SWCOLT 2012 Facebook as a Language Learning Tool (Behnke)

Using Facebook as a Language Learning
Tool: Building Language Learning
Communities among Students.
Claudia Behnke
Northern Arizona University
SWCOLT 2012

Why use technology in Language Learning?
 Language is cultural and social: Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory.
 Technology offers students the opportunity to produce more than what
is learned, “Zone of proximal development”.
 Technology allows students to receive feedback from the professor,
from other students, native-speakers and computer generated
feedback.

 Interaction can occur with technology and/or through technology.

Virtual on-line Communities
 What is an on-line community?
 “groups of people, connected via-technology-mediated communication, who actively
engage one another in collaborative, learner-centered activities to intentionally foster
the creation of knowledge, while sharing a number of values and practices” (Ludwig-
Hardman, 2003).

 What are the benefits of an on-line community?
 Share life, work and school experiences.
 Permit group expression.
 Higher levels of academic success, retention of information and satisfaction of
University life (Price, 2005).
 Bridge the gap between the social and academic worlds.

How do students participate in an on-line
learning community?
 Create an on-line identity (“All about me”): Creation of profiles, sharing
pictures, asking questions, publishing status updates.

 Actively participate and collaborate in an informal manner (with others
students and/or professor).
 Give and receive feedback.
 Ask and answer questions.

 Share multi-media (music, animations, links, etc.).

Why use Facebook?
 Enhance communication between students and between students and the professor.

 Share and participate in ways not possible in the classroom (i.e. sharing multimedia).

 Create surveys, applications, play games, joins groups, practice languages, sync and
connect other websites with your Facebook account, etc.

 Facebook is attractive and appealing, students are masters in navigating Facebook, and it’s
free!

 Promote student collaboration outside of class, receive information from ‘friends’ and
foster relationships with classmates (i.e. through a group page, or the newsfeed).

 Promote the responsible and professional use of Facebook and other social networking
sites.

Why use Facebook in the Language
classroom?
 70% of Facebook users live in other countries all around the world, and
speak more than 70 different languages, which are available on Facebook.

 Facebook allows students to be involved and interact with their classmates
in a familiar setting in the target language.
 “lurking” or “stalking” = input!
 Commenting, “liking” or sharing content.

 Facebook permits the access to and sharing of authentic materials and
other cultural relevant items.

Action Research
 SPA101 – Honors; 17 students; All undergraduate.

 Materials:
 Tally of observed participation (solicited and unsolicited).
 Questionnaire:
 Demographic information, previous experience and exposure to Spanish
 Personal use of Facebook.
 Opinions and level of comfort using Facebook in the class.

 Research questions:
 What are student opinions and perceptions of using Facebook in Spanish class?
 How do students participate in a Spanish class group on Facebook?

Facebook Activities
1. Create a private Facebook account and join the secret class group.

2. Share reading and listening activities (notes, blogs, videos, comments).

3. Create and share multimedia.

4. Publish to the group page.

5. Comment other student work.

6. Publish and ‘tag’ photos.

7. Announcements, reminders, events, etc.

1. Create a private Facebook account and
join the secret class group

2. Share reading and listening activities
(notes, blogs, videos, comments)

2. Share reading and listening activities
(notes, blogs, videos, comments), cont.

3. Create and share multimedia.

4. Publish to the group page: Student
comments and questions

comments and questions, cont.

projects

4. Publish to the group page: Predictions,
reactions, stories, etc.

5. Comment other student work.

6. Publish and ‘tag’ photos

6. Publish and ‘tag’ photos, cont.

7. Announcements, reminders, events, etc.

Student opinion and perception: How do
you like using Facebook?
7
6
I like It a lot!
5
4 I somewhat like it
3 Indifferent
2 I somewhat dislike it
1 I dislike it a lot!
0
Using Facebook Sharing your work

Student opinion and perception: How do
you like using Facebook?
“It is easy to use and I can use it to keep track of what I have done”

“I particularly dislike sharing my work. I don’t like the lack of privacy”

“It is a great way to network/connect It brings a social aspect to Spanish
learning.

Student opinion and perception: Would you
recommend Facebook for another class?

10
8
6
4
2
0
Si No Si/No

 “I don’t like using a public forum to display my work – it makes me
uncomfortable knowing that everyone can see it/judge me based on my
work.”

 “It creates a bridge between personal and academic that I don’t like. It is
too informal of a setting for academics”

 “Since most of us already use Facebook we know what we’re doing and it is
more enjoyable and faster”

 “Because Facebook is something that I can use and that I remember to
check frequently”

 “I think for certain types of classes, like languages, it is the best way to
maximize our interaction and language practice.”

Tally of observed participation
Classification of FB use Solicited Not solicited
“me gusta”/ “like” 0 24
Comment a publication 5 51
Publish on the professor’s wall 0 4
Publish to a classmates' wall 0 4
Publish to the class group 144 9
Publish/comment a note 152 1
Status update 0 2
Multimedia 85 4
Photos 3 (albums) 16

Tally of observed participation, cont.
Yes No

Did the student add a profile picture? 16 1

Did the student add personal information to the profile? 4 13

Is he/she “friends” with the rest of the class? 17 0

Recommendations & Conclusiones
 Recommendations:
 Create a ‘secret’ group.
 Be an active member.
 Only correct errors through a private message.
 Encourage professional ‘participation’.

 Conclusions:
 Facebook is useful tool to increase possibility of student interaction.
 Students are comfortable with Facebook and prefer Facebook over Bblearn.
 Students do not like like to publish their written work on Facebook!

Bibliography

 Buckley, C., Hastings, A., & Mottershead, R. (2009), ‘Using Web 2.0 Technologies to Build
Learning Communities’. International Conference held in Barcelona 23rd -28th February 2009).
Barcelona: IADIS

 chavez-Solario, Nesly. A Comparison of Student outcomes and attitudes in Tecnology enhanced
vs. traditional second-semester Spanish language courses. Proquest dissertations and theses;
2003; Proquest Dissertations and theses (PQDT)

 Naditz, N. “Friend” of Foe: Facebook in a High School Language Class. The language educator,
Nov 2011

 Lakshmi, G.V.S., Sailaja, S. Contribution of technology in Language learning. Sino-US English
teaching. Jan, 2010, Volume 7, No.1

 Mills, N. Situated learning through social networking communities: The development of joint
Enterprise, mutual engagemente, and a shared repertoire. CALICO 28 (2).p. 245-386. 2011.

Bibliography, cont.
 Neil Selyn (2009): Facebooking: exploring students’ education-related use of
Facebook. Learning, Media and Technology, 34:2 157 – 174.

 chwartz, H. Facebook: The Classroom Commons? The Chronicle of Higher
Education. SEp. 28, 2009

 Stevens, M. Learning a Language with Web 2.0: Exploring the use of social
networking features of Foreign language learning websites. CALIC, 27 (2). 2010

 Terantino, J. & Graf, K. Using Facebook in the Language Classrrom as part of the
Net Generation Curriculum. In the Classroom. The Language educator, Nov 2011

 Thomas, P. Avoiding the ‘Virtual’: Building learning communities in off-campus
language learning. Australian Review of Applied linguistics. No 7, 2003.

SWCOLT 2012 Facebook as a Language Learning Tool (Behnke)

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SWCOLT 2012 Facebook as a Language Learning Tool (Behnke)