Facebook as a learning environment for language teaching and learning: A critical analysis of the literature from 2010 to 2017

Abstract

The increasing popularity of Facebook has prompted scholars and educators to explore its potentials as a learning environment for various fields of education. Along this line, several reviews of literature have been written about the educational use of Facebook; however, none of them have focused on a specific field of interest such as language pedagogy. Thus, this paper defines the contour of scholarly literature on Facebook as a technology-enhanced learning environment in language teaching and learning. Using Scopus database as a source, 41 scholarly documents were retrieved and analysed. The demographics of the selected studies show that most of the published research came from Asia and were conducted in the higher education context. In terms of foci of interest, most of the studies focused on developing students' general language proficiency and productive skills. Although a great majority of the studies relied on self-report data and preexperimental research, the current literature suggests the viability of integrating Facebook into language pedagogy.Suggestions for future studies are discussed.

Cognitive and Applied Linguistics Aspects of Using Social Media: The Impact of the Use of Facebook on Developing Writing Skills in Learning English as a Foreign Language

“…The findings of this review article reveal that using Facebook has a positive effect on developing writing skills in EFL classes. This is in line with other research studies on this topic (e.g., [2,18,22]). It especially contributes to shaping and organizing ideas when writing [27].…”

Impacto de la red social Facebook en el proceso educativo superior de las matemáticas considerando la ciencia de datos

“…esta investigación mixta comparte las ideas de diversos autores (p.ej., datuet al, 2018; manca y grion, 2017; rap y blonder, 2017) sobre la importancia de las redes sociales para innovar el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje.Las redes sociales permiten compartir las ideas, utilizar los contenidos y enviar los hipervínculos para visitar las páginas web (agudo, 2018;barrot, 2018;Prasojoet al, 2017).…”

“…Los beneficios de las redes sociales en el campo educativo están relacionados con el autoaprendizaje, trabajo colaborativo y pensamiento crítico (agudo, 2018; barrot, 2018).incluso, los alumnos pueden compartir, responder, comentar y discutir la información de las asignaturas por medio de las redes sociales (barrot, 2018;fauville, dupont, Thunet al, 2015;Prasojo, Habibi, mukminin et al, 2017).…”

Using Social Media for Learning in High Schools: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Recently, Barrot (2018) conducted a review on FB as a learning environment for general language learning focusing specifically on using FB as a learning management system, use of specific FB features, writing, speaking, knowledge of language, among others. For example, teachers could hold online discussions with their students in a closed FB platform, submit assignment, receive feedback, etc.…”

“…Besides, most of the studies published on SM in education have focused on higher education (colleges and universities) with relatively small body of literature on secondary education. In terms of reviews, one can cite for instance, reviews on SM in education as a generic topic (Fox & Bird, 2017;Manca & Whitworth, 2018;Rodriguez-Hoyos et al, 2015;Stewart, 2015;Tess, 2013), reviews on educational affordances of FB (Aydin, 2012;Barrot, 2018;Chugh, 2018;Hew, 2011;Manca & Ranieri, 2013, 2016Manca & Whitworth, 2018;Nui, 2017;Voivonta & Avraamidou, 2018;Yang et al, 2011) and reviews on Twitter as a potential pedagogical tool (Gao et al, 2012;Tang & Hew, 2017). However, these considerable amounts of published reviews also focused on colleges and universities.…”