1. Long live, YouTube: L2 Stories about YouTube in language learning Cem BALÇIKANLI Center for European Studies, University of Florida, USA 2nd International Online Language Conference ( 25-26 July 2009)
2. Outline * Web 2.0 Technologies * YouTube: A Real P henomenon * Out-of-class experiences * YouTube in Language Learning * The Study * Conclusion
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4. Web 2.0 refer s to web-based technology that facilitates and promotes communication and sharing among users worldwide. In the past couple of years, there has been a steady increase in the use of Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, aggregators, social bookmarks, among others to make global interaction that has been rapidly adopted by the e-learning community more available (Gonzalez and St. Louis 2008
6. YouTube, a video-sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips, has made it possible for anyone who can use a computer to post a video that millions of people can see within minutes .
7. The combination of online learning opportunities and interactive Web 2.0 has provided language teachers with myriad possibilities in creating a real-world language environment in the classroom .
8. Language learning, in sum, is much more than classroom experience. It takes place outside the classroom informally. Out-of-class experiences occupy a key role in offering vast range of possibilities to L2 learners .
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10. YouTube is an unlimited resource for language acquisition/learning. To illustrate, one can listen to all kinds of spoken language (formal, neutral, informal) and genres (songs, parodies, debates, political speeches, talk shows, lectures) and learn a lot of vocabulary in context, which, without doubt, will help memorize more easily.
11. The Study L earners’ stories using YouTube for language learning purposes in the University of Florida . T en students learning English as a second language. The interview questions includ ing several dimensions of YouTube for language learning purposes. Coding the data and group ing similar responses into categories.
12. “ It is something without which I can’t live, it is completely fun.”
13. I t offers authentic examples of everyday English used by everyday people. Is it good for English practice? How ? … it does increase the knowledge of the language by repetition. YouTube is useful in many ways for learning a language because the variety of material is out there you are exposed to music, commercials, comedy sketches and more styles and genres of the language.
14. How does it contribute to your independence skills ? … as many times as I want, when I want. Listening to English songs helps my pronunciation as well. … the potential use for language learning is great as it helps foster learner autonomy. you can watch the videos multiple times on your own for repetition, which, I believe, won’t be boring. I review them on my own. Doing this can be as relaxing and fun as it can be.
15. How does it promote your cultural competence? you can have an awareness of cultural frames that pertain to the language you are trying to learn. … YouTube entails wide range of cultural materials. What you need to do is type “English culture” on YouTube. Doing both of these also provides me with first hand encounters of the culture, that I would be without were it not for YouTube.
