Using computational Social Network Analysis (SNA), this longitudinal study investigates the development of the interaction network and its influence on the second language (L2) gains of a complete cohort of 41 U.S. sojourners enrolled in a 3-month intensive study-abroad Arabic program in Jordan. Unlike extant research, our study focuses on…

Social media is a communication tool that facilitates EFL students to improve their speaking proficiency as it enables them to fully engage in oral communication, exchange information, and form long-term bonds in this modern era. This study intended to investigate EFL students' social media as speaking strategies used vis-a-vis their speaking…

Studies have explored how second language (L2) learners engage with peer feedback in instructional contexts. However, how learners engage in self-initiated and self-directed feedback practices beyond the classroom in online spaces is largely unknown. Informed by an ecological perspective, an in-depth exploration of the dynamics and underpinning…

This qualitative study investigated the impact of online education on the learning and peer interaction experiences of students from eight universities in Hong Kong over the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It employed an expansive and spatial notion of translanguaging to explore the process by which students drew on the affordance of virtual…

In this study, we examined the use of compliments, self-praise, and self-denigration, as exchanged among nonnative English users. This was part of participation in an online cross-cultural exchange project (Ibunka 2019), which involved learners from six countries (Algeria, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, and the Netherlands). The aim of the…

The literature exploring study abroad students' social networks and intercultural communication traditionally considers three categories of social ties: the co-national network, the multi-national network and the host national network. However, the data collected from a yearlong digital ethnography and the narratives on the social media posts of…

This study sought to determine the difference in text-based negotiated interaction between non-native speakers of English (NNS-NNS) and between non-native and natives (NNS-NS) in terms of the frequency of negotiated instances, successfully resolved instances, and interactional strategy use when the dyads collaborated on Facebook. It involved 10…

This study seeks to explore the cognitive processes involved as bilinguals wrote English and Spanish Facebook status updates. Three phases of data collection were employed: individual interviews, examination of participants' Facebook status updates and a group interview. The findings suggested that regardless of the language in which participants…

The study proposes a model for integrating ethnic culture Facebook pages in second/foreign language learning and teaching to help develop college students' proficiency level in EFL/ESL, i.e. their listening, speaking, reading, writing and vocabulary skills; to help the students explore, understand, compare and contrast ethnic cultures or…

This qualitative research investigates the practice of lurking among English as a second language (ESL) learners in a Facebook group discussion. Lurking is a term used to describe the activity of following and observing any online discussions or activities without contributing to the discussions. Lurkers are often accused of being invisible and…

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…

Virtual intercultural communication is of great interest in intercultural research. How can a researcher gain access to this field of investigation if s/he does not or only partially speaks the languages used by the subjects? This study is an example of how categories relevant to research can be accessed through in-depth interviews. The interview…

With the advancement of such Web 2.0 applications as weblogs, language learners have more opportunities to use a target language for communication purposes and to experience peer collaboration and interaction. In the search for ways to augment an EFL curriculum in which speaking practice is limited but the demand for improving oral proficiencies…

A new generation of young learners often described as digital native school children are attitudinally and technically equipped to employ social media as a social process in learning. However, few international virtual learning projects have been implemented and researched. This article examines a trial which aimed to combine viable technology…

Introduction: Since a part of the instruction happens online, a hybrid course has usually been used to solve the problems of space and time. This article explores how students' learning styles influence their learning and satisfaction when certain format of a hybrid course is implemented. Methods: Participants were 122 first-year students at a…