Innovation in Language Learning

The use of Facebook in English for Academic Purposes has gained a momentum in the past decade. However, research works in the Greek EAP context and more specifically in the Greek English for Engineering Purposes context are scarce. The present interview-based, qualitative study explored Greek engineering students’ perceptions on the use of Facebook in terms of ease of use and usefulness as mode of communication in a compulsory EAP course in the spring semester of 2017. Student interviews were semi-structured with open-ended questions that allowed them to talk about their experiences using Facebook during the semester. The participants were five second-year Electrical and Computer Engineering students at the Technical University of Crete. The results reveal that overall the students perceived Facebook as a more efficient mode of communication compared to the university email, however, irrelevant messages from their peers, reminder messages from the teacher and the fact that the teacher could instantly see whether they had read a message irritated them. The results of the study could be useful for EAP practitioners who wish to integrate social media in their classes as they highlight factors that could facilitate or hinder the use of Facebook in a real higher education context.