TEACHING BUSINESS ENGLISH WITH THE SUPPORT OF WEBLOGS

Abstract

In this paper, we focused on the mediation of the research results of using weblogs as a form of supplement to traditional teaching in the classroom and their influence on the development of business writing skills. The aim of the research was to prove that the weblog had an impact on improving the business writing skills and on the motivation of students to devote themselves to write contributions in a foreign language at an increased rate. In the research, we used quantitative research methods such as experiment, pre-test, post-test, and research instrument questionnaire. The research was carried at the University of Economics in Bratislava and 60 respondents took part in the experiment. Through the pre-test and post-test, we found out to what extent were the business writing skills of the respondents of the experimental group influenced by the use of weblogs in teaching business English. We used the student test to analyse the data obtained. The results confirmed that the use of the weblog in teaching business English had an impact on the development of business writing skills. We used the questionnaire to collect data in survey research aimed at finding out to what extent the use of the weblog affected the motivation of respondents to write to a greater extent in a foreign language. The analysis of the responses confirmed that the respondents perceived the weblog as a new, non-traditional form of the supplement to traditional teaching, which had an impact on their motivation to devote themselves more to write in a foreign language. Research has confirmed that the weblog, as one of the tools of Web 2.0, has a positive impact on the development of business writing skills.