Informal learning and the globalization of Internet social media

One of the most striking features of the development of the Internet over the last 5 years has been the globalization of social media web sites. Internet users now have ready access to sources of information and contact with other users virtually anywhere and everywhere in the world. Developing the thesis that social media services function as sites for distinctively new types of public pedagogy and informal learning, I will explore the particular implications of the globalization of social media for informal language and cross-cultural learning. Drawing on several case studies involving linguistic and cultural exchange between Chinese and English speakers, I will discuss how informal learning itself appears to be taking on a more global character with the globalization of social media.