Blogging: what's a fanny way to learn English!!

HI EVERYBODY AND WELCOME ON MY PERSONAL BLOG!

My name is Francesca I am 24 and this is my first experience in creating something as virtual and personal as a blog! Since I am a beginner, please help me!!! If you have any advice or ideas on how to make my blog more original, or improve it, please send me a post!

I am attending the second (and last) year of Specialistica of Foreign Languages for International Communication at the University of Padua. Long translations and those boring hours spent on grammar books are finished. It’s time now to practise a little English. That s why I’ m blogging!! If you are thinking that blogging is part of the English course: you are right! It is exactly that: learning and practicing this amazing foreign language through Internet, in particular the blogosphere!!!

Source of the picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/74263838@N00/184733028/

PERSONAL IMPRESSIONS OF BLOGGING

This is my first experience in blogging; before starting this interesting English course the blogosphere was something very unknown to me!! During these two weeks I have discovered many new things about this virtual world and despite my total ignorance concerning computer I really like this alternative way of practicing and improving my English. This course is aimed at making us communicate through blogging in English (something very different from the previous courses, which were more related to grammar and translation).

It seems to be an easy task to communicate in an informal and straightforward language but my short experience on the blogosphere has revealed that it is far from being easy. When blogging we use the blog’s language: a simple and informal English; the word communicative sums it up. I think that this particular method of teaching English is really interesting and stimulating for several reasons.

First you never get bored because blogging is a kind of dynamic interaction which involves a continuous exchange of ideas.

Blogging arouses students’ interest and attention, it stimulates imagination and curiosity and develops their critical ability.
When blogging you become a member of the blogosphere. Interesting topics, funny pictures, provocative sentences or questions make you be involved in the interaction, which is obviously in English.

Second this method allows us not only to read very interesting and funny blogs which are written in English, but also to develop our writing abilities and practice a type of everyday English, which is also very close to spoken language. Furthermore you also enrich your vocabulary and compare the style and the language used in different blogs (formal, informal, colloquial, made up of slangs or idiomatic expressions). This is some kind of text analysis, which helps you to discover some hidden proprieties of the language and how different people from all over the world use English and its vocabulary to communicate or express themselves.

Another interesting aspect is the fact that blogging helps you to improve your writing abilities and communication skills. You should be as direct and communicative as possible. This method stimulates you to think more in English and summarize your opinions or impressions concerning a particular matter of interest. When I write on a blog I feel more free to express my opinions, and this aspect stimulates me a lot. Moreover you should try to capture the blog’s visitors’ interest just by using the language and this is funny but also very difficult!!
From a linguistic point of view I think that this method of teaching English can influence my language learning a lot because I can practice continuously an English which is very close to everyday life without getting bored and being too afraid of making mistakes, I think that I will improve not only my writing skills but also spoken abilities.


That’s all for the moment
Have a nice weekend!
Take care
Francesca