Unveiling argumentation and debate tactics on facebook used by upper intermediate EFL learners

Abstract

This report presents a research study conducted with a group of pre-service EFL teachers at a university in Bogotá. It characterizes participants’ language resources and their viewpoints in a Facebook discussion group. Participants were 17 students of a TEFL program who interacted and exchanged viewpoints about three taboo topics (homosexuality, children murderers and addictions). In this qualitative case study, students’ artifacts and a questionnaire were the data collection methods. . Findings suggest that participants had a personal style that built on others’ comments as the basis for their further contributions. Additionally, these results showed that participants expressed their viewpoints through prior knowledge on the taboo topics. . Discussion among participants allowed them to build shared understanding and work collaboratively as a community.