Analysing WhatsApp and Instagram as Blended Learning Tools

Abstract

This chapter explores, from a theoretical point of view, the literature investigating the use of WhatsApp and Instagram applications to foster language learning as well as the outcomes of the studies carried out in these two fields. The possibilities of these two apps to develop blended learning environments are also regarded. The theoretical frameworks in the existing literature for the possible implementation of these social networking tools in classroom contexts are considered. Findings indicate a growing number of studies making use of the WhatsApp application to develop either blended learning models or online tasks in foreign language courses while the research exploring the use of Instagram for language development remains very scarce.