Integrating Social Media into Language Education: Designing a Digital Literacy Pedagogical Framework through a Mixed Methods Approach in the UAE

This study investigates the integration of social media into language education in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where youth exhibit high digital engagement, but pedagogical implementation remains uneven. Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the research surveyed 298 middle school language teachers via stratified random sampling and conducted follow-up interviews with 20 purposively selected participants. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, ANOVA, and regression analysis, while qualitative data underwent thematic coding to deepen contextual understanding. The findings reveal strong educator support for social media’s potential to enhance learner motivation, language fluency, and real-world application, alongside challenges such as insufficient training, vague institutional policies, and ethical concerns. In response, the study proposes the Digital Literacy Pedagogical Framework (DLPF), a context-responsive model aligned with global digital literacy standards and adapted to the UAE’s educational landscape. The DLPF provides structured guidance for ethical integration, professional development, and curricular alignment, aiming to bridge informal digital practices with formal instructional goals. This research contributes not only a theoretically grounded and empirically informed framework but also offers actionable recommendations for policymakers, educators, and school leaders to sustainably embed social media into language education across linguistically and culturally diverse settings.