Schedule: 2009-09-10 (12:45 - 13:30)
Parallel Session 4 (Room A-19)

Title: Using Online Social Networking System (SNS) to promote L2 writing: Exploring possibilities in Japan
Authors: Mitsuyo Sakamoto
Abstract: This action research study examines the impact of Social Networking Systems (SNS) on EFL writing.

Informal peer feedback is said to foster affective dimensions in language learning by providing a collaborative, unobtrusive forum for students to explore language use (Villamil & Guerrero, 1996; Hyland, 2000; Warschauer, 2002), and thus positively impacting the quality of writing amongst language learners. In addition to the affective dimension, the socio-cultural notion of learning (Vygotsky, 1981), specifically the social shaping of writing via online interaction, is further investigated in this paper.

Twenty-four Japanese sophomore English-majors and two instructors participated in this study. This group engaged in an online daily journal writing task via MySpace for three months, resulting in 54 topic strands in total. Each student took turns providing a topic for discussion, while the rest of the class members were to respond to the topic by the end of the day. In order to guarantee a certain length to their writing, topic entries were to be a minimum of 150 words and responses were to be a minimum of 20 words. At the end of the semester, a post-treatment questionnaire was administered which asked the students to share their views on the tasks they had completed that semester, including the journal writing task. All journal entries and the questionnaire were analysed.

One important finding was that a form of scaffolding was discovered in peer interaction, where novice learners quickly internalized the features shared by the advanced learners, including the two instructors who used the forum as an opportunity to provide model sentences. This includes corrections in spelling, word usage, and grammar. While the primary aim of this exercise was not necessarily to provide explicit instructions on form, this was accomplished in an inconspicuous manner. However, persistent errors were not ignored but rather collected by the instructor. The collected errors in turn served as a source of tailored in-class grammatical instructions.

Furthermore, the writings created a collegial, amicable atmosphere amongst the group. In addition, the exercise not only allowed the instructors to monitor and identify the strengths and weaknesses of their students’ writing skills but simultaneously provided a forum from which the instructors established a rapport and a better understanding of each student on a personal level.

The post-treatment questionnaire revealed that the students found the activity to be somewhat stressful simply due to time restrictions (i.e., having to respond by the end of each day), but the value of the exercise was endorsed, some citing that it did help their L2 to improve.

In sum, the study sheds light on the usefulness of SNS in an EFL classroom, but a further investigation is needed to examine the extent of its effectiveness in terms of improvements in EFL writing.
Keywords: EFL; writing; online; Japan; SNS; sociocultural theory

Main topic: New role of writing as a tool for communication

Biodata: Mitsuyo Sakamoto received her Ph.D. from OISE/UT in 2000 and is now Associate Professor in the Department of English Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan. Her areas of interest include sociocultural theory and SLA, specifically how technology shapes social interaction in an EFL setting, thus impacting language learning.
Type of presentation Paper presentation

Paper category Reflective Practice

Target educational sector Higher education

Language of delivery English

EU-funded project No

Schedule:	2009-09-10 (12:45 - 13:30) Parallel Session 4 (Room A-19)
Title:	Using Online Social Networking System (SNS) to promote L2 writing: Exploring possibilities in Japan
Authors:	Mitsuyo Sakamoto
Abstract:	This action research study examines the impact of Social Networking Systems (SNS) on EFL writing. Informal peer feedback is said to foster affective dimensions in language learning by providing a collaborative, unobtrusive forum for students to explore language use (Villamil & Guerrero, 1996; Hyland, 2000; Warschauer, 2002), and thus positively impacting the quality of writing amongst language learners. In addition to the affective dimension, the socio-cultural notion of learning (Vygotsky, 1981), specifically the social shaping of writing via online interaction, is further investigated in this paper. Twenty-four Japanese sophomore English-majors and two instructors participated in this study. This group engaged in an online daily journal writing task via MySpace for three months, resulting in 54 topic strands in total. Each student took turns providing a topic for discussion, while the rest of the class members were to respond to the topic by the end of the day. In order to guarantee a certain length to their writing, topic entries were to be a minimum of 150 words and responses were to be a minimum of 20 words. At the end of the semester, a post-treatment questionnaire was administered which asked the students to share their views on the tasks they had completed that semester, including the journal writing task. All journal entries and the questionnaire were analysed. One important finding was that a form of scaffolding was discovered in peer interaction, where novice learners quickly internalized the features shared by the advanced learners, including the two instructors who used the forum as an opportunity to provide model sentences. This includes corrections in spelling, word usage, and grammar. While the primary aim of this exercise was not necessarily to provide explicit instructions on form, this was accomplished in an inconspicuous manner. However, persistent errors were not ignored but rather collected by the instructor. The collected errors in turn served as a source of tailored in-class grammatical instructions. Furthermore, the writings created a collegial, amicable atmosphere amongst the group. In addition, the exercise not only allowed the instructors to monitor and identify the strengths and weaknesses of their students’ writing skills but simultaneously provided a forum from which the instructors established a rapport and a better understanding of each student on a personal level. The post-treatment questionnaire revealed that the students found the activity to be somewhat stressful simply due to time restrictions (i.e., having to respond by the end of each day), but the value of the exercise was endorsed, some citing that it did help their L2 to improve. In sum, the study sheds light on the usefulness of SNS in an EFL classroom, but a further investigation is needed to examine the extent of its effectiveness in terms of improvements in EFL writing.
Keywords:	EFL; writing; online; Japan; SNS; sociocultural theory
Main topic:	New role of writing as a tool for communication
Biodata:	Mitsuyo Sakamoto received her Ph.D. from OISE/UT in 2000 and is now Associate Professor in the Department of English Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan. Her areas of interest include sociocultural theory and SLA, specifically how technology shapes social interaction in an EFL setting, thus impacting language learning.
Type of presentation	Paper presentation
Paper category	Reflective Practice
Target educational sector	Higher education
Language of delivery	English
EU-funded project	No