by Victoria Berasaluce Guerra (LTL Contributor)
Why use social media in the WL classroom?
A way to engage students today is planning our lessons and class conversations around the social media they navigate. This will evolve from time to time and platforms available and trending topics will change (the evolution from Facebook, to Instagram, to Twitter or Snapchat, etc. makes a point). Teachers need to be aware of what is relevant and current and adapt the resources they use accordingly.
One of the reasons I wanted to talk about social media in a world language classroom became apparent after reflecting on my own practices. I realized that I am drawn not only to use language related to our curricula but also about life in general and topics that might interest students or that might expand our lessons beyond the scope of the material we always use.
So…how to go about this?
The beauty of social media today is that you can find examples of almost everything online. From funny videos, to memes, to quotes…, the possibilities are endless.
You may choose to use social media at any stage of your lesson delivery, either as a warm up activity, as the main part of your lesson, as a springboard or end of a unit, or extra practice to reinforce content knowledge.
Take as an instance the following social media examples:
Videos
Before introducing the video…
- You can have the students complete an introductory guided activity, frontloading some of the vocabulary they will encounter.
- As a class, you may discuss beforehand students’ opinions on the topic that will be covered and tap into their background knowledge to dissipate doubts.
- If you are using the video as a warm up activity, you might prefer to let them discover the content gradually to have some surprises regarding the message.
- Listen to students to hear what they are bringing to the table, their ideas many times can lead to interesting conversations you might not have considered, or they might choose to share some personal story.
- After the discussion, you can opt to go deeper by creating a mini project related to what students just watched.
Jokes or Quotes
Social media jokes or quotes can be used to practice grammar and decipher meaning, seeing the language in use by different speakers around the world. For example, you can play with pronunciation posts, dialects, famous personalities or to explain idioms.
Conversations around cultural topics
To delve into cultural comparisons, you can choose a specific social media post introduced in class and give more examples of cultural products, practices and perspectives for students.
Some tips and questions to consider when using social media
#1 Screenshots and Videos
Because of the nature of these platforms, it is always good to take screenshots of pictures and screen record videos; to avoid pitfalls such as unwanted comments or images appearing in front of students. That way you get better control over the material and no surprises.
#2 Questions and Questioning
Think about how the material connects to what you are teaching.
- What questions could the students have?
- What questions would you use to guide the students in understanding the language and topics covered?
- What other resources could you use to complement the social media content chosen?
#3 Paratext
Don’t disregard the paratext that accompanies the media posts since it enriches the students’ experiences around common vocabulary and expressions. For example, common textual and visual elements that surround the posts, such as comments, can serve as a starting point to expand the discussion into what people think of the publication.
In conclusion, using social media to promote conversations in the classroom can be a powerful tool to engage students and help them connect what they are learning within the classroom with the outside world. It is a unique opportunity for teachers to take advantage of making their scrolling productive and reignite their passion for language and culture.
