CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION

Social media are one of the current forms of media that have diverse

qualities and characteristics. Today, the use of social media is growing day by day at a

significant rate. It is in this domain that students can virtually meet with their classmates

and their teachers. They can communicate issues that are of significance and are related

to their learning process. This study aimed to explore how social media platforms could

affect English learning skills and to find whether social media could improve English

language skills.

According to Krashen’s (1985) Input Hypothesis, people learn the language

through their exposure to input or reading texts. A person, having an access to

considerable amount of comprehensible input, is likely to correctly acquire and produce

the language. Considering that true in this study, Filipinos must be flooded with

significant amount of input by reading through different means like the social media,

where English is widely used. With the 330 different Internet-based programs created

at the end of 2012, language learners are likely to experience the communication process

and pick up of the language in blogs and microblogging sites, social networks,

professional networks, video sharing networks, and content-driven communities

(Walaski, 2013). However, with such a vast and text-flooded avenue, people must learn

to filter the information they receive to get the academic and right kind of input.
 In the recent years, information technologies and social media, in

particular, have affected the life of Saudis, in general, and the educational community in

particular. It is due to their different forms which help people communicate in various

ways: such as blogs, social networks (Facebook), microblogs (Twitter), wikis

(Wikipedia), video podcasts, and photo sharing (Instagram and Snapchat). Such

applications as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and WhatsApp have massively boosted

social interaction and information sharing within student and teacher communities alike.

The reason behind this expansion might well be the human craving for discovery,

boundless connection and exchange of information and opinion with other users with the

same interests. Social media applications allow users to cross the boundaries of their

countries, connect and express themselves on a global scale (Thorne, 2010).

Language is basically a source or tool of communication and plays an important role in

all walks of life. It is language which is used for transmission and communication among

friends, family members, colleagues, and especially in teaching learning process (Irfan et

al, 2012). When we study the history of English language then we may come to this point

that English language developed and spread in a very short span of time, but still the

history of English language is not dark.

Technology is currently being used to make teaching and learning more

engaging and stimulating. We see more and more websites and applications such as

Facebook, YouTube, twitter and email becoming part of the teaching and learning

process. Probably the most widely used social networking site in the world, social media

enables people to share and get in touch with other people who make up their network

(Selwyn, 2007).
 The rapid evolution of technology facilitates the birth of fast growing social

media tools that are increasingly being used by students in social and academic settings.

In academia, social networking sites are deemed as valuable in language learning as their

community-centered design supports the dissemination of authentic language, and

encourage meaningful interactions beyond the classrooms. As students are ready for

technological changes in learning (Akhiar, Mydin, & Kasuma, 2017), it is time that

higher education institutions harness their potential to better serve the students’ creative

needs. At present, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are also serve to facilitate online

communication, interrelation and cooperation.

Ahmed (2016) researched Facebook effectiveness in helping students who were

learning English as a foreign language (EFL) improve their grammar. He employed a

quantitative methodology with a quasi-experiment on randomly selected classes that used

Facebook to study grammar as well as essay writing. The researcher found that Facebook

helped students improve their writing skills and grammar. Facebook enabled more

integrations with other students and teachers, where they could ask questions to improve

their English language.

Another study by Alqasham (2018) investigated English language leaning

mediation using virtual social networks. The researcher also examined the students‟

perception and experience in WhatsApp and Twitter groups in leaning. Findings indicate

that students have positive attitudes to social networks in their everyday lives, although

the perception of their application in classrooms may be negative.

During the last decade, the inception of the evolving and phenomenal facets

of social media networks has been a fundamental breakthrough that has played a major
role in the lives of millions of people. According to the latest data available on Statista

(2020), there are around 3.96 billion social media users across the globe. Social media

networks range from microblogs such as Twitter and sites and applications such as

Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Snapchat.

Social media networks have influenced all the socioeconomic, political,

educational and personal aspects of life. In the area of education, a significant number of

research studies have been conducted to gauge the effectiveness of these networks in

different disciplines. Linguistically speaking, the influx of linguistic output on social

media represents a myriad of opportunities for language learners to process language and

receive input as young users of social media networks spend more than half of their days

using and interacting on these networks using their language and communication skills.

Hence, online conversations, whether oral or written, have replaced

conventional face-to-face dialogues, leading to significant changes in the users’ daily

language and repertoire. The widespread use of smartphones, laptops, and tablets with

affluent and facile social media applications has perhaps availed rich linguistic input at

the fingertips of their users and have contributed in the production of comprehensible L2

output.

Studies concerning social media and its use have become evident in area of

education which may lead to a significant change in how we structure learning circles in

the future. Social media has made it possible for a more flexible language learning

experience, in which students are given more control and guidance.

 The emergence of the internet and the consequential array of social media

networks have, without doubt, resulted in an exponential increase in new types of written

language: blogs, tweets, Facebook posts and LinkedIn profiles to mention just a few.

There’s no denying that social media has had a drastic impact on the sheer volume of

people we are now able to communicate with, it’s also had an impact on the frequency

with which we are able to communicate with them. This has led to us being exposed to a

myriad of different personalities, perspectives, and approaches when we use social media

to communicate.

Social media have become the avenue through which different people across the globe

converge. Social media platforms are currently used for varied reasons. Companies use

these platforms for marketing and advertising. Individuals use them to build networks

and communicate with their acquaintances, friends, and relatives who are distant from

each other and can only connect with them through social media. There are suggestions

that social media can be used to enhance learning. The role of the internet as a social and

entertainment ground is irrefutable.

However, as the role of the internet in the dissemination of information has been

perceived positively, its contribution to academic research is profound. The internet is an

archive of a full spectrum of resources and information. Therefore, a student can enhance

his or her learning needs by searching for the desired content on the Internet. The focus

of the current study is to investigate the role of social media as a learning resource to help

English students attain proficiency.