中国英语专业学生对语言学习中使用社交媒体的认识——以东南大学为例

论文总字数：45066字

摘 要

科技的进步为学生带来了很多创新的学习工具。在大学生中，现在使用最广泛的新科技之一便是社交媒体。在社交媒体中，人们可以很快地形成一个社区，并就共同感兴趣的内容为话题，进行充分的交流。近年来国外已普遍在各种课堂（包括语言教学课堂）中使用社交媒体及平台，也有很多相关的研究，但是国内在课堂中还未普遍开始推广社交媒体的使用。在决定是否进行全面推广之前，学生群体的意见尤为重要，学生现在社交媒体的使用情况、在课堂中运用的接受度等都是很重要的参考指标。

本次研究采用定性研究方法，通过对东南大学英语专业一至四年级学生的问卷调查及访谈，发现当前学生群体中广泛使用社交媒体，但是极少数人已有意识将英语学习和社交媒体的使用结合起来。大部分同学对于社交媒体在语言学习中的使用抱着乐观的态度，因为他们发现在社交媒体中他们更能融入到英语的语境中去。很多广泛受欢迎的社交媒体工具比如微信，视频分享网站，微博等可以作为教学工具进行推广。对于已经在教学中使用社交媒体工具的老师们，大部分同学对于这样的教学实验给予了好评并希望能多看到一些创新的教学形式。

关键词：社交媒体工具，英语专业，语言学习

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………...….....i

English Abstract……………………………………………………………………...ii

Chinese Abstract…………………………………………………………………….iii

Table of Content……………………………………………………………………..iv

List of Tables………………………………………………………………………….v

Chapter One Introduction………………………………………………………..1

1.1 Background of the Study……………………………………………………..1

1.2 Objective of the Study………………………………………………………..1

1.3 Significance of the Study……………………………………………………2

1.4 Layout of the Thesis………………………………………………………….3

Chapter Two Literature Review…………………………………………………4

2.1 Definitions of Social Media…………………………………………………...4

2.2 Previous Studies at Home and Abroad about Social Media in Language Learning………………………………………………………………...…….4

Chapter Three Research Method………………………………………………….7

3.1 Overview………………………………………………………………………7

3.2 Questionnaire………………………………………………………………….7

3.3 In-depth Interviews……………………………………………………………7

Chapter Four Findings and Discussion………………………………………..….8

4.1 Students’ Experience with Social Media Tools: Use and Understanding……..8

4.2 Social Media as an Effective Pedagogical Tool……………………………...10

4.3 Students’ Attitudes to Instructor’s Use of Social Media…………………......12

Chapter Five Conclusion………………………………………………………..14

Appendix I…………………………………………………………………………...18

List of Tables

Table 1. Information about the Variables…………….………………………………..8

Table 2. Time on Social Media………………………………………………………...8

Table 3. Proportion of Social Media Time for English Study…………………………9

Table 4. Familiarity with Social Media Tools…………………………………………9

Table 5. Using English in Social Media……………………………………………...10

Table 6. Attitudes towards social media usage in English study……………………..11

Table 7. Teachers’ Usage of Social Media in class and after class…………………...12

Example:

Table 6. Attitudes towards social media usage in English study

Chapter One Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

The 21^st higher education system is facing great social, economic and technological challenges. To adapt to the new environment, educators are seeking changes in all rounds of educational practice. One of the most substantial transitions lie in the technological area, like the widespread application of digital devices. The technological development and innovation have a great influence on the content, method and process of higher education. It requires changes in the traditional way of teacher dominance in class, so pedagogy moves forward as the technology advances. Also because of the multimedia technology, knowledge learning is no longer restricted by time and space. The concept of study is undergoing a fundamental change.

With the emergency of Web 2.0, social media catches eyes, especially gaining enormous popularity among the younger generation. It provides a more convenient way for people to communicate and gain information. Educators then realize that social media is playing an important part in people's life nowadays and will continue to do so in the near future, thus they endeavor to apply social media into teaching practice. It receives satisfactory feedbacks from the students in the western world. So motivated Chinese teachers are trying to keep pace with the best practice.

1.2 Objective of the Study

The use of social media as an effective pedagogical tool in the area of language education has been confirmed (Gouseti, 2010; Blankenship, 2011). Social media can promote interaction between students and teachers and information exchange between peers. But because of the limited research and study of social media in language teaching, it has not brought much attention in China. As a student, the author personally engages in social media usage every day and often uses it for educational purpose. In this study, the author explores students’ familiarity with all kinds of social media tools and attitudes towards applying social media to language study. It needs to mention that this research focuses on the extent to which students are engaged in a range of social media tools, not just the most commonly used tools discussed in all popular press, like WeChat, Weibo or QQ. For example, if a teacher wants to use content sharing tools in a course, however, students are mostly unfamiliar with such kind of tools, the teacher will have to set aside extra time and resources to give some training classes to his or her students. Moreover, the author examines the valence of students’ perceptions of social media tools, as well as their motives for use, in order to determine if there will be initial resistance to or excitement about incorporating such tools in the classroom. Last, the author reveals students’ perceptions of the faculty who have been using social media in the classroom. Thus, to conclude, this research examines Chinese English majors’ knowledge and views about social media use in language learning classrooms to aid in providing an insight into popularizing social media as a pedagogical tool in universities.

1.3 Significance of the Study

This research is meaningful for several reasons. First of all, it falls in line with an area of significance that has been identified by the language education community. In other words, this study provides practical insights for educators and also universities who seek to use social media in teaching. Second, this research makes contributions to the scholarly body of work in the field of technology and social media by uncovering students’ perceptions and motives in regard of the use of such tools in higher education system. A broad understanding of students’ perceptions on the use of social media in education may also be a first step in understanding the relationship between the use of social media and important educational outcomes such as assessment and student engagement. Third, the study is attached importance in China because despite the plethora of such research in western countries (Gouseti, 2010; Blankenship, 2011), the role social media plays in Chinese College English teaching is relatively under-researched. One reason might be that social media themselves are not as far reaching in Chinese educational settings as in western “core” countries (Si, Shi, amp; Chen, 2011). The other reason might be that the unavailability of Facebook or Twitter in China leads to the neglect of many internationally popular social media tools among Chinese language learners.

1.4 Layout of the Thesis

First, the research reviews definitions of social media and previous studies home and abroad about social media in English learning. Then this research introduces the research method. According to the survey and in-depth interviews, the research examines several areas of importance to language education, determining students’ use of social media tools and the extent to which students view social media as an effective pedagogical tool and also revealing students’ perceptions of instructors who use social media for educational purposes. At last, the author makes conclusions to this research and proposes limitations and future research direction.

Chapter Two Literature Review

2.1 Definitions of Social Media

Although the phrase “social media” has been widely concerned by all walks of life since 2008, people's understanding of its connotation is not completely consistent. Antony Mayfield (2008) in the book "What Is Social Media" defines social media as the new online media which has characteristics of participation, openness, exchange, communication, dialogue, community, connection, giving users great space; Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein (2010) recognize it as a media built on Web 2.0 technology and ideology, allowing users to create user generated content and communicate. This means, in fact, as long as the media can support the communication between people (including e-mail, Wiki, blog, content sharing and forums, etc.), it can be used as social media. Whether the media is used in the way of social media is determined by the user. However, it is worth mentioning that the famous scholar Paul Levinson (2009) is not in favor of the concept that blog, YouTube, Wiki, Dig, Myspace, Facebook and Twitter, normally known as social media, are called social media, instead he prefer to call them “new new media”. Because "all media for thousands of years has its social nature", this nature is not owned only by these “new new media”. Now the most popular definition goes to Kaplan and Haelein’s (2010) that social media is “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content”.

2.2 Previous Studies at Home and Abroad about the Use of Social Media in Language Learning

Social media as an effective educational tool, especially in language teaching and learning, has been well-documented. Social media increases the instructor-student contact opportunities critical for students’ achievements. In the case of language learning, Wang and Vasquez (2012) show that social media maintains “a favorable learning environment” for language learners, serving not only as an input-output platform, but also as a supporting network. For instance, language learners are particularly encouraged to generate content and share experiences and opinions in L2 via social media. The mainstream media and academia refer to the young generation as “digital natives” (Tapscott, 2009), in which social media has a prominent role in student life (Greenhow amp; Burton, 2011). With regard to the role of social media in education, foreign scholars focus on using Web 2.0 social software, such as blog, social networking, and social bookmarking sites to give users the opportunity to interact and share data (Minocha, 2009, p. 353). Of course, there is also a lot of controversy as to the influence of social media on students. Eszter Hargittai (2010) and his colleagues studied the use of social media among different student population, and once again they determined the impact of social media in a wide range of student groups. Many scholars support the use of social media in education (Trinder, Guiler, Margaryan, Littlejohn, amp; Nicol, 2008), but there are some dissenting voices. Some scholars worry about the risk it brings such as privacy, copyright, etc. (Franklin amp; van Harmelen, 2007). They also point out the current lack of skills among teachers (Trinder et al., 2008). In addition, many researchers have recorded successful practical application of specific social media tools in the classroom. M. D Kaplan (2010) by qualitative and quantitative study found that blog could add a lot of positive output to the classroom, such as speeding up the application of theories, enhancing interdisciplinary learning ability, familiarizing with a variety of new technologies. Antoniazzi (2015) from University of British Columbia found the use of social media could enhance students' interest and motivations in learning the language. Baronearle (2012) in the study also found that social media applications in language learning could particularly help improve important cross-cultural communication for language learners. In conclusion, foreign countries have attached great importance to social media being integrated into education, but also confirmed that the positive role played by social media in language learning.

Domestically, social media has gradually begun to be attached importance to in education and society overall (Lijia, 2015), but many scholars are more worried about the negative effects it brings, for example, after the customary context when students return to real life from multimedia application, difficulties in reading and writing arise. Many institutions have begun to practice the language among social media into education, such as WeChat (Chai Yang Li, 2014), QQ, microblogging and other social networking platform. Li Xiujing (2013) greatly motivated students to learn English enthusiastically in college English classes, based on QQ platform using the constructivist theory and effectively improved the construction of college English teaching efficiency under the guidance of constructivist theory. He Ju (2012) pointed out that in college English teaching, the introduction of this new microblogging communication could make up for many problems of the traditional teaching method. Numerous studies have demonstrated that specific social media can assist and promote college English education, so understanding of the students’ attitudes and perceptions is particularly important. Based on the lack of domestic research in this field, this article will focus on the student aspect to understand their social media usage to grasp the situation and promote the use of social media in learning English.

Chapter Three Research Method

3.1 Overview

This research uses qualitative method to provide an up-to-date picture of the Chinese English majors’ perceptions and attitudes about applying social media into language learning. One round of questionnaire data collection as well as 10 in-depth interviews was conducted.

3.2 Questionnaire

Undergraduates majoring in English in Southeast University were surveyed about the frequency, familiarity and perception about social media usage in English language learning during their current study progress. An initial round of data collection included 75 questionnaires completed during April 2016. The questionnaire is designed to include questions exploring the frequency and extent of social media and technology usage, the use of social media in English learning as well as variables such as sex, year in university (See Table 1). In particular, the survey took into consideration many social media tools which are not mentioned as much as social networking sites in China such as video-sharing software, wiki. Students may utilize them every day without realizing that they are dealing with social media tools, so one of the goals of this survey are to elaborate the meaning of social media to the students.

3.3 In-depth Interviews

Ten interviews are also done to supplement the survey in gaining more depth into current social media use in class and students’ motives for applying social media in language learning. Ten undergraduates majoring in English in Southeast University representing a mix of males and females were interviewed about questions regarding the use of social media in language learning during their daily life. Each interview, which occurred mostly in the classroom, lasted around 20 minutes and be tape-recorded and transcribed. Constant comparative analysis is used later based on the complete transcripts of the interviews. Students were probed to their utilization of specific social media tools, their willingness to use social media in language education, their motives as well as personal experience about teacher applying social media in the classroom.

Chapter Four Findings and Discussion

4.1 Students’ Experiences With Social Media Tools: Use and Understanding

The research examines English majors’ knowledge and experiences about different kinds of social media tools, including microblogging and blogging (Sina Weibo, Tencent Weibo, Sina Blog, Twitter), social networking (WeChat, QQ, Line, WhatsApp, Facebook), video sharing sites (Tudou, Youku, IQiyi, Youtube), discussion forum (Mop, Tianya), question answering sites (Zhihu, Baidu Zhidao, Quora), business networking sites (LinkedIn, Wealink), social bookmarking sites (QQ bookmark, Sina Favorite) and wiki (Wikipedia, Baidu Baike).

Table 1. Information about the Variables

First, they were asked about how much time they spent on social media every day and how much of it was for the purpose of English study (See Table 2 amp; Table 3). Seen from the two tables below, the daily social media usage is pretty frequent for students. 80% of students use it over two hours every day. However, despite its popularity among students, few of them use it for educational purposes. It is understandable due to the lack of awareness of social media usage in higher education. But it is also delightful to see some of students are trialing with social media tools. Three of them even use more than half of their social media usage time on English study. In the interview, one student mentioned that he found social media really helpful for study because it combines entertainment, communication with academic study in an accessible way.

Table 2. Time on Social Media

Table 3. Proportion of Social Media Time for English Study

In the survey, domestic social media tools and overseas ones are listed separately in order for easier compare. Each category of social media was measured by a 5-point Likert-type scale where 1 = no familiarity and 5 = full familiarity. Concluded from Table 5, respondents are the most familiar with domestic social networking sites especially mobile chat tools like WeChat (x=4.71) and domestic video sharing sites like Tudou and Youku (x=4.07). Some understanding is reported of microblogging sites (x=3.79), question answering sites (x=3.5) and wiki (x=3.71). Students lack understanding in regard of foreign social media tools as expected due to the domestic internet firewall control, blogging which was popular for a while, discussion forum, business networking sites and social bookmarking sites. Interestingly, microblogging has surpassed the development of blogging in China despite its short time on the market. One possible explanation may be that students are more welcome to brief messages instead of slowing down to read some detailed articles.

Table 4. Familiarity with Social Media Tools

4.2 Social Media as an Effective Pedagogical Tool

In the survey, I asked students whether they had used online learning websites like Coursera. Unexpectedly, 19 respondents (25.33%) report that they have used it. One of the participants in the interview even claimed that he had finished five courses on Coursera including the lectures of Stanford University on Neuroscience. He achieved a satisfactory result in TEM4, an English proficiency test for Chinese students and owed his English listening skills to Coursera.

When surveyed about the frequencies of using English while using social media tools, most students often use English. They communicate with native speakers on WeChat, write English articles, follow English official accounts, and share videos in English and so on. Most students realize that they have spent a great amount of time on social media, so they make full use of this part of time consciously.

Table 5. Using English in Social Media

From the statistics, the author can see most students are in favor of using social media as a pedagogical tool in English study. The only two objectors state their reasons as low efficiency and a waste of time. Although only two of those surveyed hold this thought, it should be noted in many cases nowadays students are reported low concentration in class due to social media obsession, which I suppose is also the concern of neutral respondents. So how to properly use social media to maximize the efficiency would be a crucial question. One who held the neutral position told me that he had hesitations towards the use of WeChat for educational purposes because at some extent he would like to keep his academic and personal life separate. Luckily, 77% has a positive attitude towards social media’s potential to enhance English learning. The most important reasons are its convenient access and rich resources. One very specific answer said that social media creates a more complete English context rather than learning English in the Chinese context. Also several mentioned that living in the information society, we should keep pace with the technological development and embrace its benefits.

Table 6. Attitudes towards social media usage in English study

Since most students hold a positive attitude towards social media usage in English study, I would like to talk about three most popular social media as pedagogical tools and a not so popular but productive one.

First, WeChat has literally becomes an indispensable part of students’ life nowadays. It is reported in the interviews that students use WeChat mainly for three purposes: first, communication, since everyone is using it; second, gaining information from Official Accounts; third, content sharing in Moments. The second and third ones are that WeChat offers a medium through which students could gain exposure to opinions and ideas outside a traditional classroom setting.

Second, Weibo (microblogging)’s potential as a pedagogical tool might be most effective when used in courses which require students in personal reflection or courses which integrate formally or informally others’ perspectives and ideas. Weibo is potentially ineffective when used as for course management or to establish an educational relationship with a teacher—at least in the data that were collected because it has not gained much popularity among teachers.

Third, video sharing sites, given its functionality, respondents indicate that it has the most potential to enhance English learning. Students can easily gain access to English materials, generate discussion towards shared videos. Those video sharing sites are normally user-friendly and suitable to apply in the classroom.

Last but not least, the pedagogical potential of blog is underestimated nowadays. The past studies have shown the positive results of using blogs in the classroom (M. D. Kaplan et al., 2010). It develops students’ writing skills, which is a core course for English majors and provides a platform for generating discussion. Blogs aids in facilitating an expression of ideas because when students receive feedbacks from its fellow classmates, it motivates the person to revise.

4.3 Students’ Attitudes to Instructor’s Use of Social Media

In the questionnaire, students were asked if they have experienced teachers using social media in language teaching. (See Table 7) According to the survey, teachers are beginning to apply social media tools in class and after class, most frequently used ones being WeChat, video sharing sites and Wiki. However, the author cannot be too positive since 68% of teachers seldom or never use these tools, which shows that this pedagogical social media tools have not mainstreamed yet. Among those who have instructors using social media tools, 85.33% of them find it useful to their English study because they can take advantage of many up-to-date English learning materials in an interesting way.

Table 7. Teachers’ Usage of Social Media in class and after class