Social Media Platforms as Educational Tools in the ESL Classroom : A literature review on social media education research.

Abstract: A majority of Swedish adolescents use social media platforms daily, both as a source of information as well as their main communication tools. Because of this, educators world-wide have attempted to include social media in their teaching. This thesis is a literature review on the current research on social media platforms in English as a Second Language teaching and learning. The thesis aims to explore how social media platforms can be used by teachers as language learning tools, as well as look at what advantages and challenges social media platforms provide. Five research articles and one dissertation were analyzed through connectivism as a learning theory. This review finds that social media platforms are used to create and share multi-modal educational content. The studies show a positive impact on students’ motivation and confidence. However, it was also found that researchers are not being critical enough when using social media instead of other digital platforms for educational purposes. It also shows that more research must be made on the inadvertent effects that social media as language learning tools may have on classroom education. This review is relevant in the light of the digitalization efforts currently underway by the Swedish National Agency of Education.