A Meta Analysis of Research on Using the Blogs Strategy in English Language Learning

الملخص

This study aims to present the general trends, descriptions and focus of research on the use of blogs in English language learning. It investigates the effectiveness of blogs, application/website, participant types, publication types, text lengths, skills and areas, participant genders, study designs, study instruments, and years of publication. The study used a meta analysis research design in data collection and analysis. The sample of the study consisted of 50 journal articles, conference proceedings, and graduate theses and dissertations published between 2000 and 2023. The instrument of the study was a meta analysis checklist. The descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages were used to find if there were differences between the different features. The study found that blogs were more effective than other methods in English language learning. The study found that Blogspot is the most commonly used blogging platform, while other websites had lower usage rates. The findings of the participant types revealed that the highest frequency was for undergraduate ESL students consisting of “15 and more”. The finding of the publication types showed that the journal article has the highest frequency in research on the use of blogs, while conference proceedings and thesis had the lowest frequency. The findings of the study design revealed that control/experimental pre/post-test design had the highest frequency in research concerning the design of studies on the use of blog strategies. Quantitative (test/questionnaire) and one-group pre-post tests had the highest frequency, and writing had the highest recurrence in research studies using blog strategies in learning. The mixed method instrument had the highest frequency in most studies employing blog strategies.