ESP vocabulary and social networking: The case of Twitter

Abstract

This paper reports on the results of an innovative study that applied a social networking tool to a task explicitly designed to practise specialised vocabulary. The exploratory study, framed within a blended learning approach, examined whether the use of Twitter, a microblogging tool, can help increase students’ confidence in using ESP vocabulary. The research questions addressed the role of Twitter in enhancing vocabulary acquisition, in providing peer and teacher feedback, and promoting communication skills. The paper comes to the conclusion that ESP students do not frequently experience problems using vocabulary specific to their specialised field of study. In terms of peer feedback, often students simply approved their peers’ Tweets, were unable to detect errors, and preferred feedback from their teacher. A significantly positive outcome is the role of Twitter in enhancing student participation. Additionally, regarding communication skills, a particularly important finding was the effectiveness of this blended approach in involving the learners in the classroom and beyond, creating the sense of a learning community

Keywords

• ESP
• Twitter
• vocabulary acquisition
• social networking
• peer response