adult professions task,

·         Second Language Acquisition

·         learners receive input of aural and written information (group discussion & L2 reading), interact to negotiate meaning (modifying input & output), & generate output   written production,

·         Motivation Improvement  (March, 2003)

·         authentic (real-world) task & authentic materials of target language, interdependently & collaboratively work,  authentic assessment

·         Thinking Process Development

·         skimming and scanning the reading (Gitsaki & Taylor, 2001), evaluating the collected information & synthesizing it (McPherson & Murray, 2004).

·         Collaboration Encouragement

·         comprehending and co-construct knowledge while reading Swain et.al. (2002). constructing composition, collaborative writing task requires the students to work collaboratively in constructing ideas and language to produce the writing (Storch, 2001).

 WebQuest

—“an inquiry oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet” (Dodge, 1997).

—“a scaffolded learning structure that uses links to essential resources on the World Wide Web and an authentic task to motivate students' investigation of an open-ended question, development of individual expertise, and participation in a group process that transforms newly acquired information into a more sophisticated understanding.” (March, 205),

 Components of WebQuest

Introduction

  To give background information on the topic and reasons to investigate

Task

  To set the context through the steps required to complete task

Process

  To outline necessary steps to assist learners in accomplishing the task.  A set of activities and resources links

Evaluation

  To establish the criteria to evaluate the final task, in the form performance and language levels, where students can do self-assessment

Conclusion

  To summarize what students have learned from the Webquests and encourages students to apply what they have learned in their local context

WebQuest for a Report Text

  Increasing Motivation

  —Motivated and encouraged Ss doing ‘real’ and useful activities (reading web, learning writing online, collaborative writing )

—Browsed online resources, excited for the relevant topic provided in pre-selected web resources

—Motivated them to learn all about report including the steps how to write a report text in tutorial page

 Encouraging Collaboration

peer-peer dialogues existing in writing or reading activities discussing what they have known previously to have knowledge better

—Worked collaboratively in prewriting especially comprehending the content of the reading.

—Composed collaboratively the writing by constructing sentences and suggesting choice of words before typing on the computer

—Discussed the content In editing by rechecking to the resources, the grammar and the spelling (dictionary, Proofing tool)

 Developing Thinking Process

  opportunity for skimming, scanning and synthesizing information and to learn new words

—systematized-design of web text by subheading forced the students to identify the information by skimming and scanning the reading to make the questing information.

—they did evaluating to judge from which sites they would take the information regarding all sites give almost same information about the topic.

—They synthesized the collected information to be resources for the writing.

 Application

—Online Mode

•Computer laboratory

•One/limited computer

—Offline Mode

•No computer

•One/full computer