The role of WeQuests in learning a foreign/second language

                   WebQuest defined as an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet. (Dodge, 1995). Through reading a lot of sources about WebQuest and the important role that WebQuest provides students with, such as Critical thinking, Student-oriented activities, Knowledge based on enquiry-oriented language use, Cooperative and collaborative learning, and Project-based Learning.

    

      WebQuests  support a variety of instructional and cognitive practices such as critical thinking and problem solving through authentic assessment, cooperative learning, scaffolding and technology integration. Critical thinking involve   comparing, classifying, inducing, analyzing errors , constructing support , abstraction  and analyzing perspectives which all of that provided by a  WebQuest  . Critical thinking skills are utilized in a WebQuest to interpret, analyze, evaluate, and draw inferences from the information obtained from Internet resources. WebQuest help students to discover new information which will allow them to become independent thinkers.

      Webquests tend to be student-oriented and collaborative, with students engaged in constructivist activities resulting in shared learning experiences and new knowledge based on enquiry-oriented language use and Web research skills. Cooperative learning is another essential aspect of WebQuests since WebQuests encourage students to take ownership of their learning and use a collaborative process of discovery to facilitate the learning that is taking place. 

       Cooperative and collaborative learning also comes into play when students use webquests in various classes. These are often a group activity and putting students in groups teaches them to work well with others and to put together all their thoughts to create different  ideas. Another big part of cooperative and collaborative learning is teaching students to ask questions. Not just to a teacher though, ask them to their peers. Webquests tend to be student-oriented and collaborative, with students engaged in constructivist activities resulting in shared learning experiences and new knowledge based on enquiry-oriented language use and Web research skills.

        In order to complete the main task of a WebQuest, students will use information from various sources to form their own opinions and share them with their group members to create a final project, which is usually in the form of an oral presentation or written materials such as brochure or newsletter, or even the creation of a website. WebQuests allow learners to receive input in the form of aural and written information, such as reading information on web pages or participating in group discussion in the target language. 

      At the end, WebQuest are now used around the world to offer challenging projects in a web-based environment. WebQuests can be found in every discipline. I wish that all teachers be able to use it with their students.