Virtual Social Network Communities: An Investigation of Language Learners’ Development of Sociopragmatic Awareness and Multiliteracy Skills

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CALICO Journal, 29(1) SocialNetworkingCommunities:SociopragmaticsandMultiliteracy

CALICO Journal, 29(1),p-p24-43. ©2011CALICO Journal

Virtual Social Network Communities: An Investigation of Language Learners’ Development of Sociopragmatic Awareness and Multiliteracy Skills

Géraldine Blattner

Florida Atlantic University

Melissa Fiori

Daemen College

ABSTRACTAlthoughoftenneglected in language textbooksandclassrooms, sociopragmaticandmultiliteracyskillsarecrucialelements in language learningthat languageeducatorsshouldnotdisregard.Thisarticleinvestigateswhetherasocialnetworkingcommunity(SNC)websitesuchasFacebookcanbeexploitedinthecontextofanintermediatefor-eignlanguageclasstopromotecompetent,literateL2learners.Intermediatelanguagelearnershadtosearchgroups inFacebookthatwerelinkedtothecoursethemesandconducta linguisticanalysisfocusingongreetings, leave-takings,andvocabularyse-lectioninordertoidentifythelanguagetypicallyusedinthiselectronicenvironment.Findingssuggestthatoverthecourseofasemester,learnershonedinonandidentifiedsocio-pragmaticelementsinthismediumandthatobservation-basedawareness-raisingtasksareindeedbeneficialforthedevelopmentofsocio-pragmaticcompetence.

KEYWORDSFacebook,LanguageLearningandTechnology,TechnologyIntegration,SociopragmaticAwareness,Mul-tiliteracy

INTRODUCTIONInoursociety,everydaylanguageuseisnowtiedtotechnology,andconsequentlylearninglanguagewiththehelpoftechnologyhasbecomeafactoflife(Chapelle,2001).Theinter-nethasopenedmultiplewindowsforallgenresofself-expressionandsocialinteractionthatsupportmeaningfuleducationalexperiencesandencouragelanguageacquisition(Kinginger,1998,2000;Belz&Kinginger,2002,2003;O’Bryan&Hegelheimer,2007;Lord,2008;Thorne&Reinhart,2008;McBride,2009amongothers).GonglewskiandDuBravac(2006)claimedthatvariouselectronicmediaofferlearnerstheopportunitytoobserveandinteractnotonlyintheL2,butalsowiththeculture,becausetheyprovideapowerfulandauthenticrepresen-tationofhowlanguagesareembeddedinaculturalandsocialcontext.AsThorneandPayne(2005)predicted,educationisadoptingnewtechnologiesandeducatorsareslowlysteppingintothestudents’worldwhoare,asPrensky(2001,2006)emphasized,digitalnatives,espe-ciallyintheuseofsocialnetworkingtoolssitessuchasthosefoundinFacebook.Inthelastfewyearsseveralonlinesocialnetworkingcommunities(SNCs)haveemergedandsohavenewlanguagepractices,uses,rules,andconventions,allofwhichcouldeitherbecomeanoverwhelmingorenrichingexperienceforbothL2learnersandlanguageinstructors.Yet,ifweconsidercommunicativecompetenceasafundamentalcomponentofL2learning,itisthusourroleaslanguageteacherstofacilitatelearners’accesstovariouslanguagepracticesinordertoultimatelydevelopsociopragmaticabilitiesandmultiliteracyskillsintheL2.

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CALICO Journal, 29(1) GéraldineBlattnerandMelissaFiori

SNCsINHIGHEREDUCATIONTherecentoutburstofstudentsandeducatorsbecomingactivemembersoftheSNCFace-book(Buffardi&Campbell,2008;Stutzman,2006;Tufekci,2008),hasdrawnattentiontothepotentialofthiswebresourceasawaytoprovidebothconstructivelinguisticoutcomesandeasy,immediate,andindividualizedinteractionswithpeers,instructors,andnativespeakers(NSs).Littleisknownabouthowthese“web-basedservicesthatallowindividualstoconstructa(semi)publicprofile”(Boyd&Ellison,2007)canbebeneficialinlanguageclassroomsandultimatelyaffectthelanguagedevelopmentandtheperformanceofthelearners.Onestudyhassuggestedthatitsintegrationinhighereducationcoursesappearstohaveapositiveim-pactonuniversityclassesintermsofmotivation,affectivelearning,andclassroomclimate(Mazer,Murphy&Simonds,2007).Kok(2008)furtherarguedthatitisimportanttoprovidelearnerswithopportunitiestodevelopasenseofgroupandtomaintainacommunityasaunitthatcanworkcollaboratively.Healsoclaimedthatparticipationinvirtualcommunitiesmayenhancespirit,trust,interactionandthelearningexperienceasawhole.Wenger(1998)explainedthatitiswiththehelpofgroups,whichhecallscommunities of practice,thatindi-vidualsdevelopandsharethecapacitytocreateanduseknowledgeinanyenvironment.Ob-servingandparticipatingindigitalexchangesisenvisagedasasocialengagement(Kramsch&Thorne,2002).Throughinteraction,studentslearntounderstandandthusbetteraccessthesecommunities,becomefamiliarizedwithnewvoicesandnewgenres,andfinallyenterintotheselanguagepractices(Warschauer,2004).Thisprocessisrequiredtofullyexperiencelanguageasasocialpracticeanddevelopacommunicative/interactivecompetence(Roberts,Byram,Barro,Jordan,&Street,2001).Inaddition,authentic interactionswithNSsof theL2allowlanguagelearnerstograduallyextendtheirstylisticrangeinbothwrittenandoralexpressionandultimatelydevelopsociopragmaticcompetence(Dewaele,2004).Infact, itwasrecentlysuggested(Blattner&Fiori,2009;McBride,2009;Stevenson&Liu,2010)thatinstructorsshouldtakeadvantageofusingsocialnetworkingsiteslikeFacebookandtheop-portunitiestheyofferforinteractionandcollaborationwithotherspeakersoftheL2andtocapitalizeonthefactsuchsitesarealreadyanintegralpartofmanystudents’e-routine.

Thisarticlereportsontheresultsofapedagogicalinterventionthatpromotedsituatedlearn-ing,thussocioculturalinnature,throughguidedawarenessdiscourseanalysistasksonthesocialpracticesinSNCs,specificallyFacebookgroups.ItspurposeistopresentonewayinwhichanSNCwasconstructively integrated into theclassroomwith thehopeofwideningtheoptionsavailabletolearnersandinstructors.Ourgoalistosuggestameanstopromotesociopragmaticdevelopmentthroughtechnologyapplications inawaythatencourages in-terpretationandcollaboration—amajorgoaloflanguageitselfasreiterated(seeLomicka&Lord,2009)—andbybearinginmindthatitisnottechnologyitselfthatpromoteslearning,butrathertheteachingmethodsemployed(seeChapelle,1998;Payne,2004;Warschauer,1999;amongothers).Asecondarygoalistoaddressmultiliteracyskillsdevelopment.

The next two sections consider the importance of developing socio-pragmatic knowledgewhilelearninganL2andhowtheintegrationofFacebookintheclassroomprovideslanguageeducatorswithaneasilyaccessibletoolallowinglearnerstoenhancetheirabilitiestointeractinaspecificelectronicenvironment.

SOCIOPRAGMATICDEVELOPMENTToday’slanguageclassroomscenteraroundthedevelopmentoflearners’communicativecom-petenceintheirL2,andcurrentmethodologies,includingthecommunicativeapproach,seektopreparestudentstointeractwithspeakersofthelanguageinothersocieties(Liu,2007).Communicativecompetencecannotbeachievedbyexclusivelyfocusingonlearners’gram-

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maticalandlexicalknowledge(AlcónSoler&MartínezFlor,2008)because,asDuFon(2008,p. 26) reminded us: “language acquisition is both socialand mental.”However, in realitymosteducatorsstruggletoaddressessentialcoursematerialindepthandbreadth(vocabu-lary,grammar,culture)whilealsoexercisingL2skills(listening,speaking,reading,writing)intheirlimitedandvaluableclassroomtime.Theconsequenceisthatthesocialperceptionsunderlyingspeakers’interpretationandperformanceofcommunicativeacts—sociopragmaticelementsnecessarytoproducecompetentspeakersoftheL2—fallbythewayside.Itiscom-monlyassumedthatlanguagelearnerswillacquiresociopragmaticskillsontheirown(atalaterstageofdevelopment)orwhentheygoonastudyabroadprogram.Muchisassumedgiventhatmostwillhavereceivedlimitedpragmaticinstructionandthatthelearnersthem-selvesprimarilyfocusonbuildingthelinguisticknowledgeneededforgrammaticallycorrectwritten/oralexpression.Moreover,Bardovi-HarligandDörnyei(1998)pointedout,evenad-vancedL2learnerscannotavoidmisunderstandingsorconveyingL2messagesthatmaybeconsideredtooforceful,direct,orimpolitebecausetheyhavenotacquiredappropriateprag-maticcompetence.Alongthoselines,Byram(1988)highlightedtheimportanceoftheculturalcontextinlanguagelearningsinceitissocialpracticethatcarriesthemeaningsandvaluesofaparticularcommunity.

Sociopragmaticawarenessisnecessaryforlanguageprogramsthathavesetgoalsofteach-ingreallanguageusedbyrealpeopleintherealworld(Liu,2007).However,theclassroomsetting isoftenartificialanddecontextualized,which impliesa lackofsocialconsequencestononstandardL2productions(Kasper&Rose,2002)andanarrowandrestrictedrangeofspeechacts(Kasper,2001;Kasper&Rose,1999).Inaddition,sociopragmatic informationislackinginthetypicaltextbooksusedinbasiclanguageinstruction(Bardovi-Harlig,2001;Hassal,2008;Uso-Juan,2007;Vellenga,2004;amongothers).Ignoringsociopragmaticas-pectsoflanguagedevelopmentpresentsanimpoverishedversionoftheL2andwillcontinuetogenerateL2learnerswhoarenotonlyunabletogaugetheirresponsesinsociopragmaticterms,butwhoarealsounabletoproducevernacularspeechafterhavingreceivedtraditionalclassroom instruction (Dewaele, 2004). Consequently, there is an urgent need to includesomeculturalteachingatthelowerdivisionandnotwaittoconveysuchessentialelementstolanguagelearnersatalaterstageofacquisition(Eslami-Rasekh,2005;Maxim,2000;Pear-son,2006).

Sincesociopragmaticsinvolvestheabilityofknowhowtousealanguage,especiallyformsofaddress,inavarietyofsituations,itshouldformanintegralpartofanyL2curriculumbutmaybedifficulttoimplement.Liu(2007)cautionedthatthedevelopingsociopragmaticawarenesscanbeachallengeforeducators.Similarly,Pearson(2006)underscoredthedifficultyofin-tegratingmeaningfulandconstructivesociopragmaticinstructioninthelanguageclassroombutnotedstudents’desiretolearnreal-lifelanguage.PearsonconcludedthatL2pragmaticinstructionalmaterialsshouldcomefromauthenticsourceseventhoughthecontentissome-timesdifficulttocontrol.Facebookgroupsprovidesuchauthenticsources.

MULTILITERACYBeing‘literate’traditionallymeanttobeabletoreadandwrite;howeverinmodernsocietythat definition has expanded.Our reliance on technologicalmeans of communication andespeciallyWeb2.0toolshasdramaticallyimpactedthewayindividualsinteractandsocializewithoneanother(Downes,2006).Researchersnotedmorethanadecadeagothatcomputerusewaschangingtheconceptofliteracy,particularlyintermsoftheconventionsindividualsmustbefamiliarwithinordertobeconsidered‘literate’(e.g.,seeKern,1997).Warschauer(1999) pointed out that literacy is characterized by the social context of the adoption of

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emergingtechnologies.Notionsofliteracynowincludeelectronicanddigitalliteracies(Chun,2007)andaccountforthediversityofpeople,contexts,andmediathatarepartofcontem-porarysociety(Gonglewski&DuBravac,2006).GonglewskiandDuBravacnotedthatinto-day’smulticultural,multitasking,andmultimedia-drivensociety,anewtypeofliteracyhasemergedthatdoesnotsimplyconsistofmasteringreadingandwritingabilities,butalsousingappropriatelanguageinmanysocialcontextsandelectronicmedia.“Multiliteracyisshapedbyanabilitytocommunicateinamultimediaenvironmentwithmanyadditionalcomplexfac-torsandfunctionalitiesthatsuchadiverselycross-culturalandhighlysocialcontextbringstobear”Gonglewski&DuBravac,2006,p.45).Thus,today’sstudentsmustbepreparednotonlytorecognizeandusemultiplediscoursesandmediabutalsotounderstand,analyze,andinterprettheircontent(Kern,2000).

Conventionsofinteractioninelectronicmediaareunique.HannaanddeNooy’s(2003)study,whichfocusedonlanguagelearners’participationinelectronicforums,isapowerfulillustra-tionofthisphenomenon.Theresearchersobservedtheinteractionoflanguagelearnerswhoadaptedrapidlytotheconventionofcommunication(politeness,registernetiquette,andthemediumgenre)and consequentlymanaged to interact inaproductivemannerwithotherindividualsdespitetheirlimitedL2abilities.Otherlearnerswhodidnotidentifytheconven-tionsofthemedium,failedimmediatelyatestablishingaproductiveexchangeofmessagesonthediscussionforum.HannaanddeNooy’sstudydemonstratedthataskinglearnerstoparticipateinnewdiscoursecommunitieswithoutsomesortofexplicitandpriorpreparationwiththemedium,theactivity,andthecommunityislikelytobelessthansuccessful.Studentsmustadapttheirlanguageinordertocommunicateappropriatelyinaparticularmedium,andanessentialelementofbecomingmultiliterateislearninghowtomakethesetypesofadapta-tions.

Ultimately,asGonglewskiandDuBravac(2006)havestressed,languageteachersareprimar-ilyeducatorswhoshouldembraceandencouragenewmodesofexpressingandinterpretingmeaninginmultiplecontextsandmedia.Forlanguagelearnersbecomingmultiliterateinanewlanguageisacomplexbutnecessarytaskthatcannotbeignored.Infact,developingL2electronicliteracyalsoprovideslearnerswiththeappropriateknowledgetotakeadvantageofemergingtechnologiestointeractautonomouslywithNSsoutsideanacademiccontext,and,asGonglewskiandDuBravachavepointedout,toultimatelypreparestudentsforasuccess-fulcareerandlifeinatechnology-saturatedworld.Teachingstudentstobemultiliteratewillenablethemtoparticipatemoreactivelyingloballearningcommunitiesanduseaforeignlan-guageinnewways(Kasper,2000).IntegratingFacebookintotheL2classroomshouldbeuse-fultofacilitateandcultivatestudents’developmentofmultiliteracyskillsbyprovidingexpo-suretoauthenticdiscoursecommunities(e.g.,accesstoawidearrayofgroups)andalsobytacklingdifferentmodesofcommunication(verbalvs.visualandoralvs.writtenlanguage).

THESTUDYLegitimateperipheralparticipationandpriorparticipationwereguidingfactorsinthedesignofthestudents’taskswiththeFacebookgroups. RespectingthelessonslearnedfromHannaanddeNooy’s(2003)studythatsuccessfuldiscoursecommunityparticipationrequirestrainingandpreparation,applyingLaveandWenger’s(1991)notionoflegitimateperipheralparticipa-tioninwhichobservationisakeyfactorintheunderstandingofthepracticesofagivencom-munity,payingattentiontothefirstofKasper’s(1997)activitytypesforenhancingsocioprag-maticdevelopment(tasksthatraisestudents’awarenessandrequiretheirparticipation),andbearinginmindlearnersareunabletopaymuchattentiontopragmaticswithoutconsumingalargepartoftheprocessingcapacity(Hassall,2008)wedesignedthetasksfortheinterme-

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diate-levelSpanishstudentsinthisstudytobepurelyobservational.1TheFacebookwebsiteoffersrichopportunitiesforL2learnerstoobserve(andsubsequentlyuse)appropriatelan-guageinspecificcontexts.Suchsociallyandculturallybasedlearningcontextsarelinkedtotheorieswhichviewlearningasparticipationinthesocialworld(Solomon&Schrum,2007),andweanticipatedthatthestudentswouldcommentonlanguageinrelationtotheelectroniccontext(developmentofmultiliteracyskills)andhopedthattheywouldcommentonthewaysinwhichlanguagewasusedinauthenticcontextsbygroupparticipants(thesociopragmaticelements).Ultimately,thestudyattemptstoshareacontextinwhichlanguagelearningandtechnologycanbemosteffectivelyinterwovenmakingmultiliteracyandsociopragmaticskillsdevelopmentanimportantfocusoftheL2curriculum.

MethodologyResearchquestionsThepresent study set out to answerwhether the pedagogical design using the Facebookgroup applicationfacilitatedthedevelopmentof(a)multiliteracyand(b)L2sociopragmaticawareness.

ParticipantsThe participantswere 13 undergraduate students enrolled in an intermediate-level Span-ishculturecourseduringtheFall2008semesterataprivatecollege.Theywereselectedtoparticipateinthisstudybasedonthisenrollmentalone.Theintermediatelevelwaschosenbecausemost students at this level should havehad enoughgrammatical competence tocomprehendarangeofwrittentextssuchastheonesfoundindiscussionforums.Theprojectwasacomponentofthecourserequirementsandwasworth10%ofthefinalgrade.AsKasperandRose(2002)pointedout,itisessentialtoincorporatepragmaticallyorientedtasksasalearningobjectiveandasaregularandimportantcoursecomponent.AllthestudentswereSpanishmajorsorminorsandwerebetweentheagesof19and24(M=19.6)atthetimethedatawerecollected.

MaterialsandproceduresCourse preparation procedures: the professor.TheprofessorusedthegroupapplicationinFacebooktoestablishaStudent-GroupwithanAcademic-GroupdesignationspecificallyformembersoftheSpanishclass“SPA240-Fall2008.”Onlythe13studentsoftheSpanishclasscouldaccessthecontentofthisvirtualforum.Next,theprofessorpreparedabrieftrainingsessionwhichfocusedonappropriateminimalknowledgeforusingFacebook,instructiononhow to complete the assigned tasks (searchingGroups, accessing and reading discussionthreads,etc.),andissuesofstudentprivacy(Stutzman,2006).

Facebook tasks: the students.First,studentshadtocreateaFacebookaccount(10outof13studentswerealreadymembers)andhadtojointheAcademicGroup“SPA240-Fall2008.”StudentsweretaskedwithfindingandpostingthreedifferentFacebookGroupswhosecontentwasthematicallyrelatedtoeachofthethreeunits(i.e.,oneperunit)ofthecoursetext(seesampleFacebookgrouppageinAppendixA)andthatwasofpersonalinteresttothem(seeexamplesinTable1).

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Table1SummaryofFacebookGroupsWhoseTopicsReflectedCourseMaterialTextbooktopics SamplesofrelevantGroupsthatthestudents

identifiedandpostedtoSPA240-Fall2008Unit1:Chicanos,PuertoRicans,CubanAmericans,DominicanAmericans,CentralAmericans

MEChAApoyoalosMaestros(as)dePuertoRico

Unit2:Spain,Mexico,PuertoRico,DominicanRepublic,Cuba

AdmiradoresdeFridaKahloReplicanteForoEspañaAVerCuantosMexicanosLeEntran?LaPoesíaMexicana

Unit3:Peru,Ecuador,Bolivia Yo♥EcuadorCotopaxiyGalapagosNuevasMaravillasdelMundoNo!!AlIngresodelESMADenUniversidadesPublicasPeruAntitaurino

Eachstudentpostedonelinkperunitforeachunitandalsohadtoreadthroughtheirpeers’postsbeforeclosingouteachunit.Tofacilitatethis,studentspostedabriefdescriptionoftheGroup(inlingua)andprovidedadirectlinkwithintheSPA240-Fall2008Groupsothattheirclassmatescouldeasilyaccessit.ThisstepwasmeanttoensurethatindividualsinvestigatedthepurposeoftheGroup,theprofileofthetypicalmembers,andthelanguageoftheGroupforthelinkstheypostedtotheSPA240-Fall2008Group.SomesamplestudentpostingsintheAcademicGrouparebelow.

Este un grupo llamado la M E. Ch. A. Personas que creen que un educacion mejor debe contribuir a la formación de una persona que actualmente valores la vida y la libertad. El titulo era interesado a mi porque es sobre educacion de un cultura. Ingles y español. Grupo Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) (National Group)2

‘InthisgroupcalledMEChApeoplebelievethataneducationshouldcontributetopersonalvaluesandfreedom.Thetitlewasinterestingtomebecauseitisabouttheeducationof/inaculture.EnglishandSpanish.’

Este grupo es quedarse el cultura y arte y mas de todo el mundo a conocido. Este grupo es para jovenes en todo el mundo aprender de la politica, musica, arte, cultura, y literatura.Grupo: Replicante‘Thisgroupdealswithworldrecognizedartandculture.Itisdedicatedtoyoungpeoplelearningaboutpolitics,music,art,cultureandliterature.’

Es un grupo para estudiantes estan intersados en hablar de temas sobre even-tos corrientes y son orgullosos de sus patrias latinas. Un grupo es en espanol y ingles y tiene videos, picturas, y noticias recientes en la comunidad latina.Grupo: Latinos Unidos‘Thisgroupisforstudentswhoareproudoftheirlatinoheritagetotalkaboutcurrentevents.ItisinSpanishandEnglishandithasvideo,pictures,andre-centnewspertainingtothelatinocommunity.’

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Afterward,theclasschosewhichsitestheywouldanalyzeforspecificinformation,andaduedatewassetforstudentstosubmittheiranalysestotheprofessor.Theanalysistaskrequiredstudentstoidentify,examine,reflectupon,andanalyzethelanguagepostedintheFacebookGroupschosenforaspecificunitintermsofgreetings/leave-takingandvocabularyuseandtosupporttheirclaimsandobservationswithspecificexamplesregardinganyelement(Group-participants’ postedmessages, theGroups’ dedication/description, the content of thewallposts,andanyothercontentpostedintheforum).Taskswereassessedforcompletionandaccuracy(accuracyoftheclaimsthestudentsreportedbaseduponthesamplestheycited).Finally,withtheunderstandinginstructionalinterventionmaybeanecessarysteptofacili-tatetheacquisitionofL2pragmaticability(Bardovi-Harlig,2001),classtimewasdedicatedtoverbalreportingandreflectiononthestudents’findings.Theprofessorloggedthesalientstudentobservationsduringthein-classdiscussions.

Results: Linguistic Analysis and Verbal ReportsInordertoaddresstheresearchquestionsregardingtheL2-Spanishlearners’socio-pragmat-icawarenessandmultiliteracyskillsdevelopment,purelyqualitativeobservationdata(writtenandoral)werecollectedandanalyzed.Thisdatacollectionprocedureisastandardmethodofstudyingthementalprocessesunderlyingcompetenceincompletionofataskandisfre-quentlyusedinL2research(Gass&Mackey,2000).Furthermore,asHassall(2008)noted,verbalreportsarevaluabletoolsforhighlightingtheobservationsofL2learnerstohelpil-luminatetheprocessofacquiringknowledgeofsociopragmaticnormsandtorevealsignsofmultiliteracydevelopment.

EachsectionbelowbeginswithanoverallviewofwhatthestudentschosetoreportonfortheirthreeFacebookGroupsanalysistasks.Theoverviewisfollowedbythestudents’reportonthespecificaspectofthediscourseobserved.Thenumbersfollowingeachexampleindi-catehowmanystudentsoutofthe13inthecoursereportedonthesameitemormadethesameobservation.Thenthedataillustratingwhatthestudentstypicallychosetohighlightinthoseassignmentsarepresented(samplestakendirectlyfromstudents’work).Thestudents’verbalreportsreflectthe informationand insightstheysharedduring in-classdiscussions.Datainquotationmarksweretakenfromthestudents’threewrittenassignmentsandthefollow-updiscussions(verbalreports)inclass.

Greetingsandleave-takingGreetings.Allstudentsreportedon(a)thetypeofbasicgreetingstypicallyobservedinthiselectroniccontext;(b)whengreetingswerepresent,whethertheyservedtodirectthecon-versation to either thewhole groupor to specific participants; and (c)whether greetingsallowedforinitiationorcontinuationoftheparticularsofagiventhread.Somestudentsre-portedonmoredetailedgreetings(butnotalwaysthesameones)andthosethatweremoreintricatethanasimple“hello.”Themostprolifictypesofgreetingswerequitebasic,andanumberofgreetingswereinclusive,whichwasnotsurprisingconsideringthecontextinwhichthelinguisticanalysistookplace.Studentsalsoreportedfindingafewcaseswherethediscus-sionstartedwithnoninclusivegreetingsthattargetedaspecificgroupmember.

BasicgreetingsHola a todos‘helloeveryone’(13/13)Hola para todos mis amigos‘hellotoallmyfriends’(13/13)Hola estimados‘hellodearones’(13/13)

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GreetingswithinclusionpurposesHola, cómo están‘hello,howareyou’(13/13)Ey compañeros‘heyfriends’(13/13)amigos y compañeros‘friends&compatriots’(13/13)queridos‘lovedones’(13/13)compañero/a‘colleague/friend’(13/13)Te invito a conocer mi trabajo‘Iinviteyoutogettoknowmywork’(1/13)

NoninclusivegreetingsHola, Rogelio‘hello,Rogelio’(3/13)E. Guzmán: Un gran Saludo‘E.Guzmán:Abighi’(3/13)Hola, V.H …‘Hello,V.H.…’(3/13)A.V. te agradezco tu interés‘A.V.Iappreciateyourinterest’(2/13)Sr. Andrés‘Mr.Andrés’(2/13)

DetailedgreetingsHOLA desde Canada(HELLOfromCanada)(1/13)Muchas felicitaciones a todos los maestros de Puerto Rico‘Greetingstoallthe

PuertoRicanteachers’(1/13)Los felicito por darse a respetar y repudiar el sindicato …‘Icongratulateyoufor

respectingandrepudiatingtheunion…’(1/13)Mi gente querida amante de las bellas artes y de la pintura en especial …‘My

belovedfansofart,andespeciallypaintings…’(1/13)Para los admiradores de Frida que viven en la capital del país‘ForFridafans

wholiveinthecapital’(1/13)

Students’verbalreportsincludedcommentsthatrevolvedaroundtwothemes:(a)thetypeofgreetingsthatarethemostappropriatedependingonthegenre(formal/informal)ofgroupforumsand(b)theroleorimpactthatgreetingsplayasaconversationopener.

Typesofgreetings“Theydon’tusuallyjustsay“hola”likewedoatcollege;theysaymorewhen

theysayhello.”“Iusuallyjustsay“hola”topeoplebutintheforumsthey“hey”totheirfriends

orthegroup.”“GreetingsaremorecomplicatedthanwhatwelearnedinSpanishI.”“Yougottasaymorethan“hi”intheforumsifyougreetsomeone.”

Initiation/Continuation“Youdon’thavetosayhiintheinformalones(groups)ifyou’reinthemiddle

oftheconversation.”“Peopleusuallygreetthewholegroupsoeveryone’sintheconversation.”“Youeithersayhitoaspecificpersonyouwannatalktoordirectyourcom-

mentstoapartoftheconversationby@name:andthenyourmessage.”“sayinghellocandirecttheconversationtoaspecificperson.”“greetingsareimportantbecausetheykeeptheconversationalflow.”

Leave-taking:Studentsemphasizedthatgoodbyeswereuncommonbecauseitmarkedtheendofaconversationoraconversational thread.All studentscitedanumberofcommongoodbyes,whilemost commentedon twosalutations inparticular (un abrazo ‘ahug’andbesos/besitos‘kiss/es’).Studentsobserveddifferenttypesofleave-takings.Again,theyfirst

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identifiedthemosttypicalwaystoverballyleaveadiscussionthread,butalsocommentedonafewlessfrequentformsofleave-taking.

TypicalGoodbyesAdios, Saludos, Saludos a todos‘Goodbye,bye,byetoeveryone’(13/13).“mostpeopledonotgiveaformalgoodbye.”(13/13)“sayinggoodbyeendsyourturnintheconversation(5/13)andcouldcutthings

short.”(1/13)“goodbyesaren’tverycommon.”(6/13)“signingoffcouldshuttheconversationdown.”(1/13)

NotableGoodbyesBesitos, Besos, Un abrazo, Abrazo‘Kisses,Kisses,Ahug,Hug’(11/13)“theysignedoffwith‘abrazo’…Likexoxo!”(1/13).“Theysignedit‘hugs.’”(1/13).“Awaytosaygoodbyewas‘hugs.’”(1/13).“Abraxo—multilingual!Theymixedabrazoandxoxo!!It’slikehugsANDkisses

…Cool.”(1/13).“Sometimestheyput‘hugsandkisses’—besos/abrazos.”(1/13)“Besitos,theclosing,meansgoodbye.”(1/13).“Theysaidgoodbyewithakiss/besos.”(1/13).“Inonepost theyput ahello andagoodbye… thegoodbyewas ‘kisses.’”

(1/13).“Theywrote/put‘kiss’forgoodbye.”(2/13).“Ifoundthispostinterestingbecausethismemberclosesbysaying‘unabrazo,’

whichmeans“ahug.”(1/13)

Students’verbalreportscontainedavarietyofstatementsaroundtwothemes:(a)thecul-turaldifferencesbetweenAnglophoneandHispanophoneculturaluseofcertainleave-takingformulaicchunksand(b)thediscrepancybetweentheroleofinitialgreetingversusfinalleavetaking.

Culturaldifferences“Theyusedbesosandabrazoswiththepeopleintheforumbutweusuallyonly

usethatstuffwithfamilymembersandclosefriends.”“It’sstrangetoseepeoplewritehugsandkisseswithstrangers;Iwasn’tex-

pectingthat.”

Greetingsversusleave-takings“Itissafetosaythatmorepeoplegreetthansaygoodbye…becauseitallows

forconversationtotakeplace.Theydon’tsaygoodbyetokeeptheconver-sationopen.”

“Hellosaremoreimportant…theykeepyouintheconversationandletpeopleknowwhoyou’retalkingto.”

“Goodbyesaren’tverycommon.”“Signingoffwouldshuttheconversationdown.”

Overall,studentsappeartorealizethatthereisanormingreetingsinthecontextofFace-bookdiscussionforumswhichisafirststepintherecognitionofthiselectronicdiscourseasagenre(Hanna&deNooy,2003).Allstudentsreportedthatifagreetingopenedapost,itwastoinvitefullgroupparticipationordirecttheconversationtoaspecificpersonandmaintain

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conversationalflow.Inasimilarvein,allstudentsreportedgoodbyestobelesscommonsinceparticipationorconversationcanbeeasilyendedwithoutthem.Studentsclearlyrecognizedthetypicaldifferencebetweenthenecessityofgreetingsandtheoptionaluseofleave-taking.Furthermore,theylearnednewformsofaddressandthatgreetingsaremoreintricateinthiselectronicdiscourseform.Studentsalsolearnedculturallyappropriateuseofcertaingood-byes(i.e.,abrazos)thatdidnotpreviouslycoincidewiththeirAnglophoneexpectations.Thestudents’commentsalso illustratedmultiliteracydevelopment in that theyassociatedpar-ticulargreetingswiththemediumitselfandthestrategiesofcommunicativeactionswithaspecificelectroniccontext.

VocabularyandcultureAllstudentsreportedlearningnewvocabularybecauseoftheirexplorationofFacebookGroupsanddemonstratedtheirlearningusuallybybuildingwordlists(xinSpanish=yinEnglish).Whiletheyreportedthatreadingthepostswassometimeschallenging,theyalsoreportedthatcontextualcluesanddictionaryuseclarifiedmeaningandfacilitatedcomprehension.Allstudentsalsoreported learningvocabulary inwaysrelated to theelectronicmedium itself(i.e.,useofabbreviationsorsyllabograms).Manystudentsreportedonsearchingfordialectalvariationandcomprehensionofculturalelements(guessingtheoriginofparticipants,lookingforvosotrosincontext(3rdperson,familiar,plural‘you’inSpain),investigatingplaces,andsoon.Finally,manystudentsnotedtheparticipants’useofemotivesintheforums,anaspectofcommunicationthatiscomparableacrosslanguagesinthistypeofelectronicdiscourse.

Asintheprevioussection,studentswerefirstaskedtocommentonvocabularyuseingen-eral. Their responses could be grouped in four categories as illustrated below. Themostcommonobservationswerebasedontheirabilitiestofigureoutmeaningofunknownwords.Somestudentsreportedhavingtouseadictionary;otherswereabletofigureoutthemean-ingbasedonthecontextsinwhichtheyoccurred.

Contextualcuesanddictionaryuse“WhenIfirstlookedatthispostIhadahardtimeunderstandingitbecause

Iwasunfamiliarwithalotofwords.Ikeptreadingthecontextandthenbegantopuzzlethepiecetogetherandstartedcomprehendingtheinforma-tion.”(1/13).

“Ihadtoreadalotofthepoststogetthegistofwhattheyweresayingbutthedictionarycoveredtherest.”(1/13).

“IreadthedifferentmeaningsofthewordssoIcouldfigureoutwhichonetheymeantintheposts.”(1/13).

“Allyouhadtodowasreadabunchofentriesandgrabanonlinedictionaryandyoucouldfigureoutwhattheyweretalkingabout.”(1/13).

“IfoundmanywordsthatIdidn’tknow.IthoughtmaybemanytheywereslangbecausewhenIlookedthemuptheyweren’tinthedictionaryandhadtoguessmeaning.”(1/13).

“I was really excited that I could follow along and understand something.”(1/13).

“IhadtoreadthroughallthedefinitionssothatIdidn’tgetconfusedbythepost.”(1/13).

Thesecondgroupsofcommentsinvolvedvarioustypesofabbreviations.Studentscomment-edonapocopes(i.e.,porfa forpor favor),syllabograms(i.e.,q forque),orotherspellingvariationsuchasestimad@s inwhichthe“at”signtransformsthiswordintoagenderinclu-siveform.

34


Abbreviations“‘q’‘k’‘ke’wereusedfor‘que.’”(11/13)“‘Porfa’isshortfor‘porfavor.’”(13/13)“Theywrote‘kerido’insteadof‘querido.’”(3/13)“‘q’shortfor‘que’in‘nonosdamoscuentalohermosoqes!!’” (10/13)“Shereplaced‘qu’witha‘k’in‘kemekieroir.’”(1/13)“‘Estimad@s’isthemasculineandfeminineformscombined.”(12/13)

VocabularyselectionintheSpanishlanguageasinmanyotherlanguagesisfrequentlylinkedtocountriesorregions.Thissociopragmaticaspectofanyforeignlanguageisoftenbrieflydiscussedincertaintextbooks,butrarelydeveloped.Consequently,lexicalvariationbecameaninterestingnewphenomenontoobserveforthestudentswhoparticipatedinthisstudy.Theynotedseveralwords,expressionsandformsofaddressthattheywereabletoassociatewithaparticulargroupofHispanophonesasillustratedbelow.

Culture“Itwascooltosee‘queonda’and‘mijo’used—I’veheardthembefore.”“Ithink‘mijo’(‘mihijo’)isfromMexicoandLA.”“‘queonda’islike‘quepasa.’”“Itwasnicetosee‘vosotros’usedincontext.”“Ithoughtitwasneattoseehowthegroupused‘vosotros.’”“Ireallywantedtofind‘vosotros’becauseweneveruseditinhighschool.”“Itwasneattoseehow‘vosotros’wasusedincontextandthatIcouldunder-

standwhatitmeant.”“IfiguredoutthatsomeofthepostswerefrompeopleinotherSpanishspeak-

ingcountriesotherthanMexico,likeColombia,ChileandfromSanDiegoandLA.”

“Itriedtoguesswheretheparticipantswerefrom.”“IthinkImightbeabletofigureoutwherepeoplecomefrom.”

Finally,thelastkindofcommentsweremadeaboutemotives,expressionsoffeelingsthroughtheuseoflanguageconstructionsthatexplicitlydescribeemotionalstatesorattitudes.Stu-dentsfocusedontheuseofcapitallettersforthispurpose.ThiswayofexpressingemotionsisnotparticulartotheSpanishlanguage,butitwasinterestingforthestudentstoestablishthisfactsincelanguagesgenerallyoffermanyotherlinguisticvariationsthatcandramaticallyimpacttheoutcomeofaninteraction.

Emotives“Itwasinterestingthatsomanypeopleatdifferenttimesusedcapitalletters

forawholesection.Iguesstheyreallywantedtobeheard.”“Peopleusedcapsalotsotheycouldgetsomeattention.”“They’reeitherreallyexcitedorreallyaggressivewithallthecapslocks.”“Ithinktheyusedalotofcapsbecausethesiteispopularandit’sagoodway

togetattention.”“Somanypeopleanddifferenttimesusedcapitallettersforawholesection.

Inthiscasethepersonisveryexcited:ME ENCANTÓ VISITAR LA CASA DE FRIDA KAHLO …‘ILOVEDVISITINGFRIDAKAHLO’SHOUSE….’”

“Ithinkmostlythey’rejustexcitedortryingtobeheardbutcapslockcanmakethepersonseemangryoraggressive.”

Students’verbalreportsontheiranalysisofvocabularyuseinthesediscussionforumsfo-

35


cusedonthebenefitoftheexperienceasawholeandspecificallyontheliteracyandculturalbenefitthattheygainedfromthesevariousobservations.

First,studentsfirstnotedthatsuchanactivityimpactedthempositively.

“IlikethatIwasn’tcompletelycluelessaroundthenativespeakers.”“Iwasproudofmyselfforbeingabletofigureoutwhattheycouldsayandonly

hadtolookupafewwords.”“IlikedthatIdidn’thavetolookeverythingup.”“Iusedthegroupdedicationandinformationaboutthetopicsandthepartici-

pantstohelpmefigureoutwhattheconversationswouldbeabout.”

Second,theyunderstoodsomesimilaritiesthatwereassociatedwiththemediumitselfmorethanthelanguageandcommentedontheuseofvariousabbreviations.

“TheyabbreviatejustlikewedobutI’mnotsureifIcouldfigureitoutlive.”(1/13)

“Theyputslangandabbreviationsintheirpoststoo.”(1/13)“I liked theestimad@sexamplebecause it’sagreatway includeeveryone.”

(1/13)“I’mgoingtouseit(estimad@s)fromnowon”(1/13).—Metoo.”(4/13)

Finally, theyexpresseda feelingofsatisfactionandaccomplishmentbeingable to identifyculturalelementsinauthenticconversationandtointegratenewwaystolearnaforeignlan-guage.TakingadvantageofsuchaSNCwebsiteallowedthestudentstoexperiencevirtualexchangesthatenhancethecommunicativeengagementoflanguagelearners,andincreasetheirconfidenceaswellastheirenthusiasmforthesubjectmatter(Swaffar,1998).

“IlikeknowingwherethesewordscomefrombecauseifIcanguesswherethepeoplearefromIcanfigureoutsomethingtotalkabout.”

“Ididn’tthinkwe’dknowthismuchatthislevel;Ifeellikewe’veaccomplishedalot.”

“ThegroupsbroughtthecoursetolifebecauseIrealizedthatwhatwewerelearninginthebookwasrelevant‘causeotherwiseitseemedlikeancienthistory.”

Clearly,studentslearnedfromreal-lifelanguageuseandexamineditbeyondthesocialandcultural confines of their L1. Participating in this kind of SNCwebsite provided attractiveculturalinformationthatstimulatedthelanguagelearnerstoautonomouslyexploreatargetcultureandtherebyactivelyengageintheuseofauthenticsourcematerials.Theirdiction-aryuseprovedtobeanenrichingexperiencebecausetheyhadtoexaminethecontextinwhichthewordwasusedandhadtochoosethedefinitionthatsuitedthecontextinordertocomprehendtheexchanges.Whenthewordwasnotinthedictionary,theyreliedoncontextonlytoguessmeaning.Giventhatwordselectionisanessentialelementincommunication,evaluatingtheadequacyoflanguageinthisparticularmediumhasgreatpotentialinthede-velopmentofstudents’sociopragmaticcompetence.

Dependingupontheelectronicmedia(chat,blog,ordiscussionforum)apocopes,acronyms,syllabograms,andotherlessformalexpressionsarefound;howeverfrequentuseofexpres-sionsclearlyindicatesauser’slongexperienceofaparticularmedium.InthecaseofFace-bookGroupforums,participantstypicallycomefromavarietyofbackgrounds.Consequently

36


onlycommonabbreviationsareselectedbyforumcontributors(Blattner&Williams,2009),andasaresultthestudentsinthisstudyeasilyidentifiedabbreviationsandtheirmeanings.Withregardtothemediumitself,12outof13studentsreportedtheuseofthe@symbolasameansbywhichtoexpressgenderinclusivity(e.g.,estimados+estimadas=estimad@stocoverbothmaleandfemalegroupmembers)andtherebydemonstratedsomedevelop-mentofmultiliteracyskills.Similarly,theyaccuratelyreportedonunderstandingtheuseofemotives,specificallycapital lettersandthe impactthatsuchvariationhaswithinaforumdiscussionintermsofexpressinganger,statingexcitement,orgettingattention.Inaddition,studentsdemonstratedthattheysoughtoutcontextualandlinguisticcuesthatwouldhelpthemtoidentifyaparticipant’splaceoforiginandopenupthedoorstointerpersonalcom-munication(i.e.,understandingwhenandbywhomtheformofaddressvosotrosisused).

CONCLUSIONS,LIMITATIONS,ANDRECOMMENDATIONSDespitegrowingupinthedigitalage,andbeingfamiliarwithSNCwebsites,it isessentialtonotethatboththeinstructorandthestudentswhoparticipatedinthisstudyhadneverpreviouslyusedFacebookforeducationalpurposes.Kok(2008)pointedoutthatforonlinecommunities toeffectively functionas learning tools,educatorsmustguide their studentsandmodeleffectiveknowledgeconstructionandcollaborationbyestablishingtrustingrela-tionshipswithstudentsthroughfeedbackandappropriatesupervision.Theresultsfromtheawareness-raisingtaskstakeninconjunctionwiththeverbalreportsgatheredintheinter-mediateSpanishclassareinlinewithKok’sresearch;studentshadaresourceforexaminingauthenticlanguage,theylearnedtonavigateunchartedsociopragmaticandelectronic-medi-umterritory,whilebuildingarapportwiththeirinstructor.Inaddition,asBlattnerandFiori(2009)explained,byincorporatingversatileWeb2.0toolsthatenhancethequalityoftheirclassrooms,educatorscanalsoshowlearnershowtoexploitSNCsitessuchasFacebookforacademicpurposestocreateadynamiclearningenvironment,promotecriticalthinking,of-ferauthenticL2learningopportunitiesandmakedeeperconnectionswiththecultureofthenativeL2speakers.

Regardingsociopragmaticawareness,studentsexaminedlanguagewithinculturalandsocialcontexts.Thestudents’analysesrevealedthattheyexaminedsociopragmaticfeatureswhentheyestablishedwhattheyviewedasnormsforgreetingsandleave-taking.Thevocabularyandcolloquialexpressionstheyreportedonnotonlyexposedthemtoavarietyoflanguage,butalsoobligedthemtodrawconclusionsaboutthemessagesexchangedwithinitsbroadercontext.Overall,thetaskspresentedtheopportunitytoassessfunctionalandculturalappro-priatenessofavarietyofactsinanauthenticcontext,anopportunitythatstudentscapitalizedon.

Withregardtomultiliteracyskillsdevelopment,thestudents’reportsdemonstratethatsuchmodesofcommunicationwereempoweringandofferedavarietyoftransferableskillsforin-terpreting,evaluating,andnegotiatingelectronicforeignlanguagediscourse.Studentsquick-lyrecognizedcertainforumnorms(e.g.,capitallettersforangerorexcitementanduseofavarietyofabbreviations).Exposureappearedtoprovidethenecessarygroundingtofurthertheirmultiliteracyskills,whichisinlinewithBlattnerandWilliams’s(2009)assertionthattheforeignaspectofdiscussionforumswillfadeawayiflanguagelearnershaveacquiredagoodunderstandingofthelinguistic,social,andstructuraldimensionsofthismodeofcommunica-tionitself.

Thestudents’richobservationssuggestthatlearnershavethepotentialtoincreasetheirso-ciopragmaticawarenessaswellastheirabilitytodevelopmultiliteracyskillsinaforeignlan-

37


guage,undoubtedlyimportantaspectsoflanguageacquisitioninthistechnologicalera,andtheirreportsaccordwithpreviousresearchonsociopragmaticinstruction(Olshtain&Cohen,1990;Lyster,1994;Tateyama,2001).

ThepotentialoftheSNCsliesinthewaytheyallowstudentstointeractwithL2speakersandprovidesopportunitiesforlearnerstoengageinauthenticmeaningfulcommunication.There-fore,thedevelopmentofL2sociopragmaticawarenesswillcreatefavorableconditionsinthedevelopmentofcommunicativecompetence,which in turn leadstothenext logicalstep—production.ForstudentswhohavebecomemorefamiliarwiththeconventionsofdiscussionforumsandofculturalaspectsoftheL2,itisessentialtomakemeaningfulconnectionswithNSs.

LimitationsThesizeofthegroupofparticipantsisalimitationofthestudy(N=13).Fortunatelyfortheeducators, intermediatelanguageclassestendtobemuchsmallerthanthoseatthebasiclevelofinstruction;however,itdoeslimitthescopeoftheresultsreported.Despitetheselim-itations,thisprojectwassuccessfulbothfromtheinstructorandstudents’perspectivesandprovidedvaluableinsightinhoweducatorscaneasilyenhancetheirforeignlanguageclasses.

RecommendationsBlake(2008)explainedthatultimatelylanguageeducatorswillhavetogobeyondasimplecomputerfunctionalcompetence(knowinghowtousetechnologicaltools)andreachbothacritical(understandingwhattoolsaregoodfor)andarhetoricalcompetence(realizinghowcertaintoolstransformthelearningenvironment)inordertousetechnologyeffectively.Fromthisperspective,giventhatresearchbasedontheintegrationofSNCsinalanguagelearningenvironmentisinitsinfancy,thisstudyservesasaninitialsteptodevelopabettergraspoftherolethisparticulartoolmayplayinthedevelopmentofsociopragmaticcompetenceandmultiliteracyskillsinthecontextofforeignlanguageeducation.EventhoughFacebookap-pearstoprovidevaluablebenefitsandopportunitiesforlearnersandeducatorsinthefieldofforeignlanguageeducation,moreresearchisneededtofurtherestablishtheeffectivenessofthistoolinforeignlanguageclassrooms.Clearly,thepotentialofsocialnetworkingwebsitesisgrowingeverydaywiththecreationofevennewerapplications.

NOTES1Onestudenttookituponherselftocontributetoapostbytheendofthesemester.2TheGroupnameisposted;seelinksinAppendixB.

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APPENDIXASampleFacebookgrouppage

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APPENDIXBPostedlinks

FacebookGroup URLMEChA http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=799a7

9a34dc05d2c73bdf0f4caa51f09&gid=28972312561&ref=search

Apoyoalosmaestros(as)dePuertoRico http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=aa2ed791e2e2505b02b5b246ec891263&gid=7041270657&ref=search

ADMIRADORESDEFRIDAKAHLO http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=cf41e65158397f4e2919394d36273c41&gid=17270890979&ref=search

Replicante http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=cf41e65158397f4e2919394d36273c41&gid=17270890979&ref=search#/group.php?sid=310e1ec98f95b5747a3f5cdfd49db553&gid=7690541149&ref=search

ForoEspana http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=5765e1897a2986ef98aca25188548480&gid=10473134357&ref=search

AVERCUANTOSMEXICANOSLEENTRAN? http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=2fa34dd690c29fbf65355c342e722145&gid=2215031140&ref=search

Lapoesíamexicana http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=37f5c50283b9734a84a5a8f1874766d7&gid=66106115006&ref=search

Yo♥Ecuador http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204745137

COTOPAXIYGALAPAGOSNUEVASMARAVILLASDELMUNDO/VOTEMOS!!

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NO!!!!ALINGRESODELESMADENUNIVERSI-DADESPUBLICAS.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=45743f652a24f1354c7d750f0c840042&gid=31659630912&ref=search

PERUANTITAURINO http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=082c27a9d4bb08f491bd3dc5f0815b46&gid=18829824712&ref=search

LatinosUnidos http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=69f1ca45c4b13bf788be865529501421&gid=2204806482&ref=search

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AUTHORS’BIODATAGéraldineBlattnerisanAssistantProfessorofFrenchandLinguisticsatFloridaAtlanticUni-versity.Herresearchfocusesontechnology-enhancedforeignlanguageteachingandlearningaswellassociolinguisticandpragmaticvariationinFrenchlanguageincomputer-mediateddiscourse.

MelissaFioriisanAssociateProfessorofSpanishandAppliedLinguisticsatDaemenCollegewheresheistheDepartment’sAssessmentLiaison.Herresearchinterestsincludecomputer-mediatedcommunication,teachertraining,andforeignlanguagepedagogy.

AUTHORS’ADDRESSESGéraldineBlattner,Ph.D.DepartmentofLanguages,LinguisticsandComparativeLiteratureDorothyF.SchmidtCollegeofArtsandLettersFloridaAtlanticUniversity777GladesRoadBocaRaton,FL33431Email:[email protected]

MelissaFiori,Ph.D.DepartmentofForeignLanguagesDaemenCollege4380MainSt.Amherst,NY14226-3592Email:[email protected]

Virtual Social Network Communities: An Investigation of Language Learners’ Development of Sociopragmatic Awareness and Multiliteracy Skills

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