Facebook as a Medium for Language Learning in Community Service Programs: Evidence from Three Villages in San Marino
Keywords:
Community Service, Facebook-Based Learning, English Language Learning, Digital LiteracyAbstract
This article reports on a community service program that utilized Facebook as a primary medium for language learning activities across three villages in San Marino—Domagnano, Acquaviva, and Fiorentino. San Marino, one of the world's smallest and oldest republics with a population of approximately 34,000, presents a linguistically distinctive context in which Italian-dominant communities interact daily with English-language digital media without formal institutional support for English language acquisition. The program engaged 224 community participants across three age cohorts over a five-month period, using Facebook Groups, Facebook Live sessions, and interactive posts as the principal delivery channels for communicative language instruction. Pre- and post-program assessments documented significant gains in English receptive vocabulary (up 43%), written communicative competence (up 38%), and learner motivation and digital literacy (up 55%). The study contributes to the growing body of evidence on social media-mediated language learning, advancing the argument that platforms like Facebook, when pedagogically structured, can serve as equitable and accessible language classrooms for underserved rural communities in small nation-states.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Claudia M. Bernetti, Oliver T. Hargreaves, Yumiko R. Takahashi, Femi A. Adeyemi
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