An Investigation into English Language Teachers' Perception of Using Social Media for Academic Purposes in Pakistan

Abstract

Secondary and college teachers use social media to engage their students in learning, but little is known about secondary school teachers' use. The issue is that, while secondary school students intuitively use social media in their personal lives, it is unclear why and how teachers use it for instructional purposes with digitally literate students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the extent to which secondary school teachers from Karachi use social media with students for teaching. Braun and Clark’s thematic analysis was used in this study. The research questions asked why and how secondary school teachers used social media for student engagement and learning. Data from semi-structured interviews with teachers were analyzed using verbatim coding to identify final codes, categories, and themes. The key findings indicated that teachers attributed their use of social media to the learners’ needs and were influenced both by administrators and through their observations of other teachers using social media. Teachers created opportunities for students to actively collaborate, discuss, explore, practice, and work independently, which puts students at the center of their learning and teachers as the facilitators and support system throughout the learning process. The results of this study provide teachers and school leaders with knowledge about the use of social media to foster autonomy in learning for secondary school students.