LANGUAGE LEARNING THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKS: PERCEPTIONS AND REALITY

Chin-Hsi Lin, Michigan State University Mark Warschauer, University of California, Irvine Robert Blake, University of California, Davis Language Learning Social Network Sites (LLSNSs) have attracted millions of users around the world. However, little is known about how people participate in these sites and what they learn from them. This study investigated learners’ attitudes, usage, and progress in a major LLSNS through a survey of 4,174 as well as 20 individual case studies. The study hints at the potential of LLSNSs, given the generally positive regard participants have for the site, but it also shows its limitations, since most learners drop out or show only limited gains. The study suggests that if online education is to play a positive role in the teaching and learning of English and other languages, learners will need support, guidance, and well-structured activities to ensure the kinds of participation and linguistic interaction that can lead to success.

[1]  Katharine B. Nielson.  SELF-STUDY WITH LANGUAGE LEARNING SOFTWARE IN THE WORKPLACE: WHAT HAPPENS? , 2011 .

[2]  Stephanie Vie.  Engaging Others in Online Social Networking Sites: Rhetorical Practices in MySpace and Facebook , 2007 .

[3]  Robert J. Blake,et al.  The Use of Technology for Second Language Distance Learning , 2009 .

[4]  Susan C. Herring.  Interactional Coherence in CMC , 1999, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[5]  Bryan Smith.  Computer–Mediated Negotiated Interaction: An Expanded Model , 2003 .

[6]  Natalia Lusin,et al.  Enrollments in Languages other than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education, Fall 2006 , 2007 .

[7]  J. Belz.  Linguistic Perspectives on the Development of Intercultural Competence in Telecollaboration. , 2003 .

[8]  Rining Wei,et al.  The statistics of English in China , 2012, English Today.

[9]  Mark Warschauer,et al.  Motivational aspects of using computers for writing and communication , 1996 .

[10]  Claire Kramsch,et al.  Authenticity and Authorship in the Computer-Mediated Acquisition of L2 Literacy. , 2000 .

[11]  Rebecca W. Black.  Language, Culture, and Identity in Online Fanfiction , 2006 .

[12]  J. Singer,et al.  QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY Modeling the Days of Our Lives: Using Survival Analysis When Designing and Analyzing Longitudinal Studies of Duration and the Timing of Events , 1991 .

[13]  Margarita Vinagre,et al.  COMPUTER-MEDIATED CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK AND LANGUAGE ACCURACY IN TELECOLLABORATIVE EXCHANGES , 2011 .

[14]  Min Liu,et al.  Learning a Language with Web 2.0: Exploring the Use of Social Networking Features of Foreign Language Learning Websites. , 2010 .

[15]  Anthony S. Bryk,et al.  Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Data Analysis Methods , 1992 .

[16]  P. McCullagh,et al.  Generalized Linear Models , 1984 .

[17]  Willis Edmondson,et al.  The study of second language acquisition , 1995 .

[18]  Charlene Polio,et al.  Measures of Linguistic Accuracy in Second Language Writing Research , 1997 .

[19]  Hui-Fang Shang,et al.  An exploratory study of e-mail application on FL writing performance , 2007 .

[20]  Carolyn Penstein Rosé,et al.  Social factors that contribute to attrition in MOOCs , 2014, L@S.

[21]  M. Engle.  Book Review: Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook (2nd Ed.) , 1999 .

[22]  Hyekyeng Kim.  Brave New Digital Classroom: Technology and Foreign Language Learning , 2009 .

[23]  C. Chen.  THE DEVELOPMENT OF E-MAIL LITERACY: FROM WRITING TO PEERS TO WRITING TO AUTHORITY FIGURES , 2006 .

[24]  Svetlana Dembovskaya,et al.  L2 identity, discourse, and social networking in Russian , 2013 .

[25]  Sabine Levet,et al.  Internet-mediated Intercultural Foreign Language Education: The Cultura Project , 2006 .

[26]  S. S. C. Young,et al.  Integrating ICT into second language education in a vocational high school , 2003, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[27]  Eric R. Ziegel,et al.  Generalized Linear Models , 2002, Technometrics.

[28]  Charlene Polio,et al.  SECOND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN WRITING: MEASURES OF FLUENCY, ACCURACY, AND COMPLEXITY. Kate Wolfe-Quintero, Shunji Inagaki, and Hae-Young Kim. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1998. Pp. viii + 187. $20.00 paper. , 2001, Studies in Second Language Acquisition.

[29]  Geraldine Blattner,et al.  Virtual Social Network Communities: An Investigation of Language Learners' Development of Sociopragmatic Awareness and Multiliteracy Skills , 2011 .

[30]  Matthew B. Miles,et al.  Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook , 1994 .

[31]  Joanne M. McInnerney,et al.  Online Learning: Social Interaction and the Creation of a Sense of Community , 2004, J. Educ. Technol. Soc..

[32]  Rod Ellis,et al.  Task-based Language Learning and Teaching , 2003 .

[33]  Hayo Reinders.  Encouraging autonomy with an online language support system , 2010 .

[34]  J. Singer,et al.  Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis , 2003 .

[35]  A. P. Rovai.  Sense of community, perceived cognitive learning, and persistence in asynchronous learning networks , 2002, Internet High. Educ..

[36]  Jeremy F. Jones.  CALL and the Responsibilities of Teachers and Administrators , 2001 .

[37]  Shunji Inagaki,et al.  Second Language Development in Writing: Measures of Fluency, Accuracy, and Complexity , 1998 .

[38]  David R. Williams,et al.  Measuring social class in US public health research: concepts, methodologies, and guidelines. , 1997, Annual review of public health.

[39]  Wang Wei,et al.  Electronic literacies: language, culture, and power in online education , 2000 .

[40]  Meei-Ling Liaw.  Review of Livemocha , 2011 .

[41]  Thomas G. Bever,et al.  Regressions in mental development : basic phenomena and theories , 1982 .

[42]  Marina Mozzon-McPherson,et al.  Supporting Independent Learning Environments: An Analysis of Structures and Roles of Language Learning Advisers. , 2007 .

[43]  Nicole A Mills.  Situated Learning through Social Networking Communities: The Development of Joint Enterprise, Mutual Engagement, and a Shared Repertoire. , 2011 .

[44]  Rebecca W. Black,et al.  Second Language Use, Socialization, and Learning in Internet Interest Communities and Online Gaming , 2009 .

[45]  S. Thorne,et al.  Internet-mediated intercultural foreign language education , 2006 .

[46]  D. G. MacKay.  The Problems of Flexibility, Fluency, and Speed-Accuracy Trade-Off in Skilled Behavior. , 1982 .

[47]  M. Warschauer.  Comparing Face-To-Face and Electronic Discussion in the Second Language Classroom , 2013, CALICO Journal.

[48]  William Littlewood,et al.  Autonomy : an anatomy and a framework , 1996 .

[49]  Rod Ellis,et al.  The Study of Second Language Acquisition , 1994 .

[50]  Michael Thomas,et al.  Identity in Online Communities: Social Networking Sites and Language Learning , 2009 .

[51]  Kathleen Mitchell,et al.  A Social Tool: Why and How ESOL Students Use Facebook. , 2012 .

[52]  Philip Murphy,et al.  READING COMPREHENSION EXERCISES ONLINE: THE EFFECTS OF FEEDBACK, PROFICIENCY AND INTERACTION Paginated PDF Version , 2007 .

[53]  P. McCullagh,et al.  Generalized Linear Models , 1992 .

[54]  Richard G. Kern.  Perspectives on Technology in Learning and Teaching Languages , 2006 .

[55]  Hsin-I Chen,et al.  Identity Practices of Multilingual Writers in Social Networking Spaces , 2013 .

[56]  Robert J. Blake,et al.  Brave New Digital Classroom , 2020 .

[57]  Etienne Wenger,et al.  Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity , 1998 .

[58]  María Fernández-Toro,et al.  Training Learners for Self-instruction , 1999 .

[59]  Wan Shun Eva Lam.  Re-Envisioning Language, Literacy, and the Immigrant Subject in New Mediascapes , 2006 .

[60]  Jin Sook Lee,et al.  EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ELECTRONIC LITERACY AND HERITAGE LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE , 2006 .