Social media in the Swedish EFL classroom : An empirical study on Swedish English teachers’ attitudes and practices regarding social media

Abstract: Social media is a large part of Swedish adolescents’ lives. As such, social media is also prevalent in Swedish upper secondary schools. Some international research has shown positive outcomes from the use of social media as a learning tool in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom, such as higher student motivation. However, there are no recent equivalent studies in Sweden. Teachers’ attitudes have also been researched, also in a Swedish context. The aim of this study is twofold: to explore EFL teachers’ attitudes, as well as their practices, regarding social media as a learning tool. A web-questionnaire was constructed and subsequently answered by 20 random EFL teachers in Swedish upper secondary schools. The findings show that participants have positive attitudes toward using social media platforms in their teaching. It was also found that participants do indeed use social media, as well as many other tools, in their teaching, and use it for many different purposes. The findings suggest there needs to be more research into how social media platforms could, should, and are being used in Swedish EFL classrooms.