A Critical Review of Research on Social Networking Sites in Language Teaching and Learning

Abstract

The current study aims to present a critical analysis of research on social networking sites (SNSs) in second language teaching and learning (L2TL) context. Twenty-two studies published from 2011 to 2017 were included in the analysis through the selection criteria devised by the researcher. The descriptive analysis reveals that Facebook was the most commonly explored medium, and more than half of the studies featured English language learners in various levels. Following the content analysis of the studies, the emerging aspects of the literature review are treated under five overarching themes: practicing multiple language areas and literacies; authenticity and negotiation of meaning through interaction; development of intercultural competence and socio-pragmatic awareness; membership in L2 communities; and (re)construction of identities. Following an account of pedagogical considerations such as the dynamics of classroom, technical features, and various cultural uses of the SNSs, the study concludes with suggestions and directions for future research in regards to the incorporation of SNSs such as Facebook and Twitter into L2 classrooms.

The Use of Instagram as a Mobile-Assisted Language Learning Tool

“…For instance, Lee and Ranta (2014) argue that SNSs can provide opportunities for interaction between native speakers of English and ELLs, especially considering that it is quite challenging for English as a foreign language (EFL) learners to interact with native speakers outside the classroom. Given the language learning potentials of SNSs, a number of scholars (e.g., Al-Ali, 2014;Alm, 2015;Chartrand, 2012;Gamble & Wilkins, 2014;Kabilan et al, 2010;Lee & Ranta, 2014;Lomicka & Lord, 2012Mitchell, 2012;Solmaz, 2017Solmaz, , 2018 have paid more attention to SNSs. As an example, Kabilan et al (2010) conducted an attitudinal study with 300 Malaysian college students to examine the role of Facebook in English language learning.…”

Pre-service Language Teachers’ Use of Social Networking Sites for Language Learning: A Quantitative Investigation

“…Affording their users to interact with others and form groups based on shared interests through the use of multimodal resources, social networking sites (SNSs) are among the technologies such as collaborative writing platforms (Ayan & Seferoğlu, 2017) and open access video materials (Lesnov, 2017), which have been approached with educational purposes in mind. The ubiquity and mobility of such socio-interactive technologies prompted research exploring the adoption of SNSs in second language learning and teaching contexts (Lomicka & Lord, 2016;Reinhardt, 2019;Solmaz, 2018). The growing body of research highlighted that SNSs promoted the improvement of skills including writing (Dizon, 2016) and listening (Fouz-González, 2017) as well as the development of sociopragmatic awareness (Blattner & Lomicka, 2012;Reinhardt & Ryu, 2013) and intercultural competence (Özdemir, 2017).…”

Stylistic means of headline creating in the information-analytical media text: pragmasemantic aspect of metaphor

“…For intention implementation, actors of a discourse (authors-journalists) update the estimated potential of language units, thereby complicating a reference with a connotation. Many researchers note the fact that depending on individual character of communicants and a situation of communication the same sign can cause the association preferable before other in representation of the person (Balli, 1955;Borev, 2005;Karpovskaya, 2015;Kolodeznikov, Kolodeznikova, 2016;Nikiforova, Ignatiev, 2016;Kamalova, Zakirova, 2017;Uzun, 2018;Sum, Kwon, 2018;Solmaz, 2018;Metruk, 2018;Simsek, Elciyar, Kizilhan, 2019, etc.). These associations are defined by individual, national, social, and other peculiarities of representatives of ethnoses and cultures (Karpovskaya, Tolstova, 2018, p. 105).…”