REINVENTING COMMUNICATION: INSTANT MESSAGING AND MICROBLOGGING IN TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES

It has been less than 15 years that social networks became part of our everyday lives. Such market giants as Facebook and Twitter were introduced to the market in mid 00s (with Facebook in 2004 and Twitter two years later). These platforms have drastically changed the process of communication, making it easier, more accessible, and quick. One can see the influence they exert on our lives by looking closely at the modern system of education and professional sphere.

The student's profile has changed as well: modern students prefer to get information they need instantly as they long for quick results. They love being part of different groups and communities, having opportunity to speak out and interact with others. Such students prefer images to texts and are ready to use the Internet and apps to do any types of exercises. Moreover, they are more interested in these kinds of exercises, are more motivated, and, as a consequence, have better results as against “classic”, or written exercises.

In this article, the question of how to make microblogging and instant messaging systems an organic part of foreign language course is brought up. Depending on the goals one can make up different types of exercises for skills development by means of the platforms in question as they give an opportunity to publish and exchange audio and video messages as well as comment other people’s posts. Time the student needs to complete this kind of exercise may vary from 15 minutes to a few months, it depends on whether it’s a small task or a long-term project. The main purpose is to create an environment of foreign language immersion so that the student acquires speech skills ensuring successful communication. Exercises might differ according to students’ learning styles and types of work. Some tasks might be given to each student individually to carry out an end of term project.