L’apprentissage du FLE via Instagram et TikTok : une étude qualitative préliminaire

In the era of Web 2.0, social media have profoundly reshaped the practices of teaching and learning foreign languages. This article builds on research into innovative approaches in glottodidactics and offers a comparative qualitative analysis of five FLE Instagram accounts conceived for Italian-speaking learners: @francese_con_laura, @francais_facile_avec_fabienne, @etvoila_franceseperitaliani, @camillecarissimo, and @bonjour.magda. The study considers several criteria—type of content, communication strategies, and the linguistic background of the instructor—in order to conduct an analysis of the digital resources and evaluate their didactic potential. Based on this analysis, a draft teaching programme of three French language lessons is proposed within the course Lingua francese base, offered by the Servizio Linguistico d’Ateneo (SeLdA) at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Brescia. This contribution takes the form of an experimental protocol intended for a future empirical study planned for the second semester of the 2025-2026 academic year. Its aim is to provide FLE teachers in Italian-speaking contexts with innovative pedagogical tools and to investigate two promising research paths: the use of social media as means to foster learner autonomy, and the role of the teacher as a “mediator” of digital content. Ultimately, this article highlights the value of conducting an a priori theoretical analysis of these digital resources, thereby laying the groundwork for an experimental validation of the impact of social media on learning and on the motivation of FLE students.