Blog yazmanın yabancı dil olarak İngilizce öğrenen Türk lise öğrencilerinin yazma becerisi ve sözcük gelişimindeki etkisi

The primary objective of this dissertation study is to investigate the effect of blog writing on Turkish EFL high school students' writing and vocabulary development. Besides that, the study also scrutinizes the perceptions of the participants about the blog writing process from different aspects. The participants of the study comprise 35 students selected by non-random purposeful-convenience sampling. The study adopts Mixed-Method Explanatory Sequential Design in tune with the aims of the study. During the18-week implementation session, the participants are asked to write a blog post each week and comment on the peers' posts each weekend. In order to investigate any improvement regarding their writing and vocabulary development, both pre and posttests are conducted in the study. The statistical calculations of quantitative data reveal that blog writing helps the participants to improve both their writing and vocabulary development after the implementation. Furthermore, the analyses of the qualitative data regarding students' perceptions about the blog writing process highlight favorable effects of the process on different aspects such as technology use, vocabulary knowledge, reading and writing skill, general world knowledge and culture, time management and interaction. Based on the findings of the study, several pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research are presented in the study.