Nowadays blog is one of online media that very popular. Every people are usually access the blog. Before I answer the benefit of blog I would like to define a little what is blog?
What is a blog?
A blog (short for weblog) is an updated website that often resembles an online journal. It's so easy to create and update a blog - it requires only basic access to the Internet, and a minimum of technical know-how. Because of this, it is one of the easiest ways to publish student writing on the WWW(World Wide Web). It's so easy to practice.
Nowadays, blogs can also display photos and some people are using them with audio and even video, The basics of blog is showing how a simple text-based blog can be used to great effect with your English language learners. In the blog, we can use any useful gadget that we can use to complement our blog equipment for example like gadget that show video of learning English or an audio player that we can posted to the blog so other people can download or listen the file.
Blogs are so beneficial for learning English. It is proved by the various kind of blog that we can choose to learn English. Based on Aaron Aaron Campbell (2003) there are three types of blogs for use with language classes learning:
1. The Tutor Blog is run by the teacher of a class. The content of this type of blog can be limited to syllabus, course information, homework, assignments, etc. Or the teacher may choose to write about his or her life, sharing reflections about the local culture, target culture and language to stimulate online and in-class discussion. In this type of blog, students are normally restricted to being able to write comments to the teacher's posts. Student just can see what is the material is. A great example of this is Aaron Campbell's own 'The New Tanuki'
http://thenewtanuki.blogspot.com/
2. The Class Blog is a shared space, with teacher and students being able to write to the main area. It is best used as a collaborative discussion space, an extra-curricular extension of the classroom. Students can be encouraged to reflect in more depth, in writing, on themes touched upon in class. Students are given a greater sense of freedom and involvement than with the tutor blog. The student can make a discussion about their material of learning English and solve the problem together with the visitor and also the tutor blog. sA very good example of what has been done with this type of blog is Barbara Dieu's 'Bee Online'
http://beeonline.blogspot.com/) and 'Bee Online 2'
http://beeonline2.blogspot.com/
3. The Learner Blog is the third type of blog and it requires more time and effort from the teacher to both set up , but is probably the most rewarding to learn english as well. It involves giving each student an individual blog. The benefit of this is that this becomes the student's own personal online space. Students can be encouraged to write frequently about what interests them, and can post comments on other students' blogs about their problem in learning english. For examples, they can see their friend's blog. they can give comment, shared their ideas about learning or any other about their personality, style.etc.
From the explanation above of course blog is very useful for student, teacher and all the people to learn, to search any information and many others. So, the one of the best useful of blog is to provide a real audience for student writing. Usually, the teacher is the only person who reads student writing, and the focus of this reading is usually on form, not content. With weblogs, students can find themselves writing for a real audience that, it is good to the student to compare their ability by seeing other student skill about the material in learning, apart from the teacher, may include their peers, students from other classes, or even other countries, their parents, and potentially anyone with access to the Internet in all over the world.
I think here are the main benefit of blog to student to learn English ;
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Blog can provide extra reading practice for students.
This reading can be produced by the teacher, other students in the same class, or, in the case of comments posted to a blog, by people from all over the world.
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Blog as an online student learner journals that can be read by their peers.
Using a blog can increase the audience between teacher and student as a learner journal. Teacher and student will have a close interaction with all student.
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Blog can guide students to online resources appropriate for their level.
Internet is so wide to access. By using blog, student can easy find out what resources that are potentially useful for them to learning English like my explanation above about the kind of blog. Student can choose the blog that they need.
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Blog is increase the sense of community in a class.
A class blog can help the student to have a feeling of community between the members of a class, especially if learners are sharing information about learning material sand their interests, and are responding to what other students are writing.
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Blog can make student more creative in learning.
With all the facilities that served from the blog, student can use it to make them easy to learn the material of learning. For example, student who difficult to study listening can use the blog as an easy tool. They can download and upload the digital material from blog so they saved the time efficiently.
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Blog encourage shy students to participate.
There is evidence to suggest that students who are quiet in class can find their voice when given the opportunity to express themselves in a blog. They will more active if they use blog to learn English and it so useful for them.
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Blog is stimulate out-of-class discussion.
A blog can be an ideal space for pre-class or post-class discussion. And what students write about in the blog can also be used to promote discussion in class. It is important to make student learning outside the formal class process.
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Blog can encourage a process-writing approach.
Because students are writing for publication, they are usually more concerned about getting things right, and usually understand the value of rewriting more than if they are only the audiences for their teacher written. Blog can effort student to write well, blog can fulfill one of aspect in learning English that is writing.
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Blog can be as an online portfolio of student written work.
Student can use blog to sent their assessment online. Give the answer, comment and conclusion about the question from teacher and other student will stimulus the response to join.
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Blog is the place of all the materials that student need.
Student can find anything that they need from blog, for example material for writing, speaking, listening and may more.
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Blog can build a closer relationship between students in large classes.
Sometimes students in large classes can spend all year studying with the same people without getting to know them well. A blog is another tool that can help bring students together to all student in the world.
