Sıla ÇELEBİ Technologies in L2TL

Reinhardt J. Metaphors for social media‐enhanced foreign language teaching and learning.
Foreign Language Annals. 2020;53:234–242. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12462

This article introduces four innovative metaphors that accurately depict the evolving user
interactions on social media platforms: windows, mirrors, doorways, and playgrounds. Following a
brief examination of the historical use of metaphors in Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL),
these fresh metaphors are introduced, backed by research findings, along with suggestions for
integrating them into teaching and learning second languages (L2).

1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

According to the researcher, since its inception in the 1980s, the field of computer-assisted language
learning (CALL) has heavily relied on metaphors to conceptualize the teaching and learning of second
languages (L2) using technology. Initially, metaphors such as "tutor" and "tool" shaped the design of
language instruction concerning digital technology. When computers were viewed as tutors, they
were perceived as the primary source of knowledge, reflecting a structural approach to language and
instructional delivery. However, many users still perceive technology primarily as an L2 teacher
rather than as a tool that can be used by learners or teachers constructively.

In contrast, viewing computers as tools suggests that they are not the sole providers of knowledge
but rather facilitators for developing or accessing knowledge, aligning with cognitive-constructivist
views of language and learner-centred instructional approaches. CALL practitioners and researchers
have identified various tool-like applications of technology, including computer-assisted classroom
discussions, internet-based authentic materials, webpage creation, and telecollaboration.

It was stated that, initially, it was believed that the use of technology as both tools and tutors would
become seamlessly integrated into language teaching practices over time. While there has been
some normalization of this integration, other developments have complicated the situation.

With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies, users gained enhanced capabilities to create, remix, and
share digital content with greater ease than before. These technologies went beyond being mere
tools and evolved into spaces for socio-interactional engagement with these tools. Consequently, a
new metaphor emerged, portraying technology as a community or ecology, which builds upon the
tool metaphor but acknowledges the socially networked and interconnected nature of tool usage.

The shift to Web 2.0 aligned with a broader social turn in second language acquisition, as well as
socio-collaborative learning theories such as sociocultural theory, language socialization, and situated
Sıla ÇELEBİ Technologies in L2TL

learning. These theories resonated with the evolving landscape, emphasizing the importance of
social interaction and collaboration in language learning within the digitally mediated environments
of Web 2.0.

Technologies that could be used for L2 learning informally have become, for many students, a part of
life outside of school. Implications are that L2 learners now, more than ever (a) have access to
authentic, multifarious L2 usage and discourse contexts both inside and outside of class, (b)
demonstrate a vast range of literacies, experiences, and dispositions towards technology, and (c)
need autonomous learning skills to direct their learning, as they engage in L2 learning activity on
their outside of the teacher's sight. When it comes to conceptualizing L2 teaching and learning under
these new circumstances, metaphors of tutors and tools, as well as ecologies and communities to an
extent, are still useful but are lacking something essential.

2. SOCIAL MEDIA AND NEW METAPHORS

Social media can be defined as “any application or technology through which users participate in,
create, and share media resources and practices with other users through digital networking”
(Reinhardt, 2019a, p. 3)

The researcher pointed out that according to social informed Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
theory, research consistently indicated that the use of social media could facilitate the development
of learner awareness of the culture and language being studied, engage learner identities, foster
learner literacies, and promote learner autonomy. While acknowledging that social media function as
tools, the tool metaphor alone failed to fully capture the dynamic relationship wherein users both
utilize and are influenced by Web 2.0 tools.

He added that the community metaphor fell short of integrating the agency that users possess in
their engagement with social media platforms. To refine these existing metaphors, he proposed an
additional set of metaphors—windows, mirrors, doorways, and playgrounds—that conceptualize
social media applications, sites, and services. These metaphors illustrated social media's role as
mediators, shaping what learners perceive, where they navigate, and how they interact within these
virtual environments.

3. SOCIAL MEDIA AS WINDOWS

The initial metaphor, quite evident, portrays learners as able to observe the interactions,
socialization, and daily activities of native and proficient language users through social media as if
peering through a window. The design of social media platforms encourages the sharing of these
activities with others, making much of it publicly accessible for third-party viewing without
Sıla ÇELEBİ Technologies in L2TL

necessarily notifying the sharer of their presence—a phenomenon known as "lurking." For L2
learners, this serves as an opportunity; through this metaphorical window, learners can witness
authentic language usage and cultural behaviors without actively participating until they feel
prepared to do so. Some of the earliest documented educational applications of social networking
involved using them as "windows," enabling the collection and observation of genuine
sociopragmatic language uses, which are often lacking or artificially presented in textbooks.

Implications are that activities that use social media as windows should:

• allow learners to choose who and what to follow and observe, perhaps with preselected
suggestions by the instructor,
• guide cultural observations to be analyzed and discussed with a focus on social, historical, and
political background knowledge,
• focus attention on social media forums as texts with genre features (e.g., audience, purpose,
conventional forms) and unique interactional features
• ask learners to observe how informal, vernacular, and online L2 uses differ from formal and
academic uses, and compare it with variations in English

4. SOCIAL MEDIA AS MIRRORS

Many social media platforms allow users to curate and present an identity that reflects specific
aspects, or an idealized version, of themselves, akin to looking into a mirror. Users selectively share
content on personal profile pages, participating in communities they might not have access to
otherwise. Utilizing social media as mirrors involves posting reflections, such as cultural and linguistic
observations, in personal blogs or class Facebook groups, and reacting to others' posts. Social media
prompt users to consider their audience when sharing, which can facilitate intercultural learning by
raising awareness of how their posts are perceived by others.Social media inherently prompt users to
consider their audience when sharing content, encouraging learners to contemplate how their posts
and comments will be perceived by others and how these perceptions may influence their online
image. This consideration of audience perspectives can facilitate intercultural learning by raising
awareness of the impact of one's online presence on others.

Activities that use social media as mirrors should have learners:

• after observation, reflect on not just what is shared by others, but why it was shared,
Sıla ÇELEBİ Technologies in L2TL

• consider how social media features like profiles are “purposefully reflective” of user identities,
with emphasis on understanding how meaning is made through language, images, audio, and
video
• examine how cultural factors influence self‐presentation, for example, by exploring how social
media influencers, celebrities, or politicians in the culture of study create “social media
presence,”
• compare and reflect on news stories, posts, and comments about their own culture written in the
L2 (e.g., a travel site's discussion board comments about which cities to visit in the United States
of America, or about American customs they find unusual)

5. SOCIAL MEDIA AS DOORWAYS

Another significant benefit of social media for L2 learners is their function as doorways to engage in
L2 cultural and intercultural practices, acting as portals rather than just windows. Before the internet,
L2 learners faced challenges in sharing content or participating in L2 practices. Descriptive research
indicates that L2 learners can actively participate in authentic online practices informally, often
leveraging their learner status strategically for legitimate peripheral participation. However, despite
being provided with scaffolding, learners may lack perceived agency in navigating L2 social media,
which could affect their motivation beyond course requirements. Developing appropriate literacies
for successful participation in L2 social media necessitates conscious attention to how the language is
utilized in digital contexts, including computer, information, and media literacy skills.

Activities that prepare learners to use social media as doorways help them develop the skills to do so
successfully when they are ready. They might have learners:

• use L2 search engines, Wikipedia or other web resources in the L2 whenever possible,
• learn to use features of different translation and dictionary tools effectively and critically,
• collect, evaluate, and share various apps or sites in the L2 according to their usability and value
for L2 learners, or
• set their social media interface to the L2 to develop technological literacies in the L2

6. SOCIAL MEDIA AS PLAYGROUNDS

Learners can perceive new practices through social media as windows, reflecting on them as mirrors,
and preparing to engage with them as doorways to participation. Additionally, social media can serve
as playgrounds, offering bounded spaces for informal, autonomous, and gameful learning
Sıla ÇELEBİ Technologies in L2TL

experiences. A gameful disposition, characterized by attitudes such as collaboration, competition,

risk-taking, and exploration, can facilitate learning in technology-mediated contexts like games.
Utilizing social media as a playground may involve employing it as a platform for simulation pedagogy
and situated learning.

Using social media as playgrounds entails having learners:

• try using L2 social media or social media‐enhanced apps and sites for the things they use it for in
their L1, for example, planning a trip, shopping for clothes, designing a room layout, writing
restaurant reviews (but of course, without clicking on “purchase” or “post”),
• play casual social games in the L2, perhaps with each other, and share their experiences,
• use social media and other technologies as the means to engage in role-play or simulation
activities,
• participate in L2 social media events (e.g., watch parties or live casts) or public forums, leaving
interactive responses or even comments that they report back to the instructor and classmate

7. CONCLUSION

It is crucial to recognize that simply substituting in-person activities with online ones may overlook
opportunities for transformative and potentially enhanced learning outcomes. When designing new
activities, integrating social media into L2 teaching and learning can pose challenges in reconciling
them with traditional CALL metaphors of tutor and tool. Some social media platforms may appear to
function as tutors, but they often act as conduits or spaces for tutorial CALL, or provide windows into
authentic L2 practices that aren't necessarily didactic. To better understand these interactive
dynamics, more fitting metaphors such as windows, mirrors, doorways, and playgrounds are
proposed. Considerations regarding privacy, access, and literacy skills are essential when utilizing
social media for L2 teaching, and learners should be made aware of these issues, along with proper
etiquette and unacceptable behaviours, as part of their learning objectives. As windows, mirrors,
doorways, and playgrounds, social media platforms offer avenues to make L2 learning relatable,
relevant, and accessible.

MY REFLECTION

This article was different from many studies we have reviewed so far. It was interesting because
different perspectives were given about the topic without explanation including too complicated
jargon. The language was simple yet the ideas were enlightening. The metaphors that are windows,
mirrors, doorways, and playgrounds have captured the possibilities of social-media learning. With
those metaphors, key issues for language learning context such as openness and accessibility of
Sıla ÇELEBİ Technologies in L2TL

knowledge, self-awareness critical thinking, connection with peers, experts, and resources relevant
to their interests and goals, creativity, experimentation, and enjoyment in the learning process were
emphasized in a simpler way. That’s why I enjoyed reading this one.