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USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO PROVIDE ENGAGED TIME ON TASK FOR ENGLISH
LANGUAGE LEARNERS (ELLs)
By
SARAH ALI BIN HOSSAN
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS IN EDUCATION
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITYDepartment of Teaching and Learning
AUGUST 2015
© Copyright by SARAH ALI BIN HOSSAN 2015All Rights Reserved
i
© Copyright by SARAH ALI BIN HOSSAN 2015All Rights Reserved
ii
To the Faculty of Washington State University:
The members of the Committee appointed to examine the thesis
of SARAH ALI BIN HOSSAN find it satisfactory and recommend that it be accepted.
_________________________________ Joy L. Egbert, Ph.D., Chair
_________________________________ Olusola Adesope, Ph.D.
_________________________________ Xyanthe N. Neider, Ph.D.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my committee chair, Professor Joy
Lynn Egbert, who support and encourage me throughout the entire process. This thesis would not
have been accomplished without her support and assistance. I would also extend my thanks to
the other members of my thesis’s committee, Dr. Neider, Xyanthe Nicole and Professor Olusola
Adesope for their guidance and encouragement while writing this thesis.
To my loving husband, Saeed Al-Ahmari, and my children, Naif and Jawad, I would not
have been able to make it this far without your love and support. I also wish to express my
gratitude to my parents who rendered their help during my stay in the U.S. A special thank to
my Mom, Salehah Al-Qahtani, who assisted me throughout these three years process of graduate
school and writing this thesis, I could not have done it without her continuous support and prays.
I am truly blessed to be your daughter. I will continue to work hard and do my best to make you
happy and proud of me.
To my siblings, Abdul-Aziz and Abdul-Wahab, along with my sister-in-law, Manar, and
my nieces, Rose and Ali, thank you very much for the huge support and being thinking of me
despite the distance between you and me. My most sincere thanks to my country, who grants me
the generous scholarship to accomplish my academic dream. I also thank all of my participants
who participated in my study.
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USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO PROVIDE ENGAGED TIME ON TASK FOR ENGLISH
LANGUAGE LEARNERS (ELLs)
Abstract
by Sarah Ali Bin Hossan, M.A.Washington State University
Chair: Joy L. Egbert
The process of learning a new language is not constrained to within classroom walls or
inside books; it is a daily practice for learners of English language learners (ELLs). However,
even in the U.S. many ELLs face difficulties in practicing that new language because many of
them live in non-English speaking households and often socialize with friends who also speak
the same native language. Therefore, these ELLs may not be spending enough time on task with
the new language to support their language proficiency.
The purpose of this study was to integrate Web 2.0 technologies such as Facebook in
ESL classroom to enhance English Language Learners (ELLs) skills (e.g., reading, writing,
speaking) and engage them when they learn the English language. The increased use of Web 2.0
tools could offer ELLs an additional way to engage ELLs by spending more time interacting in
English (Dahlstrom, de Boor, Grunwald, & Vockley, 2011). This paper explores the use of social
media to encourage ELLs to spend time on task. This is an exploratory qualitative study looked
at the use of social media in the form of Facebook to explore whether it provided engaged time
on task for students. This study collected data from multiple sources such as background Survey,
August 2015
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progress questionnaires, semi-structured interview, Facebook artifacts, and Reflections allowing
for triangulation the data.
Findings indicating that spending time on task allowed many of the ELL students to be
successful at communicating and interacting with their peers and teachers. They were also able
to improve the quality and the number of their posts by spending more time producing Facebook
artifacts. Private message use helped some of the EEL students to interact frequently with their
peers and teachers. It appears that ELL students had both positive and negative experiences and
perceptions about Facebook use in learning the language, with a few more students on the
positive side.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENT.......................................................................................................... iii
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. iv
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1
2. LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 3
Benefits of Engaged Time on Task for ELL Students ....................................... 3
Noticing.................................................................................................. 3
Producing ............................................................................................... 5
Collaboration.......................................................................................... 7
Affordances of Social Media ............................................................................. 8
Facebook as a Vehicle for Spending Time Learning English............................ 9
Research Questions .......................................................................................... 13
3. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ................................................... 14
Participants ....................................................................................................... 14
Context and Procedure ..................................................................................... 14
Data Sources .................................................................................................... 16
4. ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................. 20
Findings and Interpretations ............................................................................ 21
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A. Noticing and producing ................................................................... 22
B. Communication ............................................................................... 24
Private message communication ................................................. 29
5. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 34
Implications...................................................................................................... 34
Future Research ............................................................................................... 35
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ 36
APPENDIX
A. FACEBOOK FIRST PROGRESS QUESTIONNAIRE ......................................... 40
B. TRANSCRIPTIONS ............................................................................................... 42
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Dedication
This thesis is dedicated to my husband for his support and his loyal heart, my children for
always being available to inspire me in all my end overs, my parents for their endless
love, support, guidance, and their trust and faith in me, my two siblings: Abdul-Aziz
for his constant and consistent source of inspiration towards my academic work and
Abdul-Wahab and his wife for their continuous support, motivation, and
encouragement throughout my three years journey.
1
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
The process of learning a new language is not constrained to within classroom walls or
inside books; it is a daily practice for learners of English language learners (ELLs). However,
even in the U.S. many ELLs face difficulties in practicing that new language because many of
them live in non-English speaking households and often socialize with friends who also speak
the same native language. Therefore, these ELLs may not be spending enough time on task with
the new language to support their language proficiency.
According to Slavin (2003), time on task, which is also known as engaged time, is the
amount of time spent in the learning process. A plethora of research has concluded that engaged
time is one the most crucial components of academic achievement (Greenwood, Horton, &
Utley, 2002; Marks, 2000; & Slavin, 2003). Based on that, there are many solutions to engage
ELL students in practicing English both inside and outside the classroom and increasing their
amount of engaged time with their teachers and peers. For example, recently, many students are
increasing their interaction through evolving technologies such as social media and other Web
2.0 applications to communicate with each other. This is due in part to the introduction of
inexpensive technologies such as smart phones and laptops that support communication.
Furthermore, free access to software with a low learning curve is supporting the use of social
media applications. This context provides opportunities to engage students in time on task.
Facebook is one of the Web 2.0 applications serving a large online community, including
many ELLs. The increasing trend of students and educators using social media for
communication and interaction has emphasized Facebook as a resource capable of supporting
constructive student relations and learning. Integrating Web 2.0 technologies such as Facebook
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in the language learning process to enhance student skills (e.g., reading, writing, speaking) and
engage them in the learning process has reached new levels of development. The increased use
of Web 2.0 tools could offer ELLs an additional way to engage by spending more time
interacting in English (Dahlstrom, de Boor, Grunwald, & Vockley, 2011).
This paper explores the use of social media to encourage ELLs to spend time on task by
first reviewing the literature and noting gaps, and finally, explaining the study methodology and
outcomes.
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CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Based on the literature, this study explores whether the use of social media could
support ELL students’ achievement by giving them more time on task learning the English
language. This literature review will focus on the benefits of engaged time on task for ELL
students, affordances of social media, and the use of Facebook as a vehicle for spending time
learning English in order to provide a framework for exploration.
Benefits of Engaged Time on Task for ELL Students
According to the research, there are a number of significant benefits to students from
spending time on task. Many scholars have elaborated on these benefits; the most significant
findings include: 1) Noticing. 2) Producing. 3) Collaboration.
Noticing
The first benefit that the research shows of time on task is time to notice. Slabokova
(2008) defines noticing as “The act of perceiving, being exposed to or paying attention to
something” (p.4). In English learning, noticing involves a learner observing or noting elements in
the language such as new names, sentence structures and tenses, among others. Several studies
provide evidence of this link.
For instance, Plews & Zhao (2010) conducted a study to investigate how English as a
Second Language teachers adapt Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) to facilitate students’
noticing and learning. In this study, the participants were interviewed and observed for time on
task and its link to noticing. While interviewing them, Plews & Zhao (2010) found that most
teachers allowed students to participate in group tasks online. After interviewing the teachers,
the researchers noted that these teachers embraced the idea of task on time to allow students to
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notice English words. They also observed that, when more time is allowed for students on task,
they are likely to notice more vocabulary in English.
Another study linking noticing to time on task was conducted by Sun (2009). In this
study, Sun (2009) used 46 college students in Taiwan to test how time on task helped students
notice new English terms. The students were classified into classes, one with 24 students and the
other with 22 students. The objective of the study was to test learners’ learning process and how
students noticed English terms through time spent on task blogging. Results from this study
indicated that ELL students noted more English terms as they spent more time on task. He also
observed that students could note content in their blogs and in the blogs of their peers as they
spent more time interacting.
Furthermore, exposure is also linked to noticing. Ranta & Mecklenburg (2013) carried
out a study using a computerized log that aimed at measuring the exposure of Chinese graduate
students to English. The learners’ interaction was studied for a period of six months. The
observations from the study indicated students noted more English terms as they spent time on
task interacting through the Internet as compared to face-to-face.
In addition, Grabe & Stoller (2001) assert that the rate of noticing new vocabulary
increases as students spent more time on task. They conducted a study with six students and
presented them with new vocabulary through online interaction and a traditional classroom
setting in order to test the rate of noticing. They observed that, out of the six students, four of
them noted more terms through the social media as opposed to classroom. As they interact with
the social media, they notice more vocabulary (Grabe & Stoller, 2001).
The above review of various studies indicates that students notice sentence structures
more with increased time on task. They get familiar with the English terms from their teachers
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and also from their peers’ sentences. If social media offers students more time on task, that
would allow the students to interact with new terms and notice them.
Producing
Another benefit that the research shows of time on task is time to produce the target
language. Many studies explain how time on task could help the ELL students to produce. First,
Payne and Ross (2005) discuss that through the use of social media to provide time on task in
ELL students’ learning environment, the students can produce the language they have learned.
They conducted a study with 58 students to compare production of content by students through
social media and face-to-face interaction. This study showed greater production of content from
the students after engaging in more time on task through social media as compared to face-to-
face. They inferred that the teacher should correct and guide the students throughout their time
on task. The teacher should also subscribe to the social media platform being used by the
students in order to monitor the production of the learners (Kasper, 2000).
Another study that observed increased production among ELLs through extra time on
task in social media was conducted by Yanguas (2012). In his study, there were 58 university
ELLs. From this study, he stressed that social media platforms, by providing more engaged time,
promoted the acquisition and retention of vocabulary.
In addition, Gibbons (2010) argued that students are free to communicate with each
other through the social media. Gibbons conducted his study using two classes. One class was
required to do their task through social networking while the other class did their task through
traditional methods. The two classes were of the same academic level. He found that the class
that did the task through the social network put more effort and had better engaged time as
compared to the class that used traditional methods. He asserts that through social media students
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engaged in more constructive criticism and notes that social media gives them an opportunity to
practice effective communication. The media is interesting to them and, therefore, motivates
them to communicate through it. In the process of communicating, the students use the skills
acquired in producing the English language. In this study, Gibbons also indicated that ELLs used
complex language as they chatted with others. They also focused on their usage of past tense and
took time to go through their chats before they sent them. In other words, the students noticed
and produced English by having time on task supported by social media.
Furthermore, Sun (2009) expounds that, the reason for increased participation in
producing through social media is a non-threatening environment provided by social media. In
face-to-face communication and interaction, the students learning English as their second
language may have anxiety while expressing themselves. Payne & Ross (2005) stated in their
study that ELLs were shy of making mistakes in front of their peers and the teacher. The anxiety
and shyness are not experienced in the same ways during the use of social media. The student
does not come into physical contact with the teacher or the peers and has time to frame their
responses and correct any mistakes. Therefore, the students feel free to express their ideas
through this media as opposed to expressing themselves in a face-to-face environment (Sun,
2009).
Also, Kessler (2009) conducted a study using 40 ELLs from a Mexican university. The
students took an online content based course and were observed for six months. The students
were observed focusing on language accuracy while using social media. They also participated in
solving tasks offered through social media by their teachers. In Kessler’s (2009) study, it was
observed there was greater equity in students’ participation as compared to face-to-face, thereby
indicating that all students had greater time on task. All students produced the knowledge they
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have acquired in the language almost at the same participatory level. Participation of another
student did not hinder participation of others during the same time. It, therefore, allowed the
students enough time to produce the language skills acquired. Finally, Payne and Ross (2005)
also add that chatting improves the attitude of students towards learning English. The students
are, therefore, motivated to produce what they have learned in the subject through chats and to
spend more time doing so. This literature review provides evidence that students can produce the
language they have acquired if they are provided with sufficient time in task, and this often
happens through social media.
Collaboration
Collaboration is another benefit indicated by the research about time on task. For
example, Warschauer (2004) argues that learning language is an active process that is also
interactive. He conducted his study through observing his students. He noted that students
learned more when they spent more time interacting with their peers and the teachers. He refers
to interactionist Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theories that interaction is significant for
students learning English as a second language. As learners interact with each through social
media tasks, they can construct meaning through their communication (Warschauer, 2004).
Moreover, Nunan (2004) mentioned that learners have different capacities for
understanding. He studied a group of 60 students from two classes and found that some were
quick learners while others took long before comprehending English terms. Those with a lower
capacity of understanding could benefit from those with higher capacity through time spent in
collaboration. According to Nunan (2004), learners with a high level of readings skills assisted
those with lower levels. Nunan (2004) expounds further that the teacher plays the role of a
facilitator as the students collaborate with each other to identify word meaning and read more.
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The collaboration arises in the process of socialization; when students are given a common task
to complete through social media, they are encouraged to work in teams to complete the task
successfully. Therefore, social media enhances socialization among students and, hence,
collaboration. When students share the same interest and tasks, the level of collaboration and
time spent on task is even higher. Nunan (2004) commends the use of time on task to enhance
collaboration among students. He asserts that collaborative tasks are significant for teaching
learners to use the English language and work in collaboration towards achieving a common
goal.
In addition, Kasper (2000) supports time on task through social media. She conducted
a study on ELLs at Kingsborough Community College to investigate how ELLs collaborated to
do a task through the Internet. In this study, she emphasized that ELLs were actively involved in
problem-solving. The study also revealed improved performance among students in learning
English. She agrees that students are likely to have better collaboration through social media as
compared to face-to-face collaboration (Kasper, 2000).
Affordances of Social Media
Much of the literature on time on task involves social media because there are several
affordances of social media that make it particularly useful for providing students with engaged
time on task. First, it is useful in saving time for the student; the student does not need to be
online when the materials are posted. For example, as documented by Coertze (2011), blogs are
useful for time-saving because the postings by peers are stored in chronological order. Further, in
the case of Google Docs, any interaction between the students is saved and the name used by
each participant is indicated. A different color may also be used for different contributors. It is,
therefore, easier for the learner to catch up with previous contributions. It saves the student time
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to go through others’ work to know what they have learned. It is, therefore, easy for the student
to retrieve past information which is also shared easily.
Furthermore, the number of words read and written by students through social media
exceeds the content written and read in the traditional classroom (Williams, 2008). In fact,
Williams conducted a study using six intermediate ELLs from diverse language backgrounds.
The study aimed at investigating how students spent time in reading texts and tasks through
social media platforms. The study also investigated output from students in the interaction
process. From this study, he observed that students spent more time on social media platforms
than in class. Therefore, students use social media more to learn and produce than they do a
traditional classroom. In fact, extra time comes because students can participate in online
learning even if they are out of the school.
In addition, Kessler (2009) found that, while using social media, students engage in
dialogues and discuss issues in English. Various issues were discussed by students through the
platforms offered by social media. The issues discussed were tasks from the teacher and other
social issues among the students. When the dialog and debates take place in English, the
students’ time spent in practicing English skills is increased. Social media use has, therefore,
provided more time for ELLs to engage in practicing English.
Facebook as a Vehicle for Spending Time Learning English
Among the most widely used social media platforms, the literature indicates that
Facebook is common to most students globally (Mallia, 2014). Mallia conducted a survey in her
class and observed that more than 90% of the students had Facebook account. She observed that
the students largely used their Facebook accounts to socialize and interact with their peers. For a
student to interact with others through Facebook, the students should have a Facebook account,
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which is free to open. The student requires a gadget that connects to the Internet in order to use
Facebook. It is, therefore, a cheap means of interaction and affordable to students. For this
reason, most students are conversant with Facebook and use their Facebook accounts to interact
with others.
Facebook offers a platform that can allow discussion through messages. Students can
take their time and send messages to other students. For the student to receive an instant or
synchronous message, he or she needs to be logged into this platform. When the student is not
online, the message is saved on his wall. Once he logs in, he will be able to read the message
addressed to him. Where the messages are written in English, the students can have time to
interact with the language. They can read texts from their peers, and that can help in enhancing
their reading skills. They can learn new terms from texts received from their peers. They are also
able to exercise how to produce their skills acquired in English through sending messages to
their peers.
Facebook can facilitate the following:
• Gives a platform for students to interact socially.
• Allows students to discuss tasks provided by their teachers.
• Allows the teacher to follow up on conversations between students.
• Enables sharing of links to blogs, videos, wikis, and Google + pages.
• Allows students to use a common page or platform for learning English.
• Facilitates both formal and informal communication among students, and also with the
teachers.
• Creates more learning time for the students since it can be accessed using simple gadgets that
connect to the internet.
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As Mallia (2014) asserts, students carry their phones and can access Facebook anytime.
Various studies discuss the relevance of Facebook in creating time for ELLs to learn.
For instance, Wood, Zivcakova, Gentile, Archer, Pesquale, & Nosko (2011) conducted a study to
examine how students multitask using various social platforms. Among these social platforms
was Facebook. In this study, there were 145 participants; 116 were females while 29 were male
students. Participants were required to use Facebook, email, MSN, or texting through cell phones
during learning and research. Students had four sessions and used one platform per session.
Results from this indicated that students remembered much content that was acquired while
using Facebook. The multitasking effect under the use of Facebook was more significant as
compared to other platforms. The researchers argued that students found Facebook interesting
and could spend more time using it.
In another study, Safurah, Khaizuran, & Azmi (2010) studied the use of Facebook in
Malaysia. They randomly sampled institutions of higher learning in the region. In their analysis,
they observed that more than half of the students in these institutions used Facebook as
compared to other social media. Their research is also supported by data from Malaysia
Facebook Statistics (2012), which revealed that 72% percent of people who participated in
online interaction used Facebook. The platform is used in transmitting all forms of information.
Students can, therefore, use it as a platform for learning.
Another study about Facebook providing ELLs with more time on task was carried out
by Omar, Amin, &Yunus (2012). They conducted a study to investigate how ELLs participated
in sharing information tasks. There were 31 ELLs who were taking a course in communication.
The descriptive statistics from this study revealed that ELLs contributed significantly despite
their limited knowledge of English. The level of participation through Facebook was greater as
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compared to traditional classroom participation. From the open-ended questionnaires
administered to these students, the majority commented positively on the use of Facebook in
learning English.
Furthermore, McDough (2007) carried out a study to investigate the participation of
students in problem-solving through Facebook. In this study, there were 106 participants. He
observed that the students improved in the English language through the conversations and chats
that took place through Facebook. The students also received conversational feedback and
clarification through Facebook upon their request. Through the Facebook platform, students
were observed to improve on their acquisition of English speaking and reading skills. Similar
research was conducted by Sheen (2007), who had 99 ELLs at different levels of learning
participate. Similarly, Sheen (2007) observed that those students who received feedback from
Facebook recorded more improvement in their English skills.
Blattner, Fiori, & Roulon (2009) also studied the possibility of integrating Facebook
with ELLs. In this study, he used students from five different classes. Students from the five
classes were required to join a Facebook page created by the instructor. Tasks were posted on the
site, and students were required to analyze the language used by other groups. Blattner, et al.
observed that students were interested to participate in the interactions. They had a positive
attitude to the interaction. Through analyzing other students’ language, they acquired more skills
in the English language. Other researchers in this area include Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe
(2007), who conducted a survey of 286 graduate students in a college in the U.S with the aim to
investigate the use of Facebook and social ties. They observed that there was a positive
correlation between the use of Facebook and increase in social ties. They also noted that through
Facebook, barriers to communication were eliminated. Students interacted more freely through
13
Facebook. Through Facebook, students obtained more information by sharing with their friends.
The above literature shows how the use of social media platforms such as Facebook can
contribute to time on task for ELLs. The research indicates that Facebook could be a significant
vehicle for students spending time learning English since it facilitates various learning activities.
Therefore, the use of social media can be effective in creating more time on task for ELLs. Time
on task can make a difference for ELLs’ learning.
Research Questions
The current study explores the use of social media, in the form of Facebook, to provide
English language learners with engaged time on task. The research questions which guide this
study are:
1. How do ELLs spend their time on tasks when they are learning the English language?
2. Do participants perceive students’ use of this time positively or negatively, and why do they
have these perceptions?
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CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
This exploratory qualitative study looked at the use of social media in the form of
Facebook to explore whether it provided engaged time on task for students. In this section, the
methodology is described in terms of participants, data collection, and data analysis. Finally, the
study outcomes and implications are described.
Participants
The participants in the study were 32 adult English language learners. Although there
were 35 students in the classes studied, three of the students refused to use Facebook and they
participated in the study without using Facebook. There were 26 males and 6 females. Their ages
were between 18 and 25 years. They were categorized as “high beginner” ELL students and
were placed in an English Level Two course (out of six levels) at an Intensive English Program
in the northwestern United States. The participants were from five countries: Oman, Saudi
Arabia, China, Korea, and Portugal.
In this study, the researcher supported the two teachers (Teacher A and Teacher B). The
teachers added the researcher as one of their friends on Facebook and asked the researcher to
explain Facebook tasks and how to do them on Facebook to the Arab students in class.
Context and Procedure
During the first week of the eight-week course, the participants (n=32, 2 classes) were
introduced by their teachers to the Facebook social media site and received instructions on how
to open an account, use Facebook, and friend each other. Each student had to have a personal
Facebook account to be added to either the class A or class B group page. The participants had
15
Facebook practice regarding how to post comments and how to send private messages to the
teachers through the third week of the course.
At first, many ELLs misunderstood some Facebook features and that led Teacher A to
offer help for all of his 18 students for the first two weeks of the study by scheduling conferences
with two students at a time. Then, the teachers modeled the Facebook tasks in class. The students
were instructed to work in groups to share their ideas and practice comments on the printed
pictures from Facebook during class. This “class book” discussion, as teacher A called it,
allowed the ELLs to practice more what they were supposed to do on Facebook. The purpose of
this in class assignment was to have the students become more familiar with Facebook activities
or tasks.
Three Facebook tasks were assigned to both classes. For the first task, every week, the
teachers posted a few pictures taken by them on the Facebook timeline of each of their classes.
Both classes had the same pictures. Then, the students earned a few points by posting
descriptions of each picture to the comment wall within two weeks using five vocabulary words
(because it was the start of Level Two). Then, by the mid-term (after two weeks of using
Facebook), students were asked to comment on different pictures using compound sentences. At
the end of the course, the students were asked to use complex sentences to comment on the given
pictures on Facebook. In addition to posting about the pictures, students could also interact
randomly with each other and their teacher when they wanted to. All Facebook tasks were
assigned/modeled in class and were completed outside of class.
For the second task, students had the chance to post any pictures captured by them on
Facebook and all participants could comment on others’ pictures. The last task required ELL
students to do four individual assignments through the private messaging feature on Facebook to
16
communicate directly with their teachers. The teachers created the tasks based on the students’
course readings and asked them to answer using private messages. For instance, the teachers
asked the students the following question: How many kinds of shared housing are there and what
are the good and bad things about them? The students were supposed to write their answers to
the teacher using the private message feature on Facebook. Using private messages to the
teachers regarding some assignments enabled the teachers to provide the students with feedback
as well as posting their grades. For the three students from Teacher B’s class who refused to use
Facebook, the teacher accommodated them by using e-mail and private sessions wherein they
looked at the Facebook activities in her office and sent the assignments via email.
After all the students had accounts and knew how to use them, all students were finally
“friends” on their class account and started to engage in the activities by the third week of the
study. The participants were able to make comments on all of the pictures. Moreover, the
teachers responded to any questions posted through the comment wall or questions sent through
private messages. In order to receive private messages, the teachers kept their personal accounts
active; this allowed the ELL students to communicate and interact with their teachers easily as
well as to give them an opportunity to practice English informally.
Data Sources
This study collected data from multiple sources, allowing for triangulation between
informational inputs. According to Denzin (1970), “triangulation encourages systematic
continuity in theory and research” (p. 323). Data triangulation is fundamental to accomplish both
the validity and reliability in qualitative research (Weyers, Strydom, & Huisamen, 2011). The
researcher used the following sources to collect data:
17
1. Background Survey: Because the researcher distributed the survey the first day of class, six of
the students had not arrived yet from their countries and therefore only twenty-six students
answered the background survey. However, the other 6 were asked orally about their Facebook
experience and they participated in the rest of the study (n= 32). The five-question background
survey asked questions about their familiarity with Facebook and whether they would be willing
to use it for class. With respect to their backgrounds in Facebook use, 22 of the 26 participants
present already had a Facebook account and 15 of them used Facebook every day. In addition, 10
of the participants did not have a Facebook account and, therefore, they did not use it on a daily
basis. It also showed that those 10 participants were willing to create a Facebook account for the
sake of the class. While 32 of the students were willing to do some of their homework
assignments using a class Facebook account, 3 of the students said they were not.
2. Progress questionnaires: The student participants were asked to complete two non-anonymous
progress questionnaires to express their attitudes and beliefs regarding using Facebook in
communication and assessment in their Level Two reading and writing class. These two progress
questionnaires were distributed in students’ native languages except for the one Portuguese
student, who completed it in English. In the first progress questionnaire, given in the 4th week of
Facebook use, the researcher asked the students fourteen questions. Thirteen questions were
multiple choice and one question was open-ended. These questions included such inquiries as:
“Is it easier to use Facebook to communicate with your teacher directly,” and “Did the Facebook
assignments help you communicate more often with others in class?” In addition, the researcher
distributed the second progress questionnaire to the students in the final week of the study (the
8th week) and asked participants to answer fourteen questions about their perceptions and
feelings regarding using Facebook in the classroom. Again, the first thirteen questions were
18
multiple choice and the last question was open ended. The second progress questionnaire
included questions such as: “Is there a strong link between time spent on Facebook and time
spent on studying?” The questionnaires were almost similar, but one question was added to the
second questionnaire about time spent. (See Appendix A for the first progress questionnaire).
The purpose of the questionnaires was to see how ELL students perceived their time on task
using Facebook.
3. Semi-structured interview: Semi-structured one-on-one interviews for ELLs were conducted to
obtain more in-depth information on the students' attitudes and perceptions toward their time
spent using Facebook to increase the students’ practice of the English language. Glesne (2011)
states that “You might want to interview in search of opinions, perceptions, and attitudes toward
some topic” (p. 104). The researcher purposefully selected five students to participate in the
interview: three students from class A and two from class B. The participants were chosen based
on their answers to the first and second progress questionnaires. The researcher selected two of
the ELLs who perceived that they obtained benefits from the integration of Facebook in the
learning environment. Then, two other ELLs who felt that the integration of the Facebook in the
learning environment was not beneficial. The last interviewed participant fell in the middle of the
previous two groups since he did not have a clear position and had a neutral attitude toward the
use of Facebook. These interviews were conducted at the end of the semester and each interview
lasted 30 minutes.
4. Facebook artifacts: Artifacts refer to “something observed in a scientific investigation or
experiment that is not naturally present but occurs as a result of the preparative or investigative
procedure” (Oxford Dictionary, 2014). Facebook artifacts refer to the pages on Facebook and the
posts the ELLs posted on Facebook. There were 14 pages combined for both classes and each
19
page had numerous posts. These pages and posts were used to explore whether there was any
kind of interaction during Facebook use and if the students spent their time on Facebook in a
positive or negative way.
5. Reflections: The researcher asked the teachers (A and B) to write reflections to explain their
perceptions of factors that could enhance or limit the students’ learning process as they used
Facebook and how the use of Facebook affected the students’ learning process and practice. The
researcher collected the teachers’ reflections regarding this experience three times during this
study: at the beginning of the course, at mid-term, and at the end of the course. The reflection
data allowed the researcher to describe teachers’ perceived benefits and drawbacks of using
Facebook to increase students’ engaged time on task. The researcher used these reflections to
support the findings from the other data sources and asked the teachers to include their names on
the reflections as an option to ensure that both teachers are honest when writing their reflections.
20
CHAPTER FOUR
ANALYSIS
The data collected from this study were analyzed through qualitative techniques.
Constant comparative analysis was used “to understand more about the phenomenon we are
investigating and to describe what we learn with a minimum of interpretation” (Maykut &
Morehouse, 1994, p. 126). Lindlof (1995) described the analysis of qualitative data as an
ongoing procedure. During the process of analysis, the researcher’s goal is to identify primary
themes (Lindlof & Taylor, 2002). Following this suggestion, the researcher read through the
questionnaires, transcripts, and reflections and color-coded themes that ran throughout all data
sources. According to Saldana (2013) “Coding is a method that enables you to organize and
group similarly coded data into categories or “families” because they share some characteristics
(p. 7). As the researcher highlighted data and coded according to themes, there was constant
reference back to the data in the questionnaires, transcripts, and reflections as necessary. Codes
included terms such as “Noticing and Producing,” “Communication, Interaction, and
Collaboration,” and “ Private message use.”
For the second step, the researcher prioritized the themes to reduce the data. The
researcher accomplished this by comparing the themes from each data source and categorizing
them. The researcher then reviewed themes remaining in the analysis for consistency, accuracy,
and resonance as part of the validation process. In addition, to explain the quality of interaction
on Facebook timeline tasks among the teachers and the students and among the students with
each other, the researcher synthesized all the replies from the teachers and students. All posts on
the class Facebook wall were examined and analyzed.
21
The researcher employed three primary means of validation identified as frequently used
by qualitative scholars (Creswell 2007). First, the study used triangulated methods employing the
two progress questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, Facebook artifacts, and reflections from
both teachers. Furthermore, the researcher used peer review, a second form of validation, by
having an additional person not involved in the data analysis portion read this paper. Third,
member checking was used by having students and teachers determine whether the themes fit
with their experiences. According to Glesne (2011), one of the ways to know that your
interpretation is the right one is by “sharing the interpretive process with research respondents as
a form of member checking” (p. 211).
Findings and Interpretations
The primary purpose of this study was to explore English language learners’ use of social
media to provide more engaged time on task. The researcher particularly wanted to examine the
integration of Facebook in the learning environment to enable the ELL students to interact with
their teachers and peers and to increase their practice using the English language. The findings
and interpretations are presented below in order of the research questions for convenience and
are linked to the literature about time on task to support conclusions made.
1. How do ELL students spend their time on Facebook tasks when they are learning
the English language?
In this study, two of three tasks are focused on when presenting the findings because
these two tasks (Teachers posted photos on the timeline and private messages) were facilitated
by the class instructors whom it was easy to contact while the other task (students posted photos)
was facilitated by the students and it was hard for the researcher to keep track with all the
students and how many pictures each student posted every week. The first task required students
22
to respond to questions posed by the instructor along with 14 photos overall. The teachers posted
two pictures every week except for the first week of the class. This task had three stages and the
14 photos were divided almost equally in each stage (as explained above in the context and
procedure section). The first stage included student comments on five pictures using simple
words. The second stage required the students to write compound sentences about five other
pictures. The last stage asked the students to write complex sentences about four pictures. The
second task included four individual questions via private message. While performing these two
tasks, ELL students used Facebook in the following manner.
A. Noticing and producing
The first important theme that emerged from the data analysis is noticing and producing.
The researcher created a table on Excel (Microsoft, 2007) to count the number of posts on each
picture per person. Based on the data, it appears that there were only four students out of 32 who
commented on picture one. Twenty-three students commented on picture 2. Pictures three and
four showed that twenty-seven students commented on both pictures. Twenty-nine students
commented on picture five. By the end of the course, almost all of the thirty-two students
commented on different pictures posted by the teacher. For example, on pictures 11 and 12, all
the students commented and responded to their teacher’s questions regarding both pictures.
Below is an example of two students who commented twice on one of the five pictures for the
first stage of the first task (where students posted only simple words):
Student 1 comment: man /snake /advertising board.
Student 1 comment: A man is looking at the snake.
Student 2 comment: old man, dangerous, breathtaking
Student 2 comment: interesting, cobra.
23
Table 1
Total Student Responses on Task 1
Task 1 Simple word (First Stage)
Compound Sentence (Second Stage)
Complex Sentence (Third Stage)
Number of Students’ Responses 146 153 176
As demonstrated above in Table 1, there were 146 student responses to the first stage of
task one, 153 student responses to the 2nd stage and 176 student responses to the last stage. As
seen, there is an increase in the students’ responses as they moved from the first stage of the first
task to the third one. With more tasks given to the students, the students spent more time and
produced more language, as shown in the data. In addition, two students from the interviews
stated that they were able to notice the language more when they spent more time on task on
Facebook and therefore, also started to produce that language more often. For instance, one
student stated, “Having assignments on Facebook allows me more time to look at others’
comments and answers for each assignment because I knew some students’ comments are really
good and creative and that allow me to post my answer or comment later on”; another
participant noted, “It was easy for me to look at their comments as models and try to come up
with my own comments.” By looking at students’ posts on the Facebook wall, the researcher
noticed that some students commented twice or more on different pictures on Facebook when the
teachers asked them to do so.
When students posted more than once on some pictures, then that could be an indication
of ELL students noticing what others posted on Facebook to answer the same task and therefore,
produce more language to answer the task. Teacher B commented on ELL students producing
more language as the students spent more time on Facebook by saying: “I do like the fact that
Facebook provided a venue for practice with the language.” In addition, in the second progress
24
questionnaire, one of the ELL students wrote in the open-ended question that “I like it when the
teachers gave us assignments on Facebook, that allowed me to take my time thinking and looking
at my classmates answers and then starting to answer mine.”
Data shows how some students may have noticed other students’ responses and
comments, and how they produced more sentences as they had more time and practice
opportunities. It is also possible that some pictures were interesting prompts for students to
generate questions. The findings indicate that many students spent time on these tasks noticing
and producing the language thereby indicating that ELL students were able to take the
opportunity Facebook provides for them to notice and then produce the language when they
spent more engaged time on Facebook tasks.
B. Communication
The second important theme that emerged from the data analysis is communication. In
the first progress questionnaire, 16 of the 32 respondents reported that the Facebook assignments
help them communicate with others in class more often, while ten of the remaining selected
somewhat, and six participants found it not helpful. Regarding those participants who found
Facebook assignments helpful in communicating more often with each other, they also indicated
in the same questionnaire that using Facebook out-of-class increased their communication with
their peers. For example, students made comments in the open-ended question in the
questionnaires such as, “Facebook lets me connect with other students”; another student wrote,
“Facebook was interesting for me and it increased the communication between my classmates
and me.” Moreover, Teacher B comments on the use of Facebook by saying: “I think most of the
students saw the benefit of using Facebook as a way to communicate with their classmates and
me.” In the second progress questionnaire, one of the ELL students wrote in the open-ended
25
question that “Facebook is a tool that I can use to communicate and discuss more often with my
classmates and with my teachers about any given task.” This is an indication of how at least half
of the students they used and spent their time on Facebook; because they did it outside of class,
they had extra time that they spent communicating and discussing. According to the literature,
this means that they had more chance of learning more language.
On the other hand, fourteen students did not find Facebook helpful for communication.
From the interview, Student 5 stated, “Facebook is a good tool to use in classroom but it did not
help me to communicate with my friends or with my teachers more.” Based on the data from the
interview and from both questionnaires, almost all of the students who said that they did not
recommend Facebook for use in ESL classes gave the following reasons:
1. Students were not always able to use Facebook every day or continuously to communicate with
their peers or with their teachers, which meant that the teacher communications could not reach
every student because they did not use it daily.
2. Students were not familiar with Facebook features so they had difficulty posting pictures and
understanding the teachers' assignments appropriately.
3. Students feared that using Facebook in their classes would make them have lower grades as they
were not well trained on such an approach.
By the end of the eight-week course, 15 students agreed that using Facebook in the
classroom was helpful to contact their teachers easily, but the rest did not find it so. In some
cases, the teachers provided their students with feedback on the tasks in class instead of using
Facebook. According to the teachers, sometimes they used the Facebook posts as discussion
prompts in the classroom. Overall, with more time spent on Facebook tasks, 18 students felt that
26
they were able to notice, utilize, and communicate the language in positive way and 14 students
were more negative about it.
Apart from responding to the task questions and communicating in the form of additional
questions, students interacted slightly with each other as well. Regarding the students’ posts on
Facebook, the students replied to each other six times on pictures number 7 and 8, four times on
picture 10, twice on picture 9, and one time on picture 11. Below is an example of students’
interaction on picture 7 using the Facebook platform.
Student 1: He rides a bike.
Student 1: I think he is not busy.
Student 2: The old man riding a bicycle to fetch water.
Student 3: He rides a bike, and he is old man.
Student 4: Why you think the old man is fetching water?
Student 5: He is riding a bike.
Student 5: Why you think he is not busy?
Student 6: no i think he is busy he is working
Student 7: He likes to ride his bicycle, and he looks happy.
Student 8: He is old but he is healthy.
Student 8: How do you know he is happy, we couldn't see his face.
Student 2: Why you think he is not stop working?
Student 9: Because he wants make some money in his own job.
Student 10: The man is drive a bicycle.
Student 11: Nothing new brother
Student 11: lol
27
Student 10: hahahaha
Student 10: ok take this
Student 11: Hahahahahahahahaha
Student 10: The old man is want to be healthy
Student 10: what about this?
Student 11: Good job brother
Student 11: You are awesome
Student 10: thanks for your note
Student 11: Welcome
Student 12: The old man looks at woman.
Student 13: The old man is not looking at the woman.
The numbers of posts on Facebook indicated that students made an effort to
communicate, interact, and discuss with peers and teachers by posting comments on each picture
posted by the teachers. However, not all students were equally engaged. In fact, some students
noted that they started to feel bored by the end of the class. For instance, student 2 from my
interview said “It was boring to have same assignments over and over, the teachers posted
pictures and then we commented.” Student 3 from my interview stated “I like the idea of using
Facebook for academic purpose but the teachers need to create more engaged tasks on
Facebook to increase our communication, collaboration, discussion and interaction.” Thus, it
may be suggested to instructors to create more engaging tasks and prompts as well as being more
active in replying and interacting with the students on their posts. By looking at the posts on
Facebook, the researcher noticed that Teacher A interacted with the students’ posts on the wall
on eight pictures out of fourteen while Teacher B did not comment on any picture. For example,
28
Teacher A responded five times on picture 9, which encouraged a total of forty-nine responses
from students, while for picture five when teacher A responded only twice, there were a total of
thirty responses. The following excerpt shows Teacher A’s replies to students on picture 9.
Student 1: Is this place in Thailand? That lake is beautiful.
Teacher A: This picture is taken at Ratchaprapha Dam near Surat Thani Thailand.
Student 2: I like Camp, but whether is soo cold those days .
Student 3: Why you guys think they were at a camp?
Student 4: I don't think they were at a camp.
Teacher A: This was not at a camp. it was at a lake, and the temperature was actually
warm.
Student 5: The two women are happy.
Student 6: Yeah they are so happy.
Student 7: I think they are friends.
Teacher A: Yes, they are friends, and they are very happy in this picture. It was a very
fun day.
Student 8: These two women are flying from joy.
Student 9: What does joy mean?
As a result, teachers’ responses increased the students’ responses or posts on Facebook.
In this study, instructors and some students used the wall to communicate with each other and
students shared knowledge with one another by sharing their answers to the assignments. The
researcher noticed that as students became more familiar with the Facebook tasks, their
communication, interactions, and discussions increased.
29
Private message communication
Another theme that emerged from the data analysis was private message use. Students
communicated with the instructor using private messages for one of the tasks. The Facebook
artifacts showed that 25 students used private messages to answer four graded specific tasks like
the question about kinds of shared housing and what the good and bad things about them
are. Each task was worth five points. Of these 25 students, 18 students were from section A and
only seven students were from section B. The other seven students from section B did not use the
private message feature when they answered, instead, they posted their answers on the timeline,
but it was found to be hard for one of the teachers to award the students grades or give feedback
in public. Teacher B reflected on this by writing that, “Message to the teacher” was
misunderstood by most of my students. Half of them posted on the timeline, which made it
impossible to correct their mistakes in a private way.”
To illustrate, more than half of the students used the private message feature for only four
weeks to answer the specific graded tasks on Facebook as they were supposed to use it. The
private message feature on Facebook allows the teachers to give feedback and grades for tasks
that they had for the students. However, from the data presented above, the researcher noticed
that there was a kind of miscommunication between teachers and students when teacher B did
not tell her students that she wouldn’t give feedback for any student who posted on the timeline
because of privacy issues. The students did not know that the teachers cannot give feedback on
the timeline but they would get it through private message because of the privacy issues as can
be seen in the following statement by Student 3 from the interview: “The difficulty I faced when
using Facebook was when the teacher did not provide me with any feedback regarding my
30
comments on the timeline. I could not receive any general or specific feedback from my teacher
which was not beneficial for me and from my point of view since I want to know my mistakes.”
Moreover, the data provides us with many examples that students went beyond the use of
the private message feature for specific tasks. For instance, of 25, 11 students used private
messages to communicate with the teachers directly regarding any concern or issues they
had. Below are examples of some of the conversations between the students and their teachers
using private messages on Facebook.
Student: Hi Teacher.
Teacher A: Hi. How are you today? and How can I help you?
Student: I am sick, so I can't have class today.
Teacher A: You will have a writing quiz on Friday (not tomorrow), so ask your classmates what
you should study.
Student: I will, thanks.
This is an indication of how some of the students started to feel more comfortable using
Facebook in general and private messages in particular to discuss other aspects with their
teachers and meet their daily needs.
Overall, about half of the students perceived that they spent their time noticing,
producing, communicating, interacting, and discussing. The more tasks given on Facebook, the
more these 15-18 ELL students noticed the language and produced it as their responses and
comments increased. This means that Facebook could serve as a good platform to encourage
these ELL students. However, half of the students were not engaged in private messaging and
did not receive the benefits of this task because was not well explained. A few ways to
accomplish the successful use of Facebook are:
31
a. Teacher encouragement and modelling by their participation in the task and being active
on Facebook.
b. Increase the number of tasks because the more tasks, the more comfortable students may
feel to do the task on Facebook and then starting to notice and produce the language.
c. Provide different kinds of tasks to help the students have different responses and not get
bored.
d. Make sure that students explain the task to ensure that they understood it.
2. Do participants perceive of students’ use of this time positively or negatively, and why
do they have these perceptions?
In this study, the researcher identified the benefits of using Facebook in ESL classes from
the students’ perspective. The study showed that 14 of the students believed that using Facebook
had no impact on their learning when it comes to learning the English language, while 18 of
them believed that it was effective when learning the English language. Specifically, three
students explained by writing in the progress questionnaire that using Facebook assisted them in
writing sentences by looking at their colleagues’ answers as a model to write their own answers.
Student 5 explained during the interview that he did not understand the task, so he looked at his
classmates’ posts, which helped him understand the task.
The questionnaire analysis indicated that students preferred sending private messages to
their teachers on Facebook because it was easier than sending messages in a formal way such as
emails. Therefore, half of the students felt more comfortable communicating with their teachers
in an informal way, such as through Facebook, than through formal ways such as email. In this
study, Facebook activities were found to help some of the students to understand the reading and
32
writing assignments. This was reflected by 14 of the participants who slightly agreed with the
previous statement.
From the student participants, eighteen students “slightly agreed” that using Facebook
had affected their new language and influenced their writing skills in a positive way. Those
students perceived positive uses of Facebook and recommended using Facebook in ESL classes
for the following reasons:
1. Facebook activities helped them to build spelling skills and draw from the grammar class
activities.
2. Performance on Facebook was increased as a result of evaluating their assignments by grading
them. Teacher A stated while reflecting on the aforementioned statement, “since they knew that
this was a graded activity, a lot of them were making special effort to articulate their concerns to
their teachers, which provided even more practice.”
3. The Facebook platform creates opportunities for them to interact with their instructors and
peers.
4. Facebook enhanced the collaboration of working between the teachers and the students, which
in turn improved their learning process.
In conclusion, teacher A stated, “Well, now that the session is over, I can look back and
see that there are mixed results for our use of Facebook. I do like the fact that it provided a
venue for practice with the language. In fact, it seems like the issues we had at the beginning of
the session served as motivators in the end.” Similarly, students had mixed responses regarding
their belief about using Facebook to learn English. This could be because of students’ comfort
levels with using Facebook for academic purposes. Ten of the students were not comfortable
with this Web 2.0 technology. After using Facebook for eight weeks, twelve of the participants
33
were still uncomfortable with this technology. Further, the researcher interviewed the students
and one of the interviewees stated that they had an agreement to select the “uncomfortable”
option after using Facebook so the teachers will not apply Facebook in their classroom in the
next levels. Although they chose “uncomfortable”, the majority of students kept using Facebook
up until the end of the semester even though participation on the last two tasks was optional.
34
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION
Overall, spending time on task allowed many of the ELL students to be successful at
communicating and interacting with their peers and teachers. They were also able to improve the
quality and the number of their posts by spending more time producing Facebook artifacts.
Private message use helped some of the ELL students to interact frequently with their peers and
teachers. It appears that ELL students had both positive and negative experiences and
perceptions about Facebook use in learning the language, with a few more students on the
positive side. With that being said, attention must be paid to the students with negative
perceptions and those who did not participate as much so they get the benefits of time on task as
well.
Implications
These findings may have some implications on how Facebook could be used in the classroom.
1. Teachers need to make the tasks engaging to the students and also explain them well enough
that students can accomplish them.
2. The teachers in this study were using classrooms in a building that does not provide
technology for displaying Facebook assignments, which means carrying a projector and
laptops across campus with them when they want to show anything to the students from
Facebook. About this issue, the researcher suggests that the school should develop learning
opportunities with the technologies they have access to in their school to support the learning
process.
3. The different primary languages of the students were considered one of the most difficult
aspects with the Facebook assignments because many students’ account names were in their
35
native languages. The researcher suggests asking all students to create a new account in
English so that it can be easier for them to be contacted by their teachers and peers.
4. Grading on Facebook activities was another limitation faced in this study. Students felt
pressure because the teachers graded their assignments. This finding suggests that the use of
Facebook as an informal extra activity so that both teachers and students may feel more
interested and may join their conversations.
Future Research
Future research should focus on using Facebook exercises with the same students who
will go to Level Three and change the tasks and the activities on Facebook and see if they will
spend more time on task. It may influence their reading and writing skills since the students
already knew the process of using Facebook and how to deal with this technology. Other
research should focus on the relationship between the use of Facebook and language learning and
see if there is a positive or negative relationship.
36
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APPENDIX A FACEBOOK FIRST PROGRESS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Session: Spring 2014
1. Did you feel comfortable using Facebook at the beginning of this class?
More comfortable No different Less comfortable Not sure
2. Do you feel more comfortable using Facebook for class now?
More comfortable No different Less comfortable Not sure
3. Did the Facebook activities help you understand the reading and writing assignments?
Disagree Somewhat Agree
4. Did the Facebook assignments help you communicate with others in class more often?
Never Sometimes Always
5. Do you think that using Facebook out of class influenced how much you communicate
with students in class?
Yes No
6. What language do you use to post on your personal page?
Arabic Chinese Others (Please write)
7. Do you think that it was easier to use Facebook to communicate with your teacher
directly?
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Yes No Not sure
8. Which Facebook activity was most difficult?
Teachers’ picture post Students’ picture post The message to the teacher
9. Which Facebook activity was most helpful?
Teachers’ picture post Students’ picture post The message to the teacher
10. How often do you comment on teachers’ and students’ photos and posts?
Very often Slightly often Not at all often
11. Do you think Facebook has a positive effect on your grades or learning?
Yes No
12. Do you think Facebook has a negative effect on your grades or learning?
Yes No
13. Write two sentences to share your experience using Facebook in this class.
A.
B.
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APPENDIX B TRANSCRIPTIONS
Student interview 1
Interviewee name: S1 Interviewer name: Sarah B
Place of interview: Intensive American Language Centre R: Researcher
Date of interview: 12/6/2014 S1: Student 1 R: okay, I want to ask you about your experience when using Facebook in general; do you like
the idea of using Facebook when learning the English language or do you feel it was ineffective
way to learn English?
S1: Umm. I like the idea of Facebook. At the beginning, I faced many difficulties when using it
but when I used it and practice it many times, I felt comfortable toward it. As a matter of fact, I
wasn’t using FB much before the class but after the class I am using it almost every day. FB
allowed me to take my time to think when I will write my assignments. So, my experience was
good. At the beginning, I wasn’t sure about the idea of using FB because my classmates and I
didn’t understand the idea of using FB in the class and all of us talked about how to write on FB,
find pictures posted by the teachers, and how to post pictures on FB. In fact, there was an
agreement between me and almost all of my classmates in both classroom that we will reflect on
using FB by choosing or stating that Facebook is bad and not useful so that the teacher cannot
implement it for us next session and we did that when the teachers distributed the first
questionnaire. At the end of the session, however, my classmates and I loved the idea.
R: Interesting. Okay. You mentioned that you where able to overcome the difficulties of using
FB at the beginning of the session. Can I ask you what did you do to overcome these difficulties
you faced when using FB? Who helped you?
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S1: Ummm. Well, through practice. The teacher made us practicing FB frequently. Then, we
answered many assignments through FB and that helped us to learn how to use it easily. So,
there were no more difficulties in using FB after that.
R: I noticed when we asked you in the questionnaires to answer a question regarding your
comfort level, your answer was that there is no difference in using FB at the beginning of the
session compared to using it after almost five weeks but at the end of the session, your answer
was changed when you stated that you felt more comfortable in using FB. Can you please
elaborate more on that?
S1: Yes. As I mentioned before that at the beginning I was afraid from the idea of using FB and
most of my colleagues agreed to state that using FB was not effective for us because the given
assignments were graded but at the end with more practice I liked it and felt more comfortable
toward it and I believe that it is a good way to learn the English language and I wish we could
use FB at any level in the IALC. In fact, I did not use FB before the class but now I am still using
it even when the class was over.
R. I see. You mentioned that FB helped you to learn the language. Can you please explain how
FB helped you to learn the English language?
S1: All the assignments improve my writing and my grammar and there was a conversation
between me and the teacher and that conversation was in English. So, that was helpful for me. In
addition, I was able to know friends from the other class. In one of the assignments the teacher
asked us to comment on the other students’ picture on FB. That helps me to know other students
and communicate with them later.
R: Did the use of FB in the class make it easy for you to communicate with your teacher instead
of sending a formal email?
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S1: Yes, it was more easier.
R: Can you please explain why?
S1: Ahhaa (throat clearing). So, I used the private message with the teacher once. There was a
problem when I answer the assignments and one of the students took my answers. So, it was
weekend and I could not see the teacher to explain. Using private messages to the teacher was
helpful for me and more easier to communicate with the teacher than emails.
R: I see. Ummm, Did the assignments on FB were helpful to you to improve your interaction
with each other or improve the practice of the English language?
S1: The activity which asked us to post pictures and comments first on our picture, then
comments on at least 3 pictures posted by my classmates was really helpful activity to improve
the students’ interaction and the development of the language. However, there is the activity
where the teacher posted one picture and asked all the students to comment on it by using words
like nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs was easy task for us. The most helpful activity was the
one where the students posted pictures because we got the chance to interact with each other and
with the teachers by adding comments on each other pictures. In addition, posting some pictures
from the teacher and ask the students to comment on them using compound and complex
sentences was helpful too.
R: Ahhh. So, do you mean that the activity which asked you to post pictures and comments on it
besides your comments on your classmates’ picture was helpful while the picture from the
teacher only and you were asked to post comments using only 5 words was not helpful?
S1: Yes.
R: Why?
45
S1: Because when I answered that activity I used to take one word from each student to come up
with 5 words for the same picture and posted it and, therefore, it was not helpful for me. Maybe
the teacher can change the activity.
R: So, you like the use of FB but you suggest changing some activities.
S1: Yes, the teacher should create more engaged and active assignments and not to give like two
weeks to answer one assignment on FB. The teacher should give more assignments per week and
give limited time to answer it. To be honest, in most activities, it only took me 10 minutes to
finish it. Such activity did not improve my writing skill or help me to learn anything or interact
with my classmates very often.
R: If you will use FB in any of the classes you will take in the future, what would you suggest?
S1: I would suggest creating more engaged activities on FB because such activities will give us
the chance to be more active when using FB. Also, I recommend to give specific and short time
to do any assignments not to give the students long and open period of time like two weeks to do
any task especially with easy tasks like providing comments on students’ picture. That happens
to me when I post a picture and comment on it. I was waiting for my classmates to comment but
they didn’t till the last minute of the second week before the class so, they will get the grade for
that task. Therefore, I didn’t get a chance to comment again on what my classmates wrote as a
comment on each picture.
R: Speaking of grades, do you think that FB activities should be graded or not because some
students stated that if these activities were not graded then, we will not do them. On the other
hand, some others mentioned that if these activities were not graded then, they would practice
more and be more active on FB and, therefore, interact with others easily. What do you think?
46
S1: Umm. From my experience, FB activities increased my GPA and helped me a lot in gaining
some grades. I also believe that if I will spend a lot of my time on FB for the sake of the class
then, I would prefer to grade such activities. If the task will be graded, then, the students will be
encouraged to interact with each other and with their teachers.
R: when using FB, do you feel more comfortable interacting with your classmates and with your
teachers? Give a summary of your experience when using FB in your class.
S1: Aaa. Yes, it helps me. It was easy to use it and I was able to finish the assignments easily on
FB. It took me few minutes to answer each activity. Using FB gave more time to think and then
answer each activity. I got a chance to think deeply about each task before I answer it. It also
allows me to look at my classmates’ answers as a model for each task. Umm. The most
important thing about these activities on FB is that you should write anything and the quality of
the answer is not important because at the end of the session, the teacher printed some sentences
written by some students on FB and gave us to try to correct the mistakes on them. The teacher
helped us to fix the grammar and the structure of the sentence by doing revision on our
compound and complex sentences. So, this helped us a lot. The interaction with teachers was
helpful too because I had to learn some words to write in English for my teacher so that they can
understand. I remember through communication with teachers on FB that one teacher sent me an
abbreviation of something and I got lost because I didn’t know what that abbreviation stand for
but I asked my teacher via private message on FB about that abbreviation and she explained to
me.
R: You mentioned that the teacher printed few answers from the FB and gave you to correct the
mistakes with him/her in the classroom? Did you like the idea of giving feedback in class or you
prefer it more if the teacher gave you the feedback on FB using private message feature?
47
S1: Actually, my teacher gave me feedback on FB as well. When I wrote my sentences using
private messages, the teacher gave me feedback on them directly. The teachers were so active on
FB. Sometimes, the teachers couldn’t provide feedback for all the students on their answers so,
they printed out the rest and provide feedback in class.
R: Cool. I believe it was helpful for you as a student to know where you have been mistaken if
there was any. Did you use private message feature on FB with your teacher?
S1: Yes, I did when the teacher asked us to write 3 sentences related to the person health and
send them to her through private messages so she can give each student his/her own feedback.
R: So, Is there anything you want to add?
S1: Yes, I would like to say that I enjoyed using FB. If there is any student who did not enjoy
using FB, then that is because he/she did not do his/her best or not working hard to see the value
of using FB. I believe that if they were interested then, they will enjoy it just like me.
R: What is the thing that motivated you to use FB more?
S1: The teachers showed that using FB is important and that gave me the feeling that if they
think that it is important then, I should do my best to learn through it.
R: Do you want to add anything about your experience in using FB in ESL classroom?
S1: Ummm. For those who were suffering when using FB because they do not use it before, I
would suggest to give specific instructions at the beginning of the class. Go through the main
features of FB and introduce the new users of FB to those features first and then provide them
with tasks.
****************** INTERVIEW OVER **********
Student interview 2 Interviewee name: S2 Interviewer name: Sarah B
Place of interview: Intensive American Language Centre R: Researcher
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Date of interview: 12/6/2014 S2: Student 2 R: In both questionnaires, you mentioned that you felt more comfortable at the beginning as well
as at the end of the questionnaire. Can you explain more about your comfortable level when
using FB?
S2: Umm. At the beginning, I felt less comfortable because long time ago I did not use FB.
However, when I started using it, I felt more comfortable.
R: Aha. Can you please tell me about your experience when using FB in the class?
S2: I like the idea of using FB but I am not sure because I felt boring writing on FB since we had
the same task over and over.
R: Huh. So, what makes you feel boring?
S2: The topic. We had the same task and activity to do on FB. Because of that I was able to
make a good deal with a friend so he will post and I will comment to show that we are
interacting with each other in order to get our grades for the class. And in fact, I only interact
with my classmates 3 times from the beginning till the end of using FB. I also want to say that I
got the chance to know others from the other class. The interaction between my classmates and
me was not huge because we felt that pictures and themes offered on FB were not encouraging
for us to do so.
R: So, do you mean that the tasks of the FB were not encouraging for you to interact with your
classmates?
S2: Yes. Every week we had the same topics and same assignments where the teacher will post
some pictures and ask the students to describe them using simple, compound, and complex
sentences.
R: Did you feel that using FB to interact with your teacher was more easier than using email?
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S2: I used the private message feature on FB twice only. The teacher was using private messages
with the students to give individual feedback. The feedback from the teacher, however, was in
general not specific for what I have been mistaken in my answers.
R: Did the teacher try to explain to you any assignment through private message?
S2: Yes. Sometimes the teacher asked me to write some sentences using private message feature
on FB but because I did not use FB before, I posted my sentences on the timeline on FB instead
of the private message. So, the teacher sent back asking me to post my sentences again using
private message and explaining how to do so and I posted them again successfully. These are the
only interactions between me and my teacher. I felt that the teacher still use FB in formal way
when it shouldn’t be. As a matter of fact, I still get the benefit of using it to communicate more
with my classmates from both sections. The FB also helped me to communicate more easily with
the new students from my class and the other class. In fact, I did not know what are the
compound and the complex sentences are until the last session when the teacher asked me to
write one compound sentence and one complex sentence on the board then, I answered that I do
not know how compound and complex sentences look like. So, the teacher explained how to
write compound and complex sentences and I just learned them that day hahahaha..
R: Hahaha. So, how did you answer all of your assignments so far since you did not learn the
compound and complex sentences till the end of the session?
S2: Before I was using the examples the teacher wrote on the board. I tried to write the same
sentences but change the words. Sometimes, I looked at my classmates’ answers and use the
same structure with a change in the words only. That’s why I kept losing points because I did not
understand hahaha.
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R: Hahaha but why did not you ask your teacher to explain the compound and complex
sentences by using private messages through FB?
S2: No, I do not like to do so because I am not used to do so. I felt like I still won’t get the
information as if I will ask face to face as when it was in the classroom.
R: I see. Okay. What motivated you more to use FB?
S2: Umm. My friends because I don’t want them to know that I do not Know how to use FB
especially that they all knew how to use FB. I want them to feel that I understand the use of FB
and that it is easy to use for me, therefore, they can ask me as a reference for them.
R: Aha. Do you think that FB gave you the appropriate time to answer any given task?
S2: Yes, I do.
R: How?
S2: Ummm. The teacher gave us many tasks to answer and using FB allows me to look, think,
and take my time to see how the tasks should be answered in the target language.
R: Do you think that FB helped you to learn the English language?
S2: Yes. I think so. I found myself able to interact in English with some of my classmates
through private messages because some of them are from Brazil and China and the only
language to communicate with them is English so, using FB helped me to improve and gained
some vocabularies and sentences when interacting with my classmates.
R: You wrote in the questioner that the idea of using FB was good, is that right?
S2: Yes.
R: Can you please explain?
S2: Ummm. I do like the idea and I felt that FB gave me the chance to take my time to think in
order to answer the assignments. It made my life easier since I used my phone to login the FB
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anytime and, therefore, answered all the given assignments. So, kind of doing the assignments
anywhere anytime with your phone instead of holding a pen and a paper and sit and look through
many books to help you answer any assignment.
R: So, you liked the idea of using FB for academic purpose?
S2: Yes, I like the idea of using FB for academic purpose and being able to use it outside the
class and see others’ answers as a model to your answer. However, there was not any kind of
encouragement from the teacher to increase the interaction between the students and thier
teachers.
R: So………
S2: So, I just think that FB was not helpful for me because I did not learn about compound and
complex sentences till the end of the session.
R: Do you recommend using FB again?
S2: No, I do not especially if it will be used with the same content and with the same boring and
not engaging activities. Teachers should change the content of using FB and work on more
engaging tasks and activities to allow the students having fun when using FB for academic
purpose like using it to increase the ELL students practice of English and allow them to interact
more with their peers and teachers to be able to discover and notice the new language (English).
For example, the teachers should be more active on FB and encourage the students to post and
talk more with them. The teachers should vary in creating activities on FB. The activity that
asked us to post picture and comment on it using five words, compound sentences, and complex
sentences did not work for me. I also suggest hiding all the students’ answer so we can create our
own instead of looking at others and trying to copy their answers with a change in words only.
That will minimize the cheating level and, therefore, increase the students’ efforts when
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answering any activities. The students should do their best to answer the activities on FB even if
they do not get perfect grade on it because they are still learning.
R: Those are great recommendation for the next use of FB for the same purpose. Thank you very
much and have a good day.
S2: Thank you and you too.
*************** INTERVIEW OVER ***************
Student interview 3 Interviewee name: S3 Interviewer name: Sarah B
Place of interview: Intensive American Language Centre R: Researcher
Date of interview: 12/6/2014 S3: Student 3 R: In the second questionnaire, you stated that you faced difficulties when you want to add
comments to your teacher page because she shared the same pictures with the other teacher. Can
you explain what happened exactly?
S3: When I posted any comments on FB, my teacher told me that she did not get any comments
from me and I did not know why. Later on, I figured out that it was because of technical issue. In
addition, I was able to see the pictures in the other teacher page but not on my teacher so, I
decided to comment on the ones I see on the other teacher page because I did not want to lose
any points. The other difficulty I faced was when the teacher did not provide me with any
feedback regarding my answers in the timeline on FB. I actually was not able to receive any
general or specific feedback which was not beneficial for me because I want to know if I wrote
the sentences right or if I did any mistakes and sometimes other students looked at my sentences
as models so, I want them to be right so others won’t write theirs wrong.
For me, I was trying to keep track with my teacher regarding my posts on FB. I kept asked her if
she saw my comments on FB or not. If I faced any problem using FB, I directly went to my
53
teacher to ask her and check with her regarding my understanding when I posted my comments.
The hard activity for me was when the teacher asked to comment on each others’ comments. It
was hard to go to the beginning and post my comment which leads me to copy what the person
wrote before and pasted it down again to be able to post my comment on that student’s initial
comment. I wasn’t sure if I did it right but I wished I knew better strategy if there is any to do so.
R: I see.
S3: Yes. I knew how to use FB but I didn’t know if there is feature on FB that help me comment
on my classmate initial posts.
R: At the beginning of using FB. How did you feel about it? Did you like it or not and why?
S3: No no, I love to have a new idea when learning a new language. Interacting with others help
us to learn. When we look at the group-learning outcome we found it different than individual
learning outcome because group learning is more effective and authentic. So, using pictures on
FB and any videos will allow the learners to remember the action related to that picture. We were
asked to post a picture and comment on it besides two pictures posted by other students on FB, it
was a very good activity because the pictures posted by the students were more rich than the
pictures posted by the teachers.
S3: I love the idea of FB but I do not like the way the teachers activated it. It was a bad way to
activate. The pictures that teachers post are not rich so we can put new comment or something
never mentioned before by my classmates. I wanted to write something new but I cannot because
the pictures are not rich enough to enable me to do so. It was boring to have such pictures over
and over. I suggest using painted pictures or professional photographer pictures because such
pictures might have different meaning and explanation therefore the students will be able to write
about their understanding about such pictures and, therefore, interact with each other more. For
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example, one picture included a man looking at the sky and the teacher asked us to comment by
writing sentences like compound and complex ones. Talking about my self, I am a realistic
person and cannot imagine what others believe. For instance, the teacher posted a picture
includes a smiling woman and I cannot comment by imagining why she was smiling. That is not
rich information to write about.
R: Okay. In both questionnaires, you selected no difference regarding your comfortable level
when using FB, can you explain?
S3: Umm. Yes, because I was so confused and I felt like there was not any changes in my
opinion.
R: So, you didn't feel comfortable using FB
S3: When?
R: At the end of the session?
S3: No.
R: Do you like the idea of using FB for academic purpose?
S3: At the beginning only but the content must be changed to help us interact with others and
with our teachers easily. Moreover, we need more engaged tasks and activities so we can
communicate and discuss with each other about a specific task and therefore, enrich our
vocabularies in English.
R: You also mentioned earlier that you weren't able to fix your mistakes so you won’t learn from
them. Even with the class, the teacher didn't provide you with feedback in class?
S3: Ummm. The teacher by the end of the class provided us with a paper with students’
comments to give feedback and correct their mistakes.
R: Do you think using FB help you practicing English more?
55
S3: It does help me practicing English but not learning English in a perfect way. It didn't meet
my expectations because I expected to learn English more through FB. That is because it took
time to do the assignments on FB without benefit. There were no interactions between me and
my classmates and my teachers. Also, no general or specific feedback and no rich pictures to
comment on.
R: With whom you felt comfortable when using FB to interact with the students or with the
teacher? Tell me more about your interaction with the teacher?
S3: With both. Because FB is not a formal way to interact with both. So, the teacher added his
pictures to allow us comment on them which was kind of giving us the freedom to write about
him which breaks the boundaries between us and the teacher.
R: Right. Where you able to know others from the other class?
S3: Umm. No, I just was able to see good and creative comments from specific students in the
other class. I was reading their comments every time I entered FB because I knew their
comments are really good and new but I felt like if the content or the activities changed to help
us interact more with each other, that will be helpful and will lead to more interaction.
R: So, it sounds to me that you like the idea of using FB but you didn't like the content, is that
right?
S3: yes.
R: Okay. What motivated you to use FB?
S3: I will be motivated if the teacher open a discussion or ask the students to raise any ideas they
feel interested in, then, I will feel more involved by being part of the discussion when adding my
ideas or believe to that person's ideas especially now in the FB we are able to post videos. So, the
teachers could give a chance to comment by adding their ideas or by adding interesting videos
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related to their class and other students would be able to interact and exchange ideas.
R: Some students talked about the FB activities and explained that if the activities were not
graded, then we will do our best to be on FB interacting with each others, do you think FB
activities should not be graded especially with level 2?
S3: No, I think it should be graded because I knew most of the students including myself
wouldn’t do the activities if they were not graded. If the FB use will be activated again in the
future without any grade, the students won't interact with each other at all especially that they
were level 2. If you will deal with more advanced level, then, I think they will interact with each
other because they knew more how to write in English and because their language is much better
than level 2.
R: I see. Did you answer all the activities on FB?
S3: Yes, I did. I answered all the activities on FB.
R: Do you think using FB add any thing to your GPA?
S3: Yes, it increased my GPA because they were graded and I was gaining good grades.
R: So, when you gained good grades that mean you answered them well?
S3: Yes, I tried to do my best but I only lost 1 point. However, I don't know why I lost that point
because there was not any feedback.
R: Do you think the way you communicate with your teacher was easy enough through FB?
S3: Yes. I sent messages to my teacher at the beginning of using FB and I found it easy and I got
the reply faster than using email. On the other hand, I believe if I will send those questions via
email, then my teacher wouldn’t answer me as fast as she did via FB. I sent my questions at late
night and the teacher answered me right away.
R: Do you want to add anything?
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S3: No, but as I said before the idea of using FB was great especially in this era where most if
not all of the students use different kinds of technology. Also, some students were not willing to
use FB because they didn't want the whole class to get access to their pages and private
information. They didn't know that there is a feature on FB allows you to keep your personal
information only to the people you added only. So, I suggest the teachers explain this feature if
they are planning to use FB again to the students so they won't be afraid of using FB in the class.
They also could tell them to create new accounts for the class only if they don't want to use their
personal one. In addition, the teacher should explain that if one student posted something and the
other student did like by commenting on saying “I don't agree” or any other ideas showing that
the other student don't agree is okay and this should not lead to hate each other or feel
uncomfortable because of the other person opinion and we should accept others opinions. So, the
teacher should explain everything from the beginning so the students could understand and make
them feel more comfortable to interact with each other besides changing the content of it to
encourage the students to use it in a positive way.
*************** INTERVIEW OVER ***************
Student interview 4 Interviewee name: S4 Interviewer name: Sarah B
Place of interview: Intensive American Language Centre R: Researcher
Date of interview: 12/6/2014 S4: Student 4 R: In your answer in the questionnaire, you mentioned that you think FB is not very clear and
the way you use FB in the class was not clear for you, can you please explain more?
S4: Ummm. I just got to the U.S. and I don't know how to use FB and at the same time the
teacher said you should send the homework to him as a private message but I sent it to the wrong
place and therefore I got zero so that's why it is not clear for me to use FB at the beginning of the
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session. I felt uncomfortable at the beginning of using FB but at the end of the session, I felt
more comfortable.
R: In the pre questionnaire, you selected that using FB at the beginning was more comfortable
but in the post questionnaire you selected that using FB was less comfortable? Umm. Did you
feel more comfortable at the beginning than at the end?
S4: I like the idea at the beginning of using FB but I got zero twice at the end of using FB so, I
didn't like it.
R: do you think that FB activities shouldn't be graded?
S4: Ummm. It was my fault that I didn't ask the teacher about how to post in private messages. I
didn't think about it but I think FB is good for study and it should be graded.
R: I see. Do you think using FB help you to interact or communicate more with your classmates
and your teachers?
S4: Yes, I think it keeps us in touch more than before when we didn't use FB.
R: What do you think about the use and integration of FB in the classroom to learn English?
S4: Umm. Yes, I think FB helps me to learn English.
R: why?
S4: Aaaaa. Because it helps me practicing English language when I try to communicate with my
classmates who couldn’t understand my native language ( Chinese). They only understand me
when I wrote in English so it helps me practicing the language.
R: What are the advantages of creating some activities on FB to assist in learning the language
and help in writing compound and complex sentences?
S4: Maybe because I learn them in the class and I just do the assignments on FB so it didn't
really help me in writing compound and complex sentences but if I am wrong the teacher will
59
correct me by sending me feedback via private messages telling me where I have been mistaken.
R: So, you don't think the assignments help you learn the language?
S4: Umm. No, I do not think so because I will do them in the class and I will learn in the class
then I will post them on FB later.
R: So, do you think the assignments should be changed?
S4: I think the teacher should ask us to do other assignments on FB not the same one we did in
the class. I also think that it's boring for me to do the same assignment over and over so I think
the teacher should let the students do another homework on FB. That is maybe because I am
level two so the teacher asked us to do two sentences one compound and one complex. I still use
the FB now after the class done and I used private messages in English language to communicate
with some of my classmates because they don't speak my native language and English is the only
language they and I can speak to talk to each other.
R: Did you use FB before the class?
S4: No, I didn't have FB account before the class.
R: Do you think that using FB in the class increased your interaction with peers and teachers?
S4: Ummm. Yes, I think so because in the class we don't have time to talk so, out of the class we
can talk through FB. I only used FB when I left the school to communicate with my classmates
or teachers.
R: Can you describe the things that motivate you in general to be active on FB?
S4: It's interesting to use FB but I didn't feel very amazing using it.
R: Huh. Do you like the idea of using FB?
S4: yes.
R: If the teacher in your next level which is level three said I will use FB in this class, are you
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willing to participate in using FB?
S4: Aaaa. Yes, of course. If the teacher suggests using FB again in level three I will do it again.
R: Did you enjoy the using of FB?
S4: yes.
R: why?
S4: Because I didn't have some of my classmates number but i can communicate with them
through FB. In addition, if I did't get the homework, then I can ask the teacher by sending
message to the teacher using private message feature to explain the homework.
R: Is there anything you want to add about using FB?
S4: Maybe if the teacher can help us to communicate with the students in WSU so, we can know
more about the university, American school, and American history.
R: You explained earlier in our conversation that using of FB was not clear for you, so, do you
think that if there was a class at the beginning of using FB showing you how to use it and go
through the features of FB would be helpful and useful to you?
S4: Wow. Yes, of course. I think that would help me and my classmates a lot.
*************** INTERVIEW OVER ***************
Student interview 5 Interviewee name: S5 Interviewer name: Sarah B
Place of interview: Intensive American Language Centre R: Researcher
Date of interview: 12/6/2014 S5: Student 5 R: In the progress questionnaire, I noticed that you selected that you felt more comfortable using
FB at the beginning and at the end of the class; did you really feel more comfortable toward the
use of FB?
S5: Ummm. Yes, I think it was familiar tome to use FB because I used it before.
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R: Okay. So you feel like you liked it at the beginning of the class because you were familiar
with it.
S5: Yes, I think so.
R: And did you like the use of FB at the end of the session as well?
S5: Yes, I think so. Maybe. For me the beginning of the session was same as the end of the
session.
R: I see. You wrote in the questionnaire that you think that FB is important because the teacher
can talk about your errors easily, can you please explain more?
S5: Umm. Yes, yes because the teacher can tell us about our errors. If I send a message to the
teacher, she can send one message to me and she can read it and read other students sentences
and when we asked the teacher questions through FB she will answer us because if the students
asked the teacher in the class, she might not able to answer the students because she had limited
time.
R: So, you feel using FB make it easier for you to contact the teacher easily and when you asked
her something on FB she will reply immediately.
S5: Yes, it is better than using email to ask the teacher.
R: Also, you wrote that FB is a good alternative to talk to the teacher about some questions. Can
you please explain more what do you mean in this statement?
S5: Yes, sure. Because you can talk to the teacher in class or out class and if you don't have time
to talk in class, you will send message to the teacher using FB in your free time or from your cell
phone anywhere to ask the questions.
R: Okay.
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S5: Also, sometimes I have the questions but I forgot them and when I walked in the street I
remembered them so I can just use my phone to send message to the teacher. I think it is an easy
way to communicate with the teacher.
R: I want to know if using FB in the class helps you to learn English?
S5: Well, I think it's good to learn other ways to lean English but I think sometimes FB doesn't
matter or affect in learning English because the teacher asked us to write words with different
part of speech and then to write compound and complex sentences. So, I think it was useful for
me.
R: Do you think that you learn English more through using FB?
S5: I don't know. I think I learned more in the class than through FB.
R: Does FB help you to practice English outside the classroom?
S5: sometimes. I just write sentences on FB so, for me it is just like whatever because I need to
speak English everywhere here in the U.S.
R: Okay. Do you feel the assignments on FB help you to learn English more?
S5: Ummm. Yes. Because I saw the picture and I had to write one sentence about it and I don't
like the idea of doing the same assignment over and over. I think we need to search more and
find different assignments. That is because we only have one picture and all of us was trying to
write one sentence or two to describe each picture so, the picture was not rich enough to enable
all of us to come with new words or new sentence. I felt like all of us were writing the same
sentence but change the position of words. Some pictures help me understand the name of
something in English. So, one picture includes the scene of beach and I didn't know the word
sand before the picture so it helps me learn some new words and give us the chance to come up
with other pictures will help me to know more words.
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R: Yes. I agree. Do you think FB allows you to interact with your classmates from the other
class?
S5: No, not for me. I didn't chat with my classmates.
R: Really. Why?
S5: Because I had nothing to say to them on FB. I just chat with my friends like what do you
want to do today? Or do you want us to go to some places today? So, I had nothing to chat with
my classmates about it.
R: Okay. So, did you enjoy using FB in class?
S5: Yes, I did.
R: Why?
S5: Umm. Maybe because it helped me to send message to the teacher easily and give me a
chance to do my homework in a different way than usual.
R: what was the thing that motivate you the most to use FB?
S5: Because I had my assignments so I need to use FB to do my homework and to know how to
use it and show the teacher that I am doing a good job.
R: Can you tell me about the ways that help you to practice English on FB?
S5: When I try to find new words to comment on posted picture through using dictionary
because I do not want to repeat the same words my classmates used already. I want something
different from their words.
R: Do you like the assignments on FB?
S5: I think we need more engaged activities on FB because posting words with different part of
speech on given pictures was so easy to me and I think we should focus on writing more
sentences on most of FB activities not just words.
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R: Do you want to add anything to the using of FB?
S5: To focus more on writing compound and complex sentences not simple sentences because if
you know how to write compound sentences you will know for sure how to write simple
sentences.
R: Thank you very much.
S5: yeah sure,
S5: Thank you.
R: Thank you.
*************** INTERVIEW OVER ***************
