A Critical Review of Research on Social Networking Sites in Language Teaching and Learning

Abstract

The current study aims to present a critical analysis of research on social networking sites(SNSs) in second language teaching and learning (L2TL) context. Twenty-two studiespublished from 2011 to 2017 were included in the analysis through the selection criteriadevised by the researcher. The descriptive analysis reveals that Facebook was the mostcommonly explored medium, and more than half of the studies featured English languagelearners in various levels. Following the content analysis of the studies, the emergingaspects of the literature review are treated under five overarching themes: practicingmultiple language areas and literacies; authenticity and negotiation of meaning throughinteraction; development of intercultural competence and socio-pragmatic awareness;membership in L2 communities; and (re)construction of identities. Following an account ofpedagogical considerations such as the dynamics of classroom, technical features, andvarious cultural uses of the SNSs, the study concludes with suggestions and directions forfuture research in regards to the incorporation of SNSs such as Facebook and Twitter intoL2 classrooms.