Incorporating Facebook into an EFL Writing Course: Student Perception and Participation in Online Discussion

Abstract

Facebook has been widely adopted for educational purposes and is viewed as a promising communication environment inside and outside second-language classes. Previous studies have demonstrated that the use of Facebook could benefit language learners regarding language-skills development and learning-motivation enhancement. However, few studies have examined whether language-learner perception correlates with actual participation on Facebook with teachers and classmates. To fill the gap, this study aimed to provide empirical evidence of the value learners place on using Facebook and the conditions within which their participation occurs. The study took place in an EFL university-level writing course with 16 sophomore students throughout an 18-week semester. They were required to respond to their teacher's writing prompts and their classmates' postings on the Facebook class page. The results showed that the participants recognized the usefulness of Facebook and the interactive nature of the writing discussion on Facebook, and identified the pros and cons of incorporating Facebook into the writing class. They replied to an average 1.6 teacher prompts per topic (one required) and gave an average 1.6 responses to peers per topic (two required). It appears that multiple factors other than the preference for Facebook might affect student participation in online discussion.