Facebooking in the Classroom: Using Fb Vocabulary and Discourse Structure in L2 Teaching in the Philippines

Abstract

In this study we explored Facebooking as a novel strategy in language teaching that utilizes Facebook vocabulary and discourse structure. Grounded in the Interaction Hypothesis of Second Language Acquisition and drawing on Vygotsky's Social Constructivist Theory (Vygotski, 1986), we employed a qualitative design to examine the effectiveness of this strategy. In the study, we used a questionnaire and observations to get the necessary data and employed interviews to validate the data from the teacher-participant and student-respondents. The results unveiled that incorporating Facebook vocabulary, including "post," "comment," "share," "tag," "wall," "timeline," "poke," "administrator," "offline," "online," and "loading", led to a notable increase at student participation level and facilitated the development of their spoken discourse. The familiarity and enjoyment associated with using Facebook contributed to students' active engagement in the classroom. The Facebook discourse structure can be applied effectively in language teaching, aligning it with the instructional components provided by the Department of Education. The recommendation of this study is that L2 teachers and material developers incorporate familiar and enjoyable aspects of Facebook in their teaching to create a dynamic and engaging classroom environment that promotes active student involvement. While this study acknowledges its limitations, future research should explore other age groups and different topics within the English classroom. Additionally, incorporating a quantitative design can further validate the findings presented in this study. Overall, integrating Facebook vocabulary and discourse structure offers a fresh perspective in the field of language teaching.