Utilizing Facebook to teach Thai EFL students’ writing skills: a case study

Abstract

The use of social networking sites such as Facebook has earned a number of pedagogical benefits in today’s EFL classrooms. This study focuses on employing Facebook as a tool in teaching English writing to Thai EFL learners whereas they were encouraged to provide feedback or comments on their peers’ work. This ongoing research aims to explore how beneficial Facebook is in teaching writing, whether the students can make helpful comments on their classmates’ writing assignments, and what students perceive as benefits and barriers when using Facebook in their writing class. The participants were 20 students enrolling in an English reading an writing course. Pre-test and post-test results were compared to see whether the participants improved their writing. The students were required to complete all writing assignments and provide feedback on their peers’ work. A survey questionnaire was used to analyze the students’ perception towards using Facebook in the writing class. Focus group interviewing was used in order for the researcher to identify problems the students encountered throughout the semester.