Affiliation:
1. School of Education, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
Abstract
This paper explores the utilisation of Twitter as a dynamic language
learning platform in order to create an authentic domain of use for learners
of Irish as an Additional Language (IAL) in a primary school setting in
Ireland wherein 20 fourth class children and their parents participated. The
Irish language context is firstly introduced, which contextualises a
rationale for utilising Twitter for language learning. Teacher, child, and
parent engagement with Twitter is then outlined with reference to the action
research methodology employed. The repository of class tweets, periodic
participant advisory group discussions and questionnaires, coupled with
teacher-researcher reflection informed a qualitative data analysis. Results
indicate notable student engagement with and enjoyment of tweeting in class
as Gaeilge [in Irish] whereby the class Twitter account emerged as a
practicable language learning platform. Its affordances enabled the student
composition and publishing of short texts (tweets) and the provision of
authentic Irish tweets for class reading. Parent and child engagement out of
class, while relatively low, also demonstrated a promising additional domain
of use, subject to the negotiation of orientation-related and
implementation-related challenges for learners in a blended setting. In
conclusion, recommendations to support the use of Twitter in endangered
language school contexts are suggested.