Social Media Needs Analysis for Language Teaching

1. Shannon Sauro Malmö University Shannon.sauro@mah.se Social Media Needs Analysis for Language Teaching

2. Warm-Up What do you hope to get out of this workshop?

3. What is Social Media “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.” (Kaplan & Haelein, 2010, p. 61).

4. Web 2.0 & User Generated Content Web 2.0 “a platform whereby content and applications are no longer created and published by individuals, but instead are continuously modified by all users in a participatory and collaborative fashion” (Kaplan & Haelein, 2010, p. 61). UGC • Created by end users • Published or publicly accessible • Exhibit some amount of creative effort • Created outside of professional routines and practices (Kaplan & Haelein, 2010, p. 61).

5. Characteristics of Social Media • Web-Based • Collaborative • Creative • Shared

6. Social Networking Sites “…internet-based sites and platforms which facilitate the building and maintaining of networks or communities through the sharing of messages and other media.” (Seargeant & Tagg, 2014, p. 3)

7. Continuity Within & Beyond the Classroom There is a growing need for technological continuity between the classroom and the outside world. (Levy & Stockwell,2006)

8. Step I 1. How many different types of social media do you regularly use, and who do you use it to interact with? 2. What is the function of each of these? In other words, why do you use this particular social media tool?

9. Affordances • “…users’ interpretation of what is made possible by the technology, based on their own technical competence and communicative intent” (Tagg & Seargeant, 2014, p. 165)

10. Electronic Presence vs. Verbal Presence 1. Jin: hello 2. (1.8) 3. Jin: HELLO 4. (0.2) 5. Sayed: yeah I hello uh- 6. (0.6) 7. Jin: hi are you there? 8. (3.2) 9. Sayed: yes (.) hi 10. (1.3) (Jenks, 2014, p. 105)

11. Step II 1. Identify 2-3 technical affordances of the social media you are familiar with. How do these influence the way you interact/the kind of interaction you can have? 2. If you were to incorporate this social media platform into a course, how would you need to modify the course/tasks/assessment to account for these affordances?

12. Virtual Communities “A long tradition of research into new media communication … has focused on determining the extent to which users exploit these structural affordances to form ‘virtual communities’ …(i.e. a shared set of cultural references, a regular pattern of interaction, some sense of belonging.)” (Seargeant & Tagg, 2014, p. 9)

13. An Virtual Fandom Community

14. Tumblr Tags

15. Twitter Tags

16. Step III 1. What communities are you a part of/aware of on a particular social media platform? 2. Identify 5 ways in which these communities have influenced the language and affordances of that platform.

17. Communicative Competence • Linguistic competence • Grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation • Sociolinguistic competence • What is appropriate in which situation and with which speakers • Discourse competence • Being able to speak or write for longer periods • Strategic competence • What to do when you don’t know how to say something or you are having communication difficulties. (Canale & Swain, 1980)

18. Social Media and Language Learning L2 learners misreported country of origin and L1 in order to maximize opportunities for interaction. Harrison & Thomas (2009)) One L2 Japanese learner reported avoiding interacting on certain Japanese SMS due to hostile attitudes some users expressed toward non-Japanese attempting to use the site who had poor Japanese skills or attempted to use other languages. Pasfield-Neofitou (2011)

19. Step IV 1. What is the level of proficiency required of participants in this social media context to support successful interaction and engagement? 2. What other sociolinguistic norms (accuracy, style, formality, etc.) are required for successful interaction? 3. What affordances are available for users of this platform that they can use when they encounter linguistic or technical difficulty?

20. Tasks & TBLT “an activity in which a person engages in order to attain an objective, and which necessitates the use of language” (Van den Branden, 2006, p. 4) Task-based language teaching (TBLT), is an educational framework for language instruction in which courses are structured around tasks that reflect learners’ real-world target tasks for both language and technology use beyond the classroom context.

21. Guiding Questions for TBLT 1. What particular language learning goals need to be reached by the learners? 2. How can educational activities be designed and organized in order to stimulate and support learners into reaching these language learning goals? 3. How will the students’ learning processes and outcomes be assessed and followed up? (Van den Branden, 2006, p. 2)

22. Needs Analysis “Needs analysis is directed mainly at the goals and content of the course. It examines what the learners know already and what they need to know.” (Nation & Macalister, 2009, p. 24).

23. Components of a Needs Analysis Necessities Lacks Present Knowledge – what do the learners lack? Wants Subjective Needs – what do the learners wish to learn? Necessities Required Knowledge – what is necessary in their language use? Environment Analysis Constraints & Strengths– what situational factors (learners/teachers/situation/affordances) are in place that will affect the tasks/course/assessment. Needs Analysis

24. Workshop 1. With your partner or independently, identify a social media platform that you are considering using for your own students. • No tech option – do this from memory • Full tech option – explore the SM platform through a computer or smart device you have with you. 2. At the end of time, each will report back highlights: • One affordance that would enhance learning and interaction. • One affordance that could inhibit learning and interaction. • One of your students’ lacks or wants. • How you would elicit more information about your students’ lacks or wants.

25. Email shannon.sauro@mah.se / Twitter @shansauro / Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/Shansauro Thank you