Awareness and Incorporation of Digital Citizenship by the Iranian EFL Learners and Teachers

Abstract

The present research is a netnographicinquiry conducted in the context of a social networking platform to explore how the rules and norms of digital citizenship are being understood and implemented among Iranian EFL learners and teachers, and how this can be improved. For this purpose, eight academic learner and teacher groups, consisting of 7235 members in total, were meticulously observed in one year. To address triangulation, the researchers used observations accompanied by field notes, memos, and semi-structured interviews. This resulted in 9000 pages of the content, including text chats and subsequent interview data, which were extensively analyzed through directed qualitative content analysis based onRibble’s(2011) digital citizenship model. Findings of the present research revealed that despite the significance of digital citizenship in the highly digitalized world of the day, and very frequent use of social networking for educational purposes, Iranian EFL learners and teachers lack the needed skills for appropriate and effective presence in technology-enhanced settings. This research has several implications for English teachers, learners, policy makers and curriculum designers, especially to include digital citizenship courses in CALL courses, teachers’ TTCs, and students’ curricula, at different levels of instruction and learning.