Distance and Blended Learning Environments
NEALLT/NERALLT Fall 2009 Joint Conference
Yale University
October 30-31, 2009
AUGMENTING STUDENT SOCIAL AND COMMUNICATIVE BEHAVIOR
VIA EXPERIMENTATION WITH L2 IDENTITIES AND
SELF-AUTHORSHIP ON FACEBOOK
Presented by
Luba Iskold, Ed. D
Joshua Suchow ’09
Muhlenberg College
Presentation Outline
 Introduction:
Perspectives on collaborative nature of Web 2.0 tools
 Research related to the use of SNSs for SLA
 Potential benefits and possible drawbacks
 Instructor’s role
 Classroom examples
 Student reactions to class-related FB experiences
2
Definition of Terms
 Avatar – Graphical representation of a user
 Blog – Abbreviation for “weblog” with personal entries
 CALL – Computer-Assisted Language Learning
 CMC – Computer Mediated Communication
 FB – Facebook, a social networking site
 L2 – The terms “second language,” “target language,” “foreign
language” refer to languages other than English taught as an
academic subject
 SNS – Social Networking Site
3
Introduction:
Perspectives on collaborative nature of
Web 2.0 tools
 Users not only engage in one-way communication,
i.e., access web pages to retrieve content
 They engage in multi-way communication, i.e.,
create content, contribute, share, and collaborate
 Web 2.0 is about “encouraging and enabling
participation through open applications and
services” (Davis, 2005)
4
Perspectives on collaborative
nature of Web 2.0 tools
 Social-Networking Sites (SNSs) are the most
convenient Web 2.0 tools for user collaboration
 SNSs allow users to
 express themselves
 keep in touch with friends
 interact with others
 set up privacy specifications
5
Perspectives on collaborative
nature of Web 2.0 tools
 SNSs typically unite people with similar
interests or goals
 Similar features are also found on Flickr,
YouTube, Netflix, Gaming sites, Twitter, Glue
6
Reprinted from: boyd, d. m., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of
Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html
7
Research Related to SNSs
 Why incorporate SNSs into class-related
activities?
 Society
 User demographics
 Magnetizing power
8
Society
 Communication and identity performance are
increasingly carried out via the internet using SNSs
 SNSs are becoming increasingly common in the
workplace and in job searches
9
User Demographics
 Close to 300 million active users on Facebook
 80%-90% of people ages 20-30 participate in
SNSs and have online profiles (Tufekci, 2008)
 Some researchers refer to SNSs as a “civil society
of teenage culture” (boyd & Ellison, 2007)
10
Magnetizing power:
What makes SNSs attractive for
this age group?
 Observing friends’ profile updates, their likes,
dislikes, and other information
 Immediate reactions and comments from friends
 Teenagers enjoy experimenting with identities and
impression management (Tufekci, 2008)
 Some researchers believe SNSs provide for safe
experimentation with multiple identities
(Sykes et.al, 2008)
11
Research Related to SNSs & SLA
 Current generation of students has developed “new learning
styles and qualitatively different thought patterns”
(Thorne & Payne, 2005)
 SNSs “foster the ideal language learning environment, one
that encourages interaction and collaboration-the major
goals, after all, or of language itself” (Lomicka & Lord, 2009)
 Learning a language through interactions with others ties in
with Vygotsky (1978) socio-cultural approach to learning and
its later adaptation for L2 teaching and learning
 Incorporating communicative acts via an SNS “could be as
practical for [L2] students as teaching them how to order in a
restaurant” (McBride, 2009)
12
Research on Experimenting with
and Development of Identities
 ‘Performing identities’ is the central activity on SNSs
where users “write themselves into being”
(Atkinson, 2002)
 Words, photos, & media express identities on SNSs
13
Research on Experimenting with
and Development of Identities
 Acquiring an L2 involves the development of a new identity
(Pavlenko & Lantolf)
 CMC affords additive (vs. subtractive in face-to-face)
experimentation with multiple identities
 The nature of multiplicity is rather the “fractal” not “fragmentation”
(Lange, 2007)
 This model is useful for exploring L2 acquisition (Larsen Freeman &
Cameron, 2008)
 SNSs are characterized by “radical expansion of possibilities for
artistic expression” (McBride, 2009)
14
Research on Experimenting with
and Development of Identities
 “Self-authorship,” i.e., remixing the self through text and
media, may serve as the basis for new learning and
lessons in CALL (McBride, 2009)
 Using student-created materials for further learning fits
with “student-centered” pedagogy
 Self-authorship may lead to
 more time spent on task
 raise interest in and motivation for learning
 result in more active student role in learning
15
Academic Benefits
Students:
 Learn to analyze and appreciate netiquette
 Develop critical thinking about social interactions with others
 Distinguish what is public and what is private
 Avoid indulging in uncritical narcissism as in “me-me-I-I-I”
(Thorne & Payne, 2005)
 Integrate new knowledge and other people’s perspectives into
one’s own experience
16
Limitations: Analysis of L1
online interactions and
L2 implications
 SNSs are used primarily to maintain social bonds
 Exchanges are brief and frequently use simplified language,
spelling, and colloquialisms
 Writing does not require a “process” approach
 Texts are scanned rather than read thoroughly
 Messages with embedded images are fundamentally different
from text-only format
 Similarly, L2 SNS-based activities are different from in-class
extended reading and writing
17
Student Challenges
 May have personal reasons not to be ‘friends’
with someone in class
 ‘Popularity contest’-may elevate anxiety and
cause alienation in some L2 learners
 Lack of L2 pragmatic knowledge in
introductory language courses may make
writing and interactions with others difficult
18
Instructors’ Challenges
 Should the instructor be included?
 Is there a difference between communicating
with an authority via email vs. an SNS?
 Do students find it awkward to interact with
instructors socially?
 Do SNSs undermine instructor’s authority?
(Mazer, Murphy & Simonds, 2007)
19
Instructors’ Challenges
 Curricular limitations- difficulty to incorporate additional
activities into syllabi
 Time constraints- first learn about the technology and only then
design own teaching
 Resistance from more traditional instructors
 Development of assessment strategies and grading parameters
 Difficulty with engaging native speakers-the need to develop
learner-to-learner interactions
 Most importantly: How do we develop meaningful assignments?
20
Why Facebook?
 Amount and content of advertising
 Student familiarity with this particular SNS eliminates the
need for L1 training
 Ease of navigation and use
 Privacy settings
 Ability to set the interface and IM in L2
 Convenience: meeting social and class needs in one place
21
Examination of Building Blocks
of FB Online Identity: Profile
 Personal photo, other images, or an avatar
(appears in all within-site communication)
 Demographic information
 Interests & Cultural information
 Photos, Images, Music, Videos
22
Examination of Building Blocks
of FB Online Identity:
‘Friends’ list
 Connects profiles in multiple ways
 Profile-based Search:
 Likes/dislikes
 Schools
 Common cause
 Fan/friend of a celebrity
23
Examination of Building
Blocks of FB Online Identity
 Communication on Personal Profiles

Messages from ‘Friends’ (text, photos, images, videos)
 Status Update (up to 180 characters) are posted as news feeds
on ‘friends’ lists

What are you doing now?
 Blogs


May be added to profiles
Contain long updates
 Private messages (seen only between two users)


Within-site email
Chat or Instant Messaging
24
Examples of what was done in
Russian Language and Literature
Classes
25
26
27
28
29
Alternative vs. Real
Identity Profiles










Extending oneself by taking the point of view of one’s respective character
Choosing among the characters may increase motivation and interest
Keeps learners away from overindulging in themselves
Student popularity in class may suffer less
Engage in further development of L2 characters
Use critical thinking and analytical skills to invent new situation and plot
developments
Employ additional resources to develop characters’ attributes and ensure
their authenticity
Participate in task-based experiential learning focused on online exchanges
between characters
Learn how to make predictions relevant to the country where L2 is spoken
Creating stereotypes seems less dangerous
(vs. collaborating in groups to create a fictitious L2 profile)
30
Facebook Pre-Survey
Questions
Help me express myself more creatively
Provide an additional way to interact with peers in class
Help me spend more time writing and communicating in Russian
Motivate me to experiment with a Russian character identity
Be a “popularity contest” in class
Distract me from learning the course content
Consume too much time relative to other assignments
Motivate me to expand my vocabulary in Russian
Motivate me to look for additional resources to develop my character’s attributes
My peers in class will quickly react and comment on my profile
I will frequently update and check my Russian profile
I find it awkward to have my instructor on my ‘friends’ list
I have trouble being ‘friends’ with individuals in class
Instructor’s corrective feedback will diminish my ego
I am familiar with Facebook and will not need technical assistance
Standard
Deviation
Mean
0.991
0.641
0.744
1.509
0.787
0.535
1.488
0.744
1.069
0.000
0.354
0.926
0.744
0.707
0.744
3.875
4.125
4.625
3.875
1.571
1.500
2.500
4.375
3.500
3.000
3.875
2.000
1.375
1.750
4.625
Note. Judgments were made on 5-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).
31
Conclusions

Discuss upcoming projects and potential problems

Use SNSs projects that can support course objectives

Explain the connection to students

Specify expected quality and quantity of communication

Develop brief tasks tied to topics covered in class
Examples:





Physical and personality descriptions
Likes and dislikes, hobbies
Daily routines
Context-based plot development
Provide corrective feedback only in individual messages
32
Bibliography
Atkinson, D. (2002). Toward a sociocognitive approach to second language acquisition. Modern
Language Journal, 86, 525-545.
boyd, d. m., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of
Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11.
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html
Davis, I. (2005, July 4). Talis, Web 2.0 and all that. Internet Alchemy blog. Retrieved December 31, 2008,
from http://iandavis.com/blog/2005/07/talis-Web-20-and-all-that
Lange, P.G. (2007). Publicly private and privately public: Social networking on YouTube. Journal of
Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1). Retrieved November 28, 2008, from
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/lange.html
Larsen Freeman, D. (1997). Chaos/complexity science and second language acquisition. Applied
Linguistics, 18, 141-165.
Lomicka, L., & Lord, G. (2009). Introduction to social networking, collboration, and web 2.0 tools. In L.
Lomicka, & G. Lord, The next generation: Social networking and online collaboration in foreign
language learning (pp. 1-11). San Marcos, Texas: CALICO.
Mazer, J.P., Murphy, R.E., & Simonds, C. J. (2007). I'll see you on "Facebook": The effects of computermediated teacher self-disclosure on student motivation, affective learning, and classroom climate.
Communication education, 56, 1-17.
McBride, K. (2009). Social Networking sites in foreign language classes: Opportunities for re-creation. In
L. Lomicka, & G. Lord, The next generation: Social networking and online collaboration in foreign
language learning (pp. 35-58). San Marcos, Texas: CALICO.
Pavlenko, A., & Lantolf, J.P. (2000). Second language learning as participation and the (re)construction of
selves. In J.P. Lantolf (Ed.), Mediating discourse online (pp. 331-355). Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Sykes, J.M., Oskoz, A., & Thorne, S.L. (2008). Web 2.0, synthetic immersive environments, and mobile
resources for language education. CALICO Journal, 25, 529-546. Retrieved December 26, 2008, from
https://calico.org/page.php?id=5
Thorne, S. L., & Payne, J.S. (2005). Evolutionary trajectories, internet mediated expression, and
language education. CALICO Journal, 22, 371-397. Retrieved December 26, 2008, from
https://calico.org/page.php?id=5
Tufecki, Z. (2008). Grooming, gossip, Facebook and MySpace. Information, Communication, and Society,
11, 544-564.
33
Contact Information:
Dr. Luba Iskold
2400 Chew Street
Muhlenberg College,
Languages, Literatures and Cultures,
Allentown, PA 18104
Phone: 484-664-3516
Fax: 484-664-3722
E-mail: iskold@muhlenberg.edu
http://www.muhlenberg.edu/depts/forlang/LLC/iskold_home/ind
ex.htm
34