The Effects of Blogs on Writing Skills in Teaching Turkish as a Second Language

Abstract

In this research, the effect of blogs, a web 2.0 application, on writing skills and attitudes of level B1 students who learn Turkish as a second language was investigated. Research was designed with a mixed method which included both qualitative and quantitative data. The target population of the research consists of 24 level B1 students that are studying in city center of Istanbul. Assessment Scale of Writing was used in qualitative data collection and, personal information and group interview forms were used in quantitative data collection. Descriptive Analysis, Independent Samples t-test, Dependent Samples T-Test and Shapiro Wilk tests were used to analyze collected data. Quantitative data analysis was performed with SPSS 22.0 software. Research has revealed that blogs have positive impact on the writing skills of students who are learning Turkish as a second language. The writing skills of blogging students are higher than those who take traditional writing education. Blogs have positive influence on students who learn Turkish as a second language and they began to write better than before with the blogging experience.