A Study of Social Networking Sites for Learners of Japanese

Social Networking Sites (SNSs) such as “Facebook” and “MySpace” have been used by many people from diff erent countries around the world, and they have recently been applied to second language (L2) learning, both inside and outside classrooms. A number of researchers have investigated the utility of SNSs, and some language researchers have studied the use of SNSs for L2 learning in language classrooms. However, the study of the usage of SNSs for L2 learning outside the classroom has not yet been studied thoroughly, despite the fact that many communities and groups exist for users who are interested in learning L2 on such sites. Th is article examines the nature and extent of SNS communities available specifi cally for L2 learners of Japanese, and describes the usage which is being made of these communities in particular on the SNSs, “mixi” and “Facebook”. Furthermore, the benefi cial aspects of using such sites for L2 learning will be discussed.