Students’ Voices of the Use of Facebook and Instagram in Teaching English in the University Context

Abstract

Today the world of social media has immersed in the world of education and influencing the world of the students’ activities. It is inevitable that students in many levels of education have been using social media in their life either as students or as interactants in the certain community. Therefore, it is interesting to see the existence of social media among the students. In this study, the researchers highlight the use of social media among the students in the university. This research applied a qualitative research design taking 60 students of English in the universities in Makassar. The data of this research were collected by employing a survey of Google Form and analyzed descriptively and qualitatively. The result of the research shows that the English students in the universities in Makassar gave their positive perceptions about the use of social media. The informants has been using social media in their daily life and also nowadays has applied the social media as a tool of learning English. Some advantages and strategies in using social media in learning English were displayed in this study. Findings from this study will become important input for students themselves in the university context and also as beneficial information among the university practitioners in order to make use the social media in the university not only as communication tool but also as learning and teaching tools.

Using social media for assessment purposes: Practices and future directions

“…Social media have become an integral platform for learning and teaching that helps students share ideas, bridge communication gaps, and browse information ( Mahmud et al, 2022 ). Giroux and Moreau (2022) demonstrate teachers’ use of social media to engage students both in structured and unstructured learning.…”

“…On the other hand, even though Instagram has not received much attention for learning and teaching, some teachers use it to engage students in learning activities ( Handayani, 2015 ). In the study of Mahmud et al (2022) , classroom teachers asked students to post Instagram stories about their reading activities, including photos of their favorite books and a short book review. Their study reveals that this activity increased student motivation to read and learn.…”

“…The use of social media in assessment can cultivate increasingly creative and enjoyable learning opportunities for students. Teachers use social media as a platform for students to discuss and submit their outputs ( Mahmud et al, 2022 ). In addition, teachers use social media sites to assess student outcomes ( Alabdulkareem, 2015 ), particularly by providing timely feedback ( Giroux and Moreau, 2022 ).…”

“…In educational contexts, schools are also advancing their use for learning, teaching, and assessment activities. Social media have become highly interactive platforms where students can share and discuss their ideas and information ( Ashraf et al, 2021 ; Mahmud et al, 2022 ). Using social media in learning and teaching, including facilitating interactions between teachers and students and among students, is not geographically limited or time-bound ( Akgül and Uymaz, 2022 ).…”

Peer-learning in Young Learners English Speaking Tasks: An Ecological Analysis

“…Instead, some studies that were found were dominantly focusing on peer-assisted learning (PAL) to students' learning outcomes and improvement in secondary and tertiary education level, e.g. Prystiananta (2018), Huriyah et al (1995) and Mahmud and Halim (2022) who revealed the effectiveness of PAL in improving students' English language skills. In relation to the gap, this study seeks for evidence of the solid link between peer-learning implementation in classroom with the ecological aspects of the young language learners (YLL).…”