Using Twitter to Increase L2 Interaction: Findings from a High-Functioning Japanese University ESL Class

ING AND INDEXING For a full list of databases in which this journal is indexed, please visit http://ubi-learn.com/journal. RESEARCH NETWORK MEMBERSHIP Authors in Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal are members of the e-Learning Research Network or a thematically related Research Network. Members receive access to journal content. To find out more, visit http://ubi-learn.com/about/become-a-member. SUBSCRIPTIONS Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal is available in electronic and print formats. Subscribe to gain access to content from the current year and the entire backlist. Contact us at support@cgnetworks.org. ORDERING Single articles and issues are available from the journal bookstore at http://cgscholar.com/bookstore. HYBRID OPEN ACCESS Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal is Hybrid Open Access, meaning authors can choose to make their articles open access. This allows their work to reach an even wider audience, broadening the dissemination of their research. To find out more, please visit http://ubi-learn.com/journal/hybrid-open-access. DISCLAIMER The authors, editors, and publisher will not accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may have been made in this publication. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal Volume 12, Issue 1, 2019, http://ubi-learn.com © Common Ground Research Networks, Theodore Bonnah, All Rights Reserved. Permissions: support@cgnetworks.org ISSN: 1835-3669 (Print) http://doi.org/###################### (Article) Using Twitter to Increase L2 Interaction: Findings from a High-Functioning Japanese University ESL Class Theodore Bonnah, Kobe International University, Japan Abstract: In recent years, Twitter has commanded research attention in domains from digital sociology to language pedagogy. This paper explores how daily tweeting allows Japanese university students at the intermediate end of English as a Second Language (ESL) studies to exercise and improve their interactive competencies. The aim was threefold: first, to increase both production and exposure, leading to improved definition of the identity of the L2 user self. Second, to extend learning beyond the classroom and class times, creating a technologically enhanced transformative pedagogy that transferred power to the learner. Lastly, to promote the interactive capability of students through interactions between students, with the teacher, and extending to the global Twitter community for social justice pedagogy. The author uses Discourse Analysis (DA) to contextualize both the methods and findings, and offers suggestions for using Social Network Analysis (SNA) to uncover the interactive gains of using Twitter in this way. In recent years, Twitter has commanded research attention in domains from digital sociology to language pedagogy. This paper explores how daily tweeting allows Japanese university students at the intermediate end of English as a Second Language (ESL) studies to exercise and improve their interactive competencies. The aim was threefold: first, to increase both production and exposure, leading to improved definition of the identity of the L2 user self. Second, to extend learning beyond the classroom and class times, creating a technologically enhanced transformative pedagogy that transferred power to the learner. Lastly, to promote the interactive capability of students through interactions between students, with the teacher, and extending to the global Twitter community for social justice pedagogy. The author uses Discourse Analysis (DA) to contextualize both the methods and findings, and offers suggestions for using Social Network Analysis (SNA) to uncover the interactive gains of using Twitter in this way.