What students can get out of Twitter - Petra Pointner

Ever since its launch in 2006, Twitter has divided people around the world into ardent advocates and fierce opponents. Many teachers in the field of EFL have enthusiastically embraced the idea of using this hot new tech product to widen their PLN and make their teaching even more interactive. Interestingly, most of my students, whom Mark Prensky would classify as digital natives, have tended to be rather sceptical of this 'killer app'. I have, however, managed to get quite a few of them engaged in tweeting with me and their fellow students in a number of my Business and Academic English classes. In my talk, I will first present some practical examples of how I've used this micro-blogging service in my courses and then give an overview of students' reactions to my teaching concepts. I will argue that Twitter can help teachers to make their work more sustainable, curriculum development more democratic and learner groups more cohesive while allowing them to connect with people and communities outside the classroom at the same time.