The aim of this paper is to examine the influence of interactive whiteboards on classroom work with special attention paid to foreign language classes. The experiments described below aim to measure the level to which the use of IWBs may change student-teacher interactions, improve the students’ language skills, help them focus on the material and motivate them to learn. After the summary of the relevant literature, the description of the research is provided which consists of two main parts: a questionnaire and an experiment. The questionnaire aims to measure the extent to which students’ and language teachers’ perceptions about IWB usage in foreign language classes differ. This questionnaire was filled out by 103 students and the language teaching staff (6 teachers) of a Hungarian secondary school. The results show that there is a general agreement between language teachers and students about the positive influence of IWBs on the teaching and learning process in the foreign language classroom. There is only one point where their opinions differ: the students would like to get more opportunities to use the board themselves. The second part – the experiment – was conducted in the same secondary school in a group of 17 final year students. The aim was to measure the influence the integration of IWB exercises into the classroom can change the language use of the students and the teacher. Two ESL classes were held and recorded, and the utterances of the students and the teacher on both occasions were compared and contrasted based on the recordings, the transcripts and personal observation of the classes. The results show that on the second occasion with the help of IWB exercises the teacher was able to conduct the class relying more on L2 than L1, the students were a lot more active, and the frequency of their L2 utterances were considerably higher compared to the first class. All in all, the use of an IWB had a positive influence on their language acquisition process.