Facebook: Facilitating Social Access and Language Acquisition for International Students?

Many international students come to Canada to improve their English language proficiency and develop friendships with Canadians and other international students. However, gaining access to host nationals (i.e., Canadians) is not an easy task for most English as a second language (ESL) learners. Fact...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTESL Canada journal Vol. 31; no. 2; pp. 22 - 50
Main Authors Lee, Kent, Ranta, Leila
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published TESL Canada 22.03.2014
TESL Canada Federation
Subjects
Adult Students
Analysis
Canada
Computer Mediated Communication
Correlation
English (Second Language)
Foreign Countries
Foreign Students
Interpersonal Relationship
Language Proficiency
Native Speakers
Online social networks
Online Surveys
Oral Language
Questionnaires
Second Language Learning
Social Networks
Student Attitudes
Surveys
Canada
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Summary:Many international students come to Canada to improve their English language proficiency and develop friendships with Canadians and other international students. However, gaining access to host nationals (i.e., Canadians) is not an easy task for most English as a second language (ESL) learners. Factors such as language proficiency may hamper students' ability to build relationships with English speakers, which in turn contributes negatively to linguistic development and psychological well-being. One way we can help ESL students interact outside of class is to use a social networking site such as Facebook. The present study surveyed adult ESL students about their use of Facebook and whether that use was associated with social connections with host nationals. Results from the survey of 125 international students at a Canadian university show that the majority of students were using Facebook. Correlation analyses suggest weak associations between (a) Facebook use and social connections with the local community and (b) Facebook use and self-assessed language proficiency, with the strongest association being to oral proficiency. Simply possessing a Facebook account is unlikely to increase social connectedness with host nationals. Suggestions for language teachers on integrating Facebook into their classes are provided.
ISSN:0826-435X
1925-8917
DOI:10.18806/tesl.v31i2.1175