Blogging as a Web 2.0 Communication Tool in an English and Applied Linguistics Tertiary Environment

This paper focuses on the use of blogging as a Web 2.0 tool to involve students in interactive and flexible learning by creating and designing their blog site and reflecting upon its use in the linguistic space. The study explored the impact that blogging has on the enhancement of digital literacies in the English and Applied Linguistics context and how it assists students to develop linguistic and non-linguistic skills. A qualitative research approach and an instrumental case study were used to collect the data from 15 master’s students for English and Applied linguistics through a total sampling method. Data were collected through artifact analysis and blogging. Content analysis was employed to analyse data thematically. The study concludes that blogging can be used as an effective tool for explicating the use of the sociocultural framework to involve students in a mediation process that enhances their linguistic competence and build a networked collaborative environment. The use of blogging is found to be a complementary tool for learning English and developing literacy skills that integrated the use of first languages in an online learning environment. The study recommends the use of blogging as a Web 2.0 tool that promotes functional literacy and appropriates the usefulness of digital literacies in the English and Applied Linguistics field.