The purpose of the present paper is to investigate the phenomenon of social media in language teaching. After a brief definition of social media, a general picture of conditions for Internet-based teaching and learning in Poland will be presented, based on the data collected by statistical offices and the present authors. The major part of the paper will be occupied by a summary of the most important findings from a qualitative study into the perceptions of social media by language learners in Poland, Latvia and Romania. The study, operated within the European research network Language Learning and Social Media – Six Key Dialogues (LS6 Network) and funded with the support of the European Commission, consisted of 60 interviews carried out with individuals of varying degrees of computer use and familiarity with Web 2.0 technologies.
With learning contexts globally promoting putting learners in the centre, it is no surprise that autonomous learning will gain ground in contemporary classrooms. As there is no learner autonomy without autonomous teachers, investigating instructors’ preferences about autonomous learning is necessary for more successful language education. The research assessed Georgian teachers’ viewpoints on fostering autonomous learning in EFL acquisition. The study employed a close-ended questionnaire completed by over 100 teachers. The analysis concludes that Georgian teachers associate obstacles with a lack of resources, technical problems, and class size, while challenges linked to teachers include lack of experience, limited development opportunities, and time management.
Educating teachers as a challenge for university with proliferation of computers and increased connectivity in all spheres of life, the application of e-learning in teacher development seems to be an essential method of enhancing effectiveness of practical training, as it opens up new forms of communication and collaboration in the virtual and in the real. The aim of the present paper is to seek solutions to the problems of teaching practice organisation and implementation in order to achieve higher quality, raise effectiveness and increase impact of practical preparation of students for serving their didactic and upbringing duties at schools. Special focus is placed on the innovative creation of a virtual educational space within the Moodle Learning Management System, which would be used while preparing for and serving the teaching practice, as well as while documenting the whole experience after its completion.