Assisting Language Learning with New Technologies: A Case of Spanish Degrees Facing a European Educational Change Process

Abstract

One of the biggest challenges European countries have lately faced is The Bologna Process which consists of a series of ministerial agreements between European countries designed to ensure comparability in the standards and quality of higher education qualifications. The resulting European Higher Education Area (EHEA) propelled a sudden implementation of a new organizational approach into the Spanish academic system in 2008. This paper traces the evolution of lectures in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) over three semesters in this changing teaching environment in the Health Science and Medicine Faculties of the University of Zaragoza (Spain). The aim of this paper is to assess the value, among students, of the use of social media and virtual tools in a strictly academic context. The implementation of change in instructional design was necessary due to the limitations in the existing teaching practices. Consequently, the teacher’s and students’ experiences over each of the three semesters led to the implementation of Microsoft MSN Messenger, a course blog and a Facebook profile. Data from this contribution to action research suggest that students’ opinions and perceptions of the use of personally oriented technology in the language learning process were positive in my university academic context.