EmojiEd: Integrating Authentic Social Media in Language Teaching

July 9 – 11, 2024 
Synchronous, Online 
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This new institute has been specifically designed for second language teachers who want to familiarize themselves with the implementation and creation of authentic social media activities in the language classroom.

During this institute, participants will take a functional approach to understanding social media. They will begin by familiarizing themselves with each platform’s navigation and features, before seeing a live demonstration of how each has been used in language classrooms to date to raise learners’ linguistic awareness and develop intercultural competence. Next, participants will tour current popular social platforms (Twitter et al., Instagram, TikTok) and identify which aspects of their target language(s) and culture(s) are well-represented in each one’s ecosystem. Finally, participants will design one authentic social media activity in each platform that targets a relevant aspect of language and/or culture in their target community. Participants will leave the course with three authentic social media activities and a list of online resources containing others.

Instructor: Amanda Dalola, the Director of the Language Center and Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Minnesota. Her current research projects include the production, perception, and digital media renderings of sociophonetic variables and speech styles in French and Korean, the use of social media applications in the language learning classroom, and the use of translanguaging and open educational resources as open educational practices.