by all memes, i want to learn arabic : teachers’ and students’ perceptions of using memes in afl classrooms
As educational technology advances, teachers nowadays tend to incorporate technology into their classroom practices to enhance students’ learning and achieve better outcomes. Memes, which are pictures with texts and sometimes movements circulated mostly among social media users, are a powerful tool to reach learning goals in a fun and engaging way. Researchers explored memes’ effectiveness in various disciplines, yet the field of teaching Arabic as a foreign language (AFL) lacks investigation in this area. Therefore, this study aims to examine teachers’ and students’ perspectives on the use of memes in the classroom. This research also explores the disparities in perceptions and the reason(s) behind them. A mixed methodology is adopted where a questionnaire is utilized along with semi-structured interviews. Findings demonstrate a shared positive attitude towards using memes in AFL classrooms with suggestions by both groups. 72% of the teachers believe that memes are beneficial and 80.7% of the students reported that memes enhance foreign language learning. (Author’s abstract)