Social networking and language learning (original) (raw)

Our increasing dependence on and use of various technological tools has impacted every facet of our lives, and language teaching and learning are no exception. Educators regularly incorporate a variety of tools (Thorne and Payne, 2005) to engage their students and to allow them to interact in new and different ways, both in class and beyond the walls of the classroom. In particular, popular social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook, Edmodo, and LinkedIn offer educators even more ways to help students increase motivation and reinvigorate the classroom climate (Mazer et al., 2007). Social networking tools such as these, and others, also provide opportunities for language learners to enhance digital and multiliteracy skills, interact in and through the target language, work collaboratively, and enhance their linguistic and pragmatic proficiency (Blattner and Fiori, 2011; Blattner and Lomicka, 2012b; Lomicka and Lord, 2012; Mills 2011). This chapter examines the theoretical underp...