Given the advanced technology available nowadays, teaching is no longer limited to the time spent in class. Well prepared teachers can empower their students with the means to utilize their gadgets to practice and reinforce the material learned in class. In this case, WhatsApp is the medium.

1. WhatsApp as a
Learning Tool
Fatma Ghailan
Westchester Community College

2. Have you ever used any form of social media in
your teaching? If so, how? If not, how do you
think they can be used constructively?

3.  Encourage students to:
• build a tight group.
• keep in touch with their classmates and teacher.
• have a support group and turn to each other for questions.
• practice English outside of class.
Objective

4. What Social Media Integration can offer you
and your students:
 collaboration
 negotiation
 debating
 reviewing
 posting
 chatting
 messaging
 texting

5. What Social Media Integration can offer you
and your students:
 collaboration
 negotiation
 debating
 reviewing
 posting
 chatting
 messaging
 texting

6.  Students are addicted to their gadgets and using their phone to do homework and
practice their English will feel effortless and trendy.
 Keeping in touch with classmates and the teacher will bring the group closer which
would encourage for more interaction in English because it is supervised.
 If the teacher commits to supporting students outside of class time, they feel that they
are loved, cared about and supported, all of which would make them work harder not
to disappoint.
 Students’ reading and writing skills will exceed their level and so will their
vocabulary.
Guiding Principles

7. Goals
First: Increasing students’ metacognitive awareness
Second: Providing a clear project structure
Third: Improving students’ understanding of and ability to
accurately use English
Developing a high communicative
competence through the
integration of social media.

8.  WhatsApp is a user-friendly multifunction
application that allows for individual and group
text and voice chatting as well as sharing images,
videos, audios and links. WhatsApp is free for the
first year and costs only a dollar a year afterwards.
It requires an internet connection and a
smartphone to be used.
 The group chat feature is not only easy to create
but also to delete
What is WhatsApp

9.  It’s (almost) free.
 Most of, if not all, ESL students have it and use it on a daily basis to
communicate with their family and friends both in the US and abroad.
 It’s a new way to engage students in learning.
 It can be used anytime and students comments or questions will always be
answered and validated.
 It allows for a transcript of students’ conversations that could be traced back
for language analysis and progress.
Why WhatsApp

10. To create a group:
1. Open WhatsApp and go to the Chats screen.
2. At the top of the Chats screen, tap the New Group button. Note: you will need to
have an existing chat before creating a new Group Chat.
3. Type in a subject or title. This will be the name of the group that all participants will
see. Then click NEXT
4. Add group participants by selecting (+), or by typing the name of the contact.
5. Tap Create to finish creating the group.
6. But for now, you can just join our existing group ALWC 2016
WhatsApp Group Creation

11. My WhatsApp

12. What I Observed
 Students in classes that use WhatsApp …
• are more connected and caring about each others’ progress.
• ask more questions in class about how they can say certain things.
• remember to do their homework.
• are more appreciative of the teacher’s efforts.
• are more satisfied
• improve their English much faster.

13. What Students Say

14. What Students Say
Comments made by a group of level 1 students:
 “…use WhatsApp help me to writing, thinking, learning new words. Actually,
I improve the English.”
 “The group is very important because if I talking English with my classmates
and I mistake, the teacher corrects me.”
 “When I am writing the automatic correction help me read the correct words.”
 “I think that using WhatsApp help to get better, because I practice the
grammar and the same time I’m learning new nouns and have regular
conversations in English.”

15. What Students Say
continued
 “is good for practis me writing and reading.”
 “because I think is technology more practicing and funny.”
 “…learn English as quickly as possible.”
 “…make more easy the job, you can understand more fast.”
 “…we have information about classmates.”
 “…I talk with my new friends.”
 “…I am learning much vocabulary.”

16. 16

17. 17

18. References
 Bouhnik, D., & Deshen, M. (2014). WhatsApp goes to school: Mobile instant messaging
between teachers and students. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 13,
217-231. Retrieved from http://www.jite.org/documents/Vol13/JITEv13ResearchP217-
231Bouhnik0601.pdf
 Calvo, R., Arbiol, A., & Iglesias, A. (2014). Are all chats suitable for learning purposes? A
study of the required characteristics. Procedia Computer Science, 27, 251-260.
 Church, K., & de Oliveira, R. (2013). What's up with whatsapp? Comparing mobile instant
messaging be- haviors with traditional SMS. Proceedings of the 15th International Conference
on Human-computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services (pp. 352-361). ACM.
 Riyanto, Akhmad (2013). English Language Learning Using ‘WhatsApp’Application.
Retrieved from https://akhmadriyantoblog.wordpress.com/2013/07/21/english-language-
learning-using-whatsapp-application/

19. THANK YOU
Fatma Ghailan
fghailan@gmail.com
646-434-9279
Please feel free to
text me to be added to this
presentation’s chat group on
WhatsApp