SangHee Yeon

Fostering full student engagement in a foreign language class within a virtual learning environment is a difficult instructional task. This study explores how to cultivate an enjoyable and humorous learning environment to engage students for learning new vocabulary, for enhancing grammar knowledge, and for increasing critical and creative thinking. The primary focus of this presentation is the use of internet memes to enhance foreign language engagement. Their use has proven to make foreign language learning more engaging for students in both face-to-face and virtual classrooms. Since memes combine both words and images, they form a very effective instructional enhancement for helping students remember new vocabulary or grammar. Memes are also a great tool for students to develop their critical thinking abilities. Using simple and easily mastered online tools, both basic and advanced language learners can create memes to share in class. The presentation will also show examples of the creation and use of memes for different language development purposes. The participants will take away tools for creating memes in as little as a few minutes.