Online Informal Learning of Language: Time Lost or Learning Gained?

Foreign/Second Language Teachers' Views on Learning a Language through Exposure to Informal Online Resources

Learning another language in online informal environments (i.e.: watching movies, shows, videos, reading the Web, using social media in L2, etc.) is receiving increasingly more attention, yet opinions on the effectiveness of learning with such resources are divided. Some language educators find them invaluable, some argue that they are messy, unstructured, and may create more harm than good unless modified towards controlled educational purposes.

What is your opinion as a foreign/second language educator? Do you think such resources are helpful in learning a language or they create more chaos than support? Are such resources useful at any level? Can people learn a language exclusively through exposure to such informal resources? And finally, can such resources be used in the classroom and if so, in what ways?

Please share your opinion in this 20-30 minute questionnaire on the educators’ perceptions of the pedagogical value of informal resources in L2 available on the Internet.

Go to the Survey

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate instructors’ familiarity with and perceptions for using informal online resources in the target language as a part of language learning experience. It will yield important information on how instructors view online informal language resources in general and gather opinions whether such resources are helpful for language learners or are rather unnecessary distractors.

What and How Long

You will be asked to complete an online questionnaire asking about some basic demographic information followed by specific questions about your perceptions and the use of online informal language resources. The total time estimated to complete this online questionnaire is 20-30 minutes.

Your participation is voluntary; you are free to withdraw your participation from this study at any time.

Benefits of this Study

By participating in this study you will be contributing to the knowledge about instructors' perspective on online informal language resources and the use of such in college foreign/second language classes.

All your responses in the questionnaire will be anonymous.