Like, Follow, Share or Tweet? English Instructors' Use of Social Networking Sites for Professional Development
Abstract
The aim of the study is to investigate the views of English instructors on the use of social media tools and determine which social media tools they use and which ones they use for their professional development (PD). A questionnaire including three sections which aimed to provide personal information about the participants, investigate their aspects of types, frequencies and underlying reasons of using social media tools and examine their perceptions on the use of social media tools for their PD was administered to a group of instructors working at state universities. According to the findings, there are differences in the type, frequency, and reasons underlying the use of social media tools. It was also concluded that teachers describe positive and collaborative professional activity facilitated by social media tools and most of them noted how social media tools help them tackle various forms of classroom related problems.
Keywords
English as a foreign language, professional development, social networking sites, instructors
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