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Zeynep Erşin Yıldız Technical University zeynep.ersin@gmail

Students’ Experiences and Attitudes towards Using Social Networking Platforms in a Turkish EFL Context. Zeynep Erşin Yıldız Technical University zeynep.ersin@gmail.com. Background of the study. The benefits of CALL/TELL/e-Learning Promoting motivation & learner autonomy

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Zeynep Erşin Yıldız Technical University zeynep.ersin@gmail

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  1. Students’ Experiences and Attitudes towards Using Social Networking Platforms in a Turkish EFL Context Zeynep Erşin Yıldız Technical University zeynep.ersin@gmail.com

  2. Background of the study The benefits of CALL/TELL/e-Learning • Promoting motivation & learner autonomy • Addressing individual needs/learning styles • Facilitates collaborative work + interactive • Appropriate for learning scenarios within a task-based framework and integrated-skills approach • Time saving • Low-anxiety environment ). Bax (2003); Chapelle (2001); Ducate and Arnold (2006); Toyoda (2001); Warschauer and Meskill (1998; 2000)

  3. Background of the study However, there are stillbarriers in terms of • Learner attitudes/profiles • Training • Objectives/Motivation • Accessibility • Compatibility • User-friendliness Rüschoff, 2009

  4. Yıldız Technical University & CALL Various commercial software has been used as a complementary resource for the main course since 2009. However, we have encountered a variety of problems especially regarding: • Compatibility • Lack of training • Ss’ negative attitudes (student profile)

  5. The Purposes of the Study: • to familiarize Ss with various Web 2.0 tools • to investigate the students’ attitudes towards the effectiveness of some Web 2.0 tools, such as SNPs, online dictionaries, visual thesaurus, word clouds and wordsifting in learning EFL • to provide information on Ss’ experiences when using the abovementioned tools

  6. Setting and Participants: • Yıldız Technical University, School of Foreign Languages, the Department of Basic English • 20elementary students from an intact classwho have no prior experience or training in using Web 2.0 tools to learn EFL

  7. Materials and Instruments • 4 integrated tasks/online activities posted on the university’s SNP to familiarize students with different Web 2.0 tools • An online ss’ attitude questionnaire • Interviews

  8. The Platform/Ning.com www.yildizprepschool.ning.com Ning is an online platform for people and organizations to create custom social networks.It offers customers the ability to create a community website with a customized appearance and feel, feature sets such as photos, videos, forums and blogs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ning_(website)

  9. The SNP www.yildizprepschool.ning.com

  10. Materials • Online –authentic- supplementary materials within a context provided by songs and a movie trailer. • Lyrics include familiar grammar structures previously presented in the class.

  11. Procedure • The students signed up on yildizprepschool.ning.com. • They were assigned to complete the tasks. posted on the researcher’s blog page. • 4 tasks 8 weeks • The online questionnaire was administered. • 5 of the SS were interviewed accordingly.

  12. Task 1 LISTEN-READ-WRITE Song: At the same time Lyrics Present simple + progressive PICK: 3 new words / provide parts of speech Online dictionary Sentence writing

  13. Task 2 LISTEN-WRITE Movie trailer Sentences with CAN Find use patterns Online GR handout Write the sentences with CAN in the trailer

  14. Task 3 LISTEN-READ-WRITE Song: The Logical Song Lyrics Word derivation Pick 3 adjectives with a suffix / provide all parts of speech of the word Online dictionary Visual Thesaurus Sentence writing

  15. Task 4 LISTEN-READ-WRITE Song: You gotta be Lyrics Adjectives + gotta as a contraction +collocations/idioms Find all the adjectives in the chorus + provide synonyms/antonyms Online dictionary Visual Thesaurus + Wordle = word clouds Writing a compound sentence using one of the collocations/idioms in the lyrics.

  16. Online Students’ Attitude Questionnaire18Items written in Turkish

  17. Data Analysis Quantitative Analysis Descriptive statistics Frequencies Mean Scores SPSS Version 16.0 Qualitative Analysis Content analysis of the recurring themes Open-ended question & Interviews Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was found to be .873 for the questionnaire.

  18. FINDINGS

  19. How often do you use the Internet in your daily life? 1 Never 2 Rarely 3 Sometimes 4 Usually 5 Always

  20. How frequently do you use the Internet for the following activities? 1 Never 2 Rarely 3 Sometimes 4 Usually 5 Always

  21. Web 2.0 Tools’ Effectiveness 1 Strongly Disagree 2 Disagree 3 Uncertain 4 Agree 5 Strongly Agree

  22. Effectiveness in terms of skills 1 Strongly Disagree 2 Disagree 3 Uncertain 4 Agree 5 Strongly Agree

  23. Participants’ Overall Attitudes Berk, Sergen, Akın, Damla and Ismail were interviewed in terms of the differences among their attitudes, Internet use frequency and their performances on the platform.

  24. Open-ended questions POSITIVE NEGATIVE Fun-factor “I spend great time while studying, it’s fun!” “I’m learning while having fun!” Variety of resources “You don’t need to have a lot of books anymore. There are thousands of online materials.” A source for motivation “Ning motivated me. I am now more interested in learning English.” “I’m a visual learner, so I liked it.” Low anxiety environment “I don’t like classroom settings. People make fun of me when I do mistakes.” “I’d definitely prefer working alone without people watching me.” Objectives “if you really want to learn English, you’ll like these tools.” User-friendliness “The website design could be simpler.” Learner profile / autonomy “I cannot understand anything unless a teacher explains.” “I don’t like doing HW whether online or not.” “I’m not a responsible student.” “I always forgot my HW.” “I would do better if I am an intermediate level student.” Training “I have not worked with computers before.” “If I knew how to use computers, I would be more successful” “If you hadn’t explained me the tasks, I wouldn’t have finished them.” “I’m not familiar with technological tools.” Accessibility “I don’t have Internet connection at home/the dorm”. “I don’t have Internet connection and the lab is always full” “I don’t have a PC/laptop.”

  25. “To me, Web 2.0 tools are just for fun, not for education! I completed the tasks because you graded them.” BERK Negative

  26. “I have negative attitudes because I don’t like doing HW whether online or not. It’s just a waste of time.” SERGEN Negative

  27. “I like working individually via the Internet but I need a teacher to instruct new points. These tools are only useful for revision and practice.” AKIN Neutral

  28. “I would have completed all of the tasks if my level of English were higher. I can only do the easier tasks, but I always need help.” All in all, I believe these tools are very useful because I like to get online.” If I learn how to use them, I may learn more without a teacher.” DAMLA Positive

  29. “I like doing online homework rather than doing paper-based activities. I know I’m a lazy student, but not on the Internet!” ISMAIL Positive

  30. Conclusion • The participantstudents’ attitudes towards the effectiveness of some Web 2.0 tools, such as SNPs, online dictionaries, visual thesaurus, word clouds and wordsifting in learning EFL are POSITIVE(Mn: 3,35) especially in terms of learning new vocabulary (Mn: 3,63) and practicing writing skills (Mn: 3,47).

  31. Pedagogical Implications • To eliminate students’ negative attitudes towards CALL, students should be provided with real objectives, motivation, training and evidence that CALL is beneficial for their autonomy (Toyoda, 2001).

  32. References • Bax, S. (2003). CALL-Past, present and future. System, 31(1), 13-28. • Chapelle, C. A. (n.d.). Computer applications in second language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Ducate, L., & Arnold, N. (2006). Calling on CALL: From theory and research to new directions in foreign language teaching (5th ed.). San Marcos: Calico Monograph Series. • Rüschoff, B. (2009). Output-oriented language learning with digital media . In M. Thomas (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Web 2.0 and Second Language Learning (pp. 42-59). New York: Information Science Reference. • Toyoda, E. (2011). Exercise of learner autonomy in project-oriented CALL. CALL-EJ Online, 2(2). • Warschauer, M., & Healey, D. (1998). Computers and language learning: an overview. Language teaching forum, 31, 57-71. • Warschauer, M., & Meskill, C. (2000). Technology and second language teaching and learning. In J. Rosentha (Ed.), Handbook of Undergraduate Second Language Education. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

  33. THANK YOU! zeynep.ersin@gmail.com

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