BELIEFS ON THE USE OF FACEBOOK AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL BETWEEN TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

Resumo

The aim of this study is to investigate teachers’ and students’ beliefs regarding the use of Facebook as a communication tool in education in general and in L2 learning in particular. A group of 49 teachers (32 EFL teachers and 17 language professors) and 19 EFL students answered a questionnaire sent by email. Results of the study suggest that teachers are aware of how Facebook may be used as a communication tool with students although not many of them use it as such, and some use with reluctance and concern regarding the need to preserve their credibility and professionalism. Regarding students’ perception of Facebook as a teacher-student communication tool, results of the study suggest that in general, they do not see a relation between teacher’s self-disclosure on Facebook and teacher credibility and feel that Facebook may be a relevant tool to help them learn the L2.