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Tulegenova A.M., Serikova A.

Eurasian national university named by L.N. Gumilyev

Ways of using social networks at English lessons

 

Social networks are a relatively new phenomenon. Geocities was one of the web's first social networking sites. They began in 1994. In 1997, AOL Instant Messenger launched. In 2003, MySpace launched, with Facebook following in 2004. Next up was Twitter in 2006. Come 2008, Facebook overtook MySpace as the leading social networking site, and now we have the elusive and mysterious Google + [1, 971]. People are increasingly conversing online using diverse social sites. They enjoy the immediacy and convenience of engaging in discourse any time, any place, anywhere.

Advantages of Using Social Networks in the ESL Classroom

·         Social media engages students. It encourages participation as students have the chance to express themselves through media they feel comfortable using.

·         Social media enhances student collaboration. Students can easily interact and share information, work together on projects, and communicate freely and easily.

·         Social media allows the teacher to share resources like images, worksheets and websites effortlessly and effectively.

·         Social media has tremendous potential for creative and engaging homework tasks.

·         Social media helps keep parents and family members “in the loop”. Teachers may reach out to parents with comments, feedback and suggestions. Groups may share class activities, post photos and publish their work online.

Disadvantages of Using Social Networks in the ESL Classroom

·         It is necessary to supervise student activity, and monitor comments and posts for inappropriate content, remarks or even cyber bullying.

·         Social media can be a huge distraction. Students may stray from the tasks at hand and use social networking sites for personal interactions or to play online games, for example.

·         Social media relies more heavily on written, rather than spoken, interactions. Students’ ability to interact face to face may be affected [2, 662].

 

Here's How You Can Use Social Media in Your ESL Classroom

1.     Keep Me Posted

Create a Twitter account or Facebook page/group for your class. Students compose Tweets or posts about something they’re learning, for example, Thanksgiving traditions in North America, for family and friends to read.

2.     ESL Bloggers

Create a blog for your class and have students contribute regular posts. Students then share their posts on several social media sites. They may also reply to comments to their posts.

3.     Connected Classrooms

Reach out to classrooms/schools in other cities/states/countries. Use social media to facilitate interaction among ESL students from different cultural backgrounds.

4.     YouTubers

Have a YouTube channel for your class. Create and upload videos of your students acting out role plays, interviewing each other or putting on a show. Share videos with family and friends.

5.     Digital Citizenship

More and more companies and college admissions boards are checking social media profiles when researching candidates. With the advent of online resumes, ESL students are in dire need of digital literacy, as well as English fluency. Teach ESL students how to write a professional-looking LinkedIn profile, or discuss what to post and what not to post to their Facebook profiles [3, 95].

6.     Hang out!

Google Hangouts can be an invaluable resource for students who need to work on a project but can’t work out a schedule to meet at the same place, at the same time. You may also choose to host a special Hangout outside class hours.

7.     Go Social with Edmodo

If you’d rather not use Facebook or other popular social media sites, Edmodo is an excellent alternative. Often referred to as the “Facebook for schools”, Edmodo is basically a social media platform that allows you to create a digital classroom where you can post assignments, announcements and interact with your students, as well as ESL teachers located throughout the globe. If you haven’t tried Edmodo yet, I highly recommend you check it out [4, 156].

No Social Media Skills? No Problem.

Some teachers are reluctant to use social media in the classroom because they are not comfortable using it themselves. How can you use social media responsibly when you can barely handle the basics? This should not be an excuse. There are any number of resources and free online courses resources for social media beginners. Check out, for example, this handy Teacher’s Guide to Twitter or this really useful Teacher’s Guide to Pinterest [5]. Social media is here to stay. You can ignore it or embrace it – the choice is yours. It can be a distraction, but it doesn’t have to be – not if you don’t let it become one. It’s simply another great tool you can use in your ESL classroom to make your classes more engaging. By sharing through social media, your classroom’s boundaries are extended so you can include family and friends on your students’ journey.

Teachers must be aware that while it’s easy and exciting to put your thoughts all over the web, you must be aware of the law in the country you are working in. You must also be particularly careful if you’re working with minors and ensure that no sensitive information is revealed online. Remind your learners never to share addresses or location specific contact details with people online who they don’t know. You can help protect them by making blogs password protected, protecting Twitter updates and creating hidden profiles on Facebook. Above all, social media is a very hot area of communication within young people’s lives at the moment, so it makes sense for language teachers to get involved.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.     Gray, K., Annabell, L., & Kennedy, G. (2010). Medical students’ use of Facebook to support learning: Insights from four case studies. Medical Teacher, 32, pp. 971-976.

2.     Hew, K. F. (2011). Students’ and teachers’ use of Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior, 27, pp. 662-676.

3.     Leier, V. (2012) “Facebook used in a German film project”. The EUROCALL Review. Proceedings of the EUROCALL 2011 Conference. Vol. 20, pp. 95-99.

4.     Miller, S. and Miller, K. (2000). Theoretical and Practical Considerations in the Design of Web-Based Instruction. In: B. Abbey, ed. Instructional and Cognitive Impacts of Web-Based Education. Hershey & London: Idea Publishing Group, pp. 156-177.

5.     Swain, M. (2007). The output hypothesis: Its history and its future. Retrieved from http://www.celea.org.cn/2007/keynote/ppt/