Group 6

1. Introduction- launched in 2006- over 150 million registered user accounts- a relatively easy micro-blogging, social media platform- allows users to write messages and share opinions in no

less than 140 characters (called “tweets”)- combines the simple concept of social networking, a

resource for up-to-the-minute news and micro-blogging

2. Advantages- Kerstin Borau et al. (2009): “a perfect tool to

support learning English”+ easily accessible (Stephen Jenner, 2009)+ suitable for any level of English + integrate students in the community

Nick Campbell (2009)- Communicating class content- Sending out small, timely pieces of information- Encouraging collaboration and feedback- Encouraging concise writing

Lesley Lanir (2013): user-friendly, flexible and dynamic

Minocha (2009): character limit encourages an informal ‘chit-chat’ approach

Rankin (2009): short tweets focus students’ attention on expressing their views selectively and concisely

Jenner (2009c): facilitate ownership of learning by the learner

3. Disadvantages- not ideal for visual content- limited to 140 characters- lack personal privacy - no editing- time consuming

I. Preparation1. Find out what Twitter is: online guides, videos,

and articles that provide an overview of TwitterEg. Englishfeed (http://twitter.com/englishfeed)

ESL Time (http://twitter.com/esltime)2. Make a teacher account3. Set up a class account4. Provide easily accessible self-study materials for

students to learn Twitter

1. Composition activitiesa) Short stories:Eg. Arjun Basu from Montreal (see http://twitter.com/arjunbasu)

Sean Hill (http://twitter.com/veryshortstories)b) Collaborative storiesEg. Twittories (http://twittories.wikispaces.com/)c) Poetry: Haiku or TankaEg. John Hicks http://twitter.com/blueheronDirk Johnston http://twitter. com/dirkjohnson

II. Twitter activities

- Sentence-making with new words+ T’s role: create a vocabulary quiz based on

everyone’s posts

Nik Peachy (2010):- Chitter.TV Sky News channel at:

http://chitter. tv/index.php#skynews

- T’s role: check out what they have written in their Twitter stream and correct or comment.

a) Interclassb) Interschool

Englishfeed (http://twitter.com/englishfeed)

Because blogging by definition is a very public activity, Twitter might be the best choice.