THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN

DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE

WRITING SKILL AT SCHOOL LEVEL
DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO TAMILNADU TEACHERS
EDUCATION UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
REQUIRMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF EDUCATION

SUBMITTED BY
MALASREE.M
Reg. No. – 1070922MD023

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Dr.G.MADHU M. Sc., M.Ed., Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor.

JAIRUPA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION (10709)

THOTTIAPALAYAM, TIRUPPUR

AFFILIATED TO
TAMIL NADU TEACHERS EDUCATION UNIVERSITY
CHENNAI.

2022-2024
Dr.G.MADHU M. Sc., M.Ed., Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor.

Jairupa College of Education,

Thottiapalayam,
Tiruppur.

CERTIFICATE

I hereby certify that the thesis entitled "THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN
DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE WRITING SKILL AT SCHOOL LEVEL" is
a record of research work done by the candidate MALASREE.M, Reg. No:
1070922MD023submitted to the Tamilnadu Teachers Education University

during the period of her study under my supervision and guidance in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education and also
certified that it has not previously formed the basis for the award of any
degree, diploma, associate ship, fellowship or other similar title.

Dr.G.MADHU M. Sc., M.Ed., Ph.D.,

Place: Thottiapalayam.

Date :
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the dissertation " THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
IN DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE WRITING SKILL AT SCHOOL LEVEL

is my original work and the dissertation has not formed the basis for
the award of any degree, diploma, associate ship, fellowship or
similar other titles. It has not been submitted to any other University
or Institution for the award of any degree or diploma.

MALASREE. M

Place: Thottiapalayam.

Date:
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my indebtedness and deep sense of gratitude to my

guide Dr.G.MADHU M. Sc., M.Ed., Ph.D Assistant Professor. for his
valuable supervision and guidance, unstinted Co-operation and above
all for his untiring Endeavour in going through the manuscript and her
critical contribution to make the study an up to date one.

It is with real pleasure that, I record my indebtedness to

Management and Principal, Jairupa College of Education for their
immense help and encouragement rendered during the course of the
investigation.

I very sincerely thank all the Teaching staffs and the non-
teaching staffs of the Jairupa College of Education for their kind co-
operation and help in completing this research work.

MALASREE.M
 CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
NO. TITLE NO.
I INTRODUCTION 1
II REVIEW OF LITERATURE 39
III METHODOLOGY 57
IV ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 69
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND
V 82
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

VI BIBLIOGRAPHY 108

V APPENDIX 115
 CHAPTER - 1
INTRODUCTION:
1.1 Introduction:

Technology has such a great impact on our life and education. Students are
often found using smart phones during the lecture. They seem to be more
interested in using different social networking sites like WhatsApp, LinkedIn,
Google chat, Facebook, etc. than to listen to teachers’ lectures. Resultantly,
teachers have had to adjust their methodologies and techniques to cater to
students' interests (their use of social media) while teaching in the
classroom.

Social media has busted the myth that traditional classroom teaching is the
only successful method of teaching. Nevertheless, the advent of the internet
and technology has provided innovation and creativity in language teaching
which of course caters to the psychological and emotional needs of students.
As per the obsession of students, it is mandatory to create a techno-friendly
environment in the classroom to exploit students’ interest to facilitate the
teaching-learning process, as there seems to be no substitution of technology
in the near future. To facilitate the teachinglearning process and ease the
classroom environment, teachers can form a group on WhatsApp or
Facebook and encourage students to use the target language while sharing
ideas (as texts) or having discussions on different topics (as a thread of
messages) provided by the teachers in advance. It is quite rewarding for
students who are shy in nature and feel hesitant to form a physical group in
the classroom. The virtual mode of teaching provides teachers with sufficient
opportunities to provide feedback to students. A language teacher can

1
exploit Instagram, Face-book, and Twitter very smartly to teach a language.
Facebook and other social networks extend the scope of communication
between learners and expose them to communication and information
technology (Elliott et al., 2010).

Social media can be a reliable platform that gives students learning

environments to enhance their participation in the learning process under
the guidance of teachers to exchange their views on different topics by using
the target language (Mazman & Usluel, 2010). Moreover, social media like
Facebook and WhatsApp encourages students to do their homework (Kitsis,
2008) in an innovative way. According to Carmean & Haefner, (2002) social
networks are considered applied online technologies which make second
language learning more social, enjoyable, and stress-free. Real learning
occurs when it is social and student-centered. In other words, this style of
education leads to a “meaningful understanding of material and content” (p.
29). Social networks enhance and develop a social environment for learners
who desire to engage with people from all over the world in order to
improve their language skills (Godwin-Jones, 2008; Sturgeon & Walker,
2009). Online social technologies have transcended national borders,
transforming the entire world into a microcosm. If technology is used
constructively, it can greatly aid in the development of language skills such
as reading, writing, listening, and speaking (Miller et al., 2018) state: One
fruitful source of technology-based language learning Is social media Modern
foreign language learners are? Active participants in the online world in their
everyday lives, So it seems natural for instructors to adopt this inherently
Collaborative platforms to the classroom environment (p. 550). Technology
may assist in developing our communication skills and has the potential to
provide us with all the assistance we need to learn a language. Social media
network is an effective source where teachers and learners can receive and

2
share a huge amount of authentic learning materials (Blake, 2013).
Undoubtedly, social media is an innovative and creative way of learning and
students rarely get bored with it. Being influenced with innumerable
learning advantages of social networks, the researchers exerted their efforts
in exploring it (particularly WhatsApp) as a tool to harness students'
infatuation with smart phones to open new vistas of developing a language.
Students usually do not like writing as a classroom activity. They do not feel
interested to develop their writing skills. Most of the students memorize
writing paragraphs in order to score good marks and pass the examination.
In this technological era, writing, which requires intensive attention, is the
most suffering and neglected skill as it is hardly practiced by students.
WhatsApp application is used by teachers and learners to develop writing
skills because most students use it to write their mess-ages (as revealed
through the analysis of data obtained from students). This study aims to
bridge the gap between social media and traditional classroom education, as
well as to universalize researchers' experiences using social media
(WhatsApp) as a learning tool.
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 popular forms of SNS with a high rate of university
students’ demography (Gettman & Cortijo, 2015); hence could be

3
employed as mobile learning tools to positively impact language learning.
English is the official language of the world. However, the traditional
methods of teaching English in Jordan reduced English language learning
to mechanical memorization and miserably fail to develop language
competency among the students as it depends largely on lecturing and is
mostly done in the traditional chalk-andtalk way, (Al-Jarrah et al., 2019;
Gillett, 2009). These stereotyped methods and teaching material makes
the learning a monotonous activity and creates distaste among the
students by reducing them to mere passive receptors of language and not
active participants in the learning process (Sumathi, 2016). Students
have little chance to use English in communication and limited exposure
to academic English, therefore, they are often unable to fully comprehend
lectures or actively participate in class discussions. Many are also
hampered in their ability to express themselves in writing, (Gilakjani &
Ahmadi, 2011).
Writing is one of the four language skills that requires a special
attention. It is a significant skill in language production (Kellogg, 2008) as its
role is to convey the message accurately and effectively, and its proficiency
plays a major role in communication. Writing is the most challenging area in
learning the second language (Ferris, 2011). University students are neither
knowledgeable nor skilled enough to feel confident to communicate
efficiently and effectively, using English as a foreign language. Language
teaching has a number of dimensions, which include the development of oral
expression, written skills, literature, and creativity (Richards & Rodgers,
2014). However, Kiuhara, Graham, and Hawken (2009); Al-Jarrah et al.
(2019) noted that students do not write very often and most of what they
write is classroom-bound. The most important factor in writing exercises is
that students need to be personally involved in order to make the learning

4
experience of great value and make learning more meaningful and more
exciting. Many of us know that with practice comes perfection, especially
when it comes to writing. The more we write, the better we become as
writers. Social media can be a tool where students are encouraged to use
their creativity combined with personal expression to improve and
strengthen their writing.
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). They
also serve to facilitate online communication, interrelation and cooperation.
A large number of students rely on social media as a means to get in touch
with friends. Valenzuela, Park, and Kee (2009) found that freshmen mainly
used social media about an hour daily to socialize with friends. This shows
what potential social media has as a method for online learning. Ranked in
the top 20 countries with the most social media users, the social networking
site is now an essential aspect of daily life. Apparently, social media are
highly likely to prove advantageous to students should it be capitalized on as
part of the learning process.
1.2 SOCIAL MEDIA:
Introduction:
Social media is an online platform for online social interaction. Some top
social media companies are on facebook, instagram , youtube , whatsapp,
linkedin , pinterest ect…

5
 Means online interaction and communication between different age groups
of people. It may be in any from like a web application , website or
smartphone application.
1.3 USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA:
1. Some people use it to becoe popular. They creat good video and
images to attract users and then people follow them.
2. Social networking sites and appa are the cheapest communication
service in this world.
3. Just you have an internet services plan. You can make video calls,
message and send document and do more.
4. So, anyone can talk with his or her school or college persons in
anywhere in world.
5. Social media has now become the fastest communication medium in
the world.
6. Its popularity is also increasing in people. Nowadays , every age group
is using social networking websites.
Social media Advantage:
1. Today technology has increased so much that we can sit in the
corner of a country and talk or message to each other of our family
members or friends living in other countries and can interact, with
each other via text messages and video conferencing.
2. Nowadays all people show their talents on social media and earn
money from them. Also , to get someone’s photos, videos ect. Can be
easily accessed through social media.
3. Social media has become a new entertainment tool for all people
nowadays. People connect with their family relative and friends
take advantage of it.
Disadvantage:

6
 1. What is not enjoying social media is getting worse nowadays ? Is
also hurts people children of today who are showing much interest in
social media , their time is being wasted on social media , not in
studies.
2. Insecurity and lack of privacy protection are the main disadvantage
of social media with everything public on social platforms, the
privacy of people could go manipulated for negative uses.
3. Lack of exercise , playing and physical people face different health
issues. It also causes significant damage to the eyes of the people and
also makes a difference in their intelligence.
1.4 WRITING SKILL:
Writing is the process of putting a spoken word into written form. To ensure
that readers can recognize and comprehend the author's message, an active
process of organizing, formulating, and developing thoughts on paper is
required. Additionally, writing demands precision and appropriate
capitalization, spelling, grammar, and punctuation (Bram, in Imeldi, 2001).
According to Khroma (1988, p. 172), writing is a form of activity in which the
author transfers the thoughts in his head onto the page to create a sentence,
a paragraph, and an essay. Lindblom (1983) claims that writing is a method
for learning to concentrate on all the important topics and learn about them.
The students will describe in writing a concrete physical object or area that
is significant to their vision. To explain the visual outcomes in line with the
depicted things, they should arrange their words and details in this scenario.
Previous studies on the usage of social media, ICT, and writing have
demonstrated that these tools will inspire students and support their
academic achievement. A study on SMS texting and its potential effects on
students' writing communication skills was undertaken by Solomon (2011,
p. 222) Specifically in an academic setting where English is the L2 language

7
for the majority of students, he discovered that the SMS text messaging
function could increase the propensity among students to adopt
unconventional uses and contracted forms of English words in their
coursework, exams, and research reports. Similiarly, the use of Twitter as a
social networking platform to enhance college students' business writing
abilities was the subject of a study by Lajuan and Roger (2011, pp. 401–406).
According to this study, using Twitter as a social media tool can help learners
write better. Short messaging service (SMS) language and written language
skills: educators' views were the topic of a study by Salomé Geertsema et al.
(2011, pp. 475–487). The findings showed that most educators believed SMS
language had a detrimental effect on students ‘written language abilities. The
learners' spelling, punctuation, and sentence length were all perceived to be
affected. Another study revealed that most educators address the harmful
effects of SMS language when they come into contact with it.
1.5 Types of writing skills:
There are four different types of writing: persuasive, descriptive, narrative,
and expository. Even though they differ in their delivery, they all also include
some of the same aspects. Always remembering your audience and providing
them with enough details is important with any type of writing.
1. Persuasive:
For this writing style, the writer is trying to convince the reader of the
validity of a certain position or argument. Persuasive writing includes the
writers’ opinions, and provides justifications and evidence to support their
claims.
Examples: Letters of recommendation; cover letters; Op-Eds and Editorial
newspaper articles; argumentative essays for academic papers
2. Narrative:

8
 Often seen in longer writing samples, the purpose of this writing style is to
share information in the context of a story. Narratives should include
characters, conflicts, and settings.
Examples: Short stories; novels; poetry; historical accounts
3. Expository:
This type of writing is used to explain a concept and share information to a
broader audience. Expository writing provides evidence, statistics, or results
and focuses on the facts of a certain topic. This type is not meant to express
opinions.
Examples: How-to articles; textbooks; news stories (not editorials or Op-
Eds); business, technical, or scientific writing
4. Descriptive:
This type of writing is used to depict imagery to create a clear picture in
the mind of the reader. This method helps the readers become more
connected to the writing by appealing to their senses. Descriptive writing
employs literary techniques such as similes, metaphors, allegory, etc to
engage the audience.
Examples: Poetry; fictional novels or plays; memoirs or first-hand accounts
of events.

What are writing (pre-writing) skills?

Pre-writing skills are the fundamental skills children need to develop
before they are able to write. These skills contribute to the child’s ability to
hold and use a pencil, and the ability to draw, write, copy, and colour. A
major component of pre-writing skills are the pre-writing shapes. These are
the pencil strokes that most letters, numbers and early drawings are
comprised of. They are typically mastered in sequential order, and to an age

9
specific level. These strokes include the following strokes: |, —, O, +, /,
square, \, X, and Δ.
Why are writing (pre-writing) skills important?
Pre-writing skills are essential for the child to be able to develop the
ability to hold and move a pencil fluently and effectively and therefore
produce legible writing. When these skills are underdeveloped it can lead to
frustration and resistance due to the child not being able to produce legible
writing or to ‘keep up’ in class due to fatigue. This can then result in poor self
esteem and academic performance.
What are the building blocks necessary to develop writing (pre-
writing)?
Hand and finger strength: An ability to exert force against resistance using
the hands and fingers that allows the necessary muscle power for controlled
movement of the pencil.
Crossing the mid-line: The ability to cross the imaginary line running from
a person’s nose to pelvis that divides the body into left and right sides.
Pencil grasp: The efficiency of how the pencil is held, allowing age
appropriate pencil movement generation.
Hand eye coordination: The ability to process information received from
the eyes to control, guide and direct the hands in the performance of a task
such as handwriting.
Bilateral integration: Using two hands together with one hand leading (e.g.
holding and moving the pencil with the dominant hand while the other hand
helps by holding the writing paper).
Upper body strength: The strength and stability provided by the shoulder
to allow controlled hand movement for good pencil control.

10
Object manipulation: The ability to skilfully manipulate tools (including
holding and moving pencils and scissors) and controlled use of everyday
tools (such as a toothbrush, hairbrush, cutlery).
Visual perception: The brain’s ability to interpret and make sense of visual
images seen by the eyes, such as letters and numbers.
Hand dominance: The consistent use of one (usually the same) hand for
task performance, which allows refined skills to develop.
Hand division: Using just the thumb, index and middle finger for
manipulation, leaving the fourth and little finger tucked into the palm
stabilizing the other fingers but not participating.

How can I tell if my child has problems with writing (pre-writing)

skills?
If a child has difficulties with writing they might:
 Have an awkward pencil grasp.
 Have difficulty controlling a pencil for colouring, drawing or writing.
 Show a tendency to use their whole hand to manipulate objects rather
than just a few fingers.
 Have poor endurance for pencil based activities.
 Display messy and/or slow handwriting.
 Have difficulty staying within the lines when colouring.
 Apply inappropriate pressure to the paper for pencil based activities
(either too heavy and frequently breaks the pencil, or too light and
‘spidery’).
 Have poor upper limb strength (weak shoulders).
 Have difficulty coordinating both hands together for two handed tasks.
 Have poor hand-eye coordination.

11
  Be verbally skilled but has difficulty showing this on paper (i.e. writing,
drawing or colouring).
 Not meet the pre-writing expectations outlined below.

Age Pre-writing expectation

1-2 years  Randomly scribbles
 Spontaneously scribbles in vertical\horizontal direction
 Imitates a horizontal\vertical\circular line
2-3 years  Imitates a horizontal line
 Imitates a vertical line
 Imitates a circle
3-4 years  Copies a horizontal line
 Copies a vertical line
 Copies a circle
 Imitates +
 Imitates / and \
 Imitates a square
4-5 years  Copies a +
 Traces a line
 Copies a square
 Copies a / and \
 Imitates X
 Imitates Δ
 Grasps pencil in writing position
5-6 years  Copies X
 Copies Δ
 Recognises between a big and small

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What other problems can occur when a child has writing (pre-writing)
skill difficulties?
When a child has writing difficulties, they might also have difficulties with:
 Behaviour: The may avoid or refuse to participate in pencil and other
fine motor tasks.
 Self esteem: when they compare their work against that of their peers.
 Academic performance: They find it more difficult and be slower
completing these tasks, contributing to slower skills acquisition (e.g.
learning to write their name, or draw a person).
 Self care: The ability to (age appropriately) master independence in
everyday life activities (such as dressing, eating, cleaning teeth,
brushing hair).
 Avoidance: Preferring to get others to perform fine motor tasks for
them under their direction, rather than actually doing themselves (e.g.
“Daddy, draw me a house”, or “build me a rocket”, with refusal to do it
themselves).
What can be done to improve writing (pre-writing) skills?
 Hand dominance: Determine and reinforce the dominant hand use in
precision task performance.
 Experience: Encourage participation in activities that involve grasping
and manipulating small objects such drawing, puzzles, opening
containers, threading or other related tasks.
 Poking and pointing: Practice tasks that use just one or two fingers
(not all at once) e.g. poking games.
 Praise and encouragement when your child engages in fine motor
activities, especially if they are persistent when finding an activity
difficult.

13
  Hand and finger strength (e.g. scrunching, paper, using tweezers,
play dough, pegs).
 Sensory play activities (e.g. rice play, finger painting) to assist the
development of tactile awareness.
 Hand-eye coordination: Practice activities that involve hand-eye
coordination (e.g. throwing and catching) and crossing the mid-line
(e.g. reaching across the body to pick up items).
 Upper limb strength: Encourage play activities that develop upper
limb strength (e.g. climbing ladders, wheelbarrow walking).
What activities can help improve writing (pre-writing) skills?
 Threading and lacing with a variety of sized laces.
 Play-doh (playdough) activities that may involve rolling with hands
or a rolling pin, hiding objects such as coins in the play dough or just
creative construction.
 Scissor projects that may involve cutting out geometric shapes to then
paste them together to make pictures such as robots, trains or houses.
 Tongs or teabag squeezers to pick up objects.
 Drawing or writing on a vertical surface.
 Every day activities that require finger strength such as opening
containers and jars.
 Pre writing shapes: Practice drawing the pre-writing shapes (l, —, O,
+, /, square, \, X, and Δ).
 Finger games: that practice specific finger movements such as Incy
wincy Spider.
 Craft: Make things using old boxes, egg cartons, wool, paper and sticky
or masking tape.
 Construction: Building with duplo, lego, mobile or other construction
toys.

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Why should I seek therapy if I notice difficulties with writing (pre-
writing) skills in my child?
Therapeutic intervention to help a child with writing difficulties is important
to:
 Improve ability in, and persistence with, fine motor tasks for academic
performance.
 Increase school readiness skills for your child’s emotional comfort and
ease of transition into school.
 Help a child to develop age appropriate self care tasks such as doing up
buttons and zips.
 Avoid my child becoming disengaged in an academic environment due
to difficulties completing colouring, drawing and writing.
 Avoid frustrations experienced by parents, teachers and children when
the child is struggling to remain engaged in academic activities.
 Help develop and maintain my child’s positive sense of well being
through belief in their pencil skills for academic and play tasks.
 Ensure that my child doesn’t fall behind their peers in development of
handwriting or drawing.

If left untreated what can difficulties with writing (pre-writing) skills

lead to?
When children have difficulties with writing, they are might also have
difficulties with:

 Meeting (preschool or school based academic criteria due to poor

pencil skills and rapid fatigue.
 Difficulties mastering letter and number formation.

15
  Learning to write their own name or draw age appropriate pictures
(pre-school age).
 Excessive pressure and anxiety in a school-aged child due to
difficulties ‘keeping up’ in class.
 Completing worksheets or tests due to difficulty answering all written
questions within the allocated time.
 Poor self esteem when a child compares their abilities with their peers.
 Difficulty manipulating items for construction (puzzles, lego).

What type of therapy is recommended writing (pre-writing)

difficulties?
If your child has difficulties with writing (pre-writing) skills, it is
recommended they consult an Occupational Therapist.

1.6 SOCIAL MEDIA IN EDUCATION

School students today are constantly exposed to and connected to
information technologies. Furthermore, they use digital media virtually
constantly, and using them is second nature. In other words, they consider
technology to be an integral part of their lives and take it for granted (Jung,
2006). ICTs have quickly evolved into one of the fundamental pillars of
contemporary civilization. The rapid advancement of new information and
communication technologies (ICTs) will further alter how knowledge is
generated, acquired, and transmitted, even while no technology is intended
to replace the teacher. Most people utilize social media sites like Facebook,
LinkedIn, and Twitter. Working together, networking, sharing, and creating
new knowledge and material are all important aspects of social media in the
context of higher education, (Gupta, 2015).
Social media refers to human interaction in which individuals build,
share, or exchange knowledge and concepts in online communities and

16
networks. "A range of Internet-based apps that build on the theoretical and
technological underpinnings of Web 2.0 and that enable the creation and
exchange of user generated content," according to the definition of social
media. Social media are seen as lifelong learning enhancers and bridge-
building tools. Additionally, social media platforms that are highly
participatory and allow for the sharing, co-creation, discussion, and
modification of user-generated material are created using mobile and web-
based technology. They bring about significant and profound changes in how
companies, communities, and people communicate (Rajesh & Michael, 2015).
Through participatory digital cultures, it is believed that social media
can help formal and informal learning come together. Social media
integration into learning situations is controversial for its potential to
improve education. Social media integration in learning and teaching
environments may result in new modes of inquiry, communication,
collaboration, identity work, information sharing, and resource sharing,
according to research on the subject. It may also have positive effects on
cognitive, social, and emotional development (Greenhow& Lewin, 2015).
Professors can communicate with their students off-campus and with their
former students thanks to social media. By setting up groups and accounts
where students may access the content, professors use social media as a
teaching tool (Gupta, 2015). According to Rajesh & Michael (2015), social
media networks are expanding and reaching more individuals every day.
They discovered that students can use group services, blogging services, and
interaction services in their studies. Due to time limits and/or the lack of a
formal feedback mechanism, traditional lecture formats are one-way and
eliminate the need for emphasis and clarification. A social network can help
to learn by enabling lengthier interactions between the educator and the
learner, which has the effect of reinforcing the information given before the

17
learner advances (Vervaart 2013). Access to information is possible, (Gupta,
2015).

1.7 INTEGRATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN WRITING SKILL

Today's world has made studying English more crucial. However,
not many students are interested in learning English through formal
academic means like classes and private tutoring. Many students are
encountering this latter since writing is the most challenging talent to learn.
The most recent tool being used as a creative way to assign education-
related tasks is the integration of social media. Social media is a dynamic
platform where users can create content using online and mobile
technologies for a variety of sharing activities. Social media has a significant
impact in situations where it is solely web-based and it is a free,
participatory, and supportive enhancer for increasing students' learning
experiences in providing networking opportunities (Roopchund, Ramesh &
Janky, 2018). Students are more likely to use self-directed learning
strategies, such as examining and rewriting their writing processes so they
can practice good writing and provide alternative suggestions, sentence
constructions and the deletion of unneeded articles (Laire, Casteleyn &
Mottart, 2012). According to Zheng, Yim, and Warshauser (2018), social
media gives second language learners more opportunities to engage in
everyday writing tasks and advance their writing skills in a classroom
setting. These researchers also noted that using social media as a writing
medium can give language learners the chance to engage in genuine and
persuasive conversations with native English speakers while honing their
written language.
Dhanya (2016), clarifies that the teacher is no longer the sole source of
content, and the students are able to shape their learning in ways which align

18
closely with the needs of their daily lives. All the above encourage the user to
engage with information in English, reading and writing both formally and
informally. The use of these techniques can act as a bridge to facilitate
communication inside and outside the classroom. These devices can be a
powerful teaching and learning device too.
With the flexibility of choosing when, where, and how to study thanks
to social media, English Language Learners may take control of their
education and concentrate on the material at hand rather than stumbling
over English grammar and mechanics. It is also mentioned that English
language learners frequently struggle with writing down their thoughts and
ideas clearly. Purcell, Buchanan, and Friedrich carried out a survey like
national writing projects and they discovered that digital technologies are
greatly influencing student writing in a variety of ways and are also useful
teaching resources for students. These professors believe that the internet
and digital tools like social networking sites, cell phones, and texting
typically encourage kids to express themselves creatively and personally, to
write more frequently in a variety of media than perhaps was the case in
previous generations.
To help second language writers (L2) rewrite and edit their work, Kuo
(2008) noted that online writing included some useful resources like access
to a dictionary. L2 authors were able to evaluate their own practice through
peer evaluation and online exchanges. The content was highlighted and input
increased with writing advice. Online writing offers additional benefits,
according to Amos (2011). Students are made aware of their audience when
they communicate online, for instance. To improve their selfstudy in the
online writing environment, students could maintain their own e-portfolio
and modify, publish, and access it.

19
 Qian and McCormick (2014) found that university students from the UK
or Western Europe participated in a forum by both actively contributing to
the content of the forum and passively digesting the content from the forum.
The study also concluded that more students only passively read the content
from the forum rather than contributing to the forum. Students wanted to
join the forum to ask for support or offer support. In addition, students
shared learning experiences, resources, and difficulties, as well as
achievements. As a writing platform, some authors have attempted to
contrast Facebook with other settings (Dizon, 2016; S. Wang & Camilla,
2014; Yen, Hou, & Chang, 2015). Dizon (2016) contrasted the outcomes of
writing on private Facebook groups to those done on paper and a pen. The
study came to the conclusion that Facebook might serve as an alternative
setting for writing practice.

1.8 THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND

WRITING:
Most of undergraduate students around the world are using social media
nowadays (Hardiana, 2019). Social media plays an important role in
education field because it provides various platforms to support and
motivate students to learn. Hence, the usage of social media is expected to
give any solutions for various problems in learning process, especially if the
students can share their difficulties with other students who have the same
problems (Al-Jarrah et al., 2019). Some interesting features of social media
such as illustration, animation, different material structuring and improved
control make well-designed social media preferably by students than
traditional learning method (Chueinta, 2017). Social media are present not

20
only as a medium of communication and socializing but is now also
transformed as a tool to help students in learning.
Social media takes an important role in English language learning
since it enables students to improve their abilities in English such as writing,
reading and improving their vocabulary. One of the advantages of using
social media in learning English is minimalizing shyness as well as making
communication through verbal both directly and indirectly easier (Anwas et
al., 2020). Social media also increase students’ selflearning skill. There were
69% of students worldwide stating that learning felt more effective when
accompanied by socializing informally (Dhanya, 2016). In increasing English
self-learning skill, social media support students to learn English efficiently
and effectively. One of the reasons why teachers should use social media in
teaching English is because students rely on it to be able to socialize and
access information.
Al Arif said that social media provide opportunities for students to improve
their English skills. This is because in social media there are fun learning
resources that can increase students' interest in learning English (Arif,
2019). Hence, social media have a great opportunity in helping students to
learn English effectively. They are not only help students to master English
quickly through various methods but also make students excited to learn
with a new medium that could motivate them for a certain time.
1.9 LEARNING WRITING IN SOCIAL MEDIA
Writing has been identified by Harmer as a basic language skill and
is as important as reading, speaking and listening, so it will not be ignored in
the language learning process. Writing also is a disciplined way to create
meaning and an effective way to show someone’s thoughts (as cited in
Bukhari, 2016). According to Kroma, is a type of writing in which the writer
expresses his thoughts in his head, consisting of an array of words to form an

21
essay (as cited in Salikin & Tahir, 2017). Students describe in writing
something that is a concrete physical form or space that is important to
vision. However, developing a particular skill requires consistent effort and
regular practice. Since writing means creating or duplicating a message
spoken in the written language, it involves an active process for organizing,
formulating, and developing ideas on paper so that readers can know and
understand the author's message (Salikin & Tahir, 2017). Students need to
be aware of writing as a process and also as a product, as it reflects the
student's ability to master writing techniques (Okasha & Hamdi, 2014). In
addition to learning vocabulary and grammar rules, through social media
students can also improve their English writing skills with online writing
methods. The writing rules contained on social media are informal, so they
do not demand users to have perfect expertise in English. Social media
features that provide certain limits regarding the number of words that can
be written in each post make students summarize their writing and ensure it
can be well understood at the same time.
According to Suyono and Hariyanto, learning is a process to obtain
knowledge, develop skills, and improve the behavior of students (as cited in
Handayani et al., 2020). Additionally, Brown stated that learning is when
someone gets knowledge, skills, experiences or instructions on certain
subjects (as cited in Handayani et al., 2020). Thus, it can be concluded that
learning English writing is a process carried out by students and aimed to
gain, improve or develop his/her knowledge and skills in writing field. In
addition, writing skills mastery in the context of learning English is
important because through it students can express their ideas, thoughts,
emotions and feelings to others in writing. Writing is considered as a difficult
thing to do for students. This problem can be overcome by creating a
strategy that can improve students' writing skills. The strategy can be

22
represented through controlled exercises and activities that reflect real life
(Sakkir et al., 2016). These two things, apart from being able to be done in
the classroom, can also be done through social media. The writing rules
contained on social media are informal, so they do not demand the users to
have perfect expertise in English. In addition to learning vocabulary and
grammar rules, through social media students can also improve their English
writing skills with online writing methods.
Tamer Mohammad Al-Jarrah, Jarrah Mohammad Al-Jarrah, Rania Hassan
Talafhah and Noraien Mansor (2019) examines how students perceive social
media in terms of ease of use, usefulness, and attitudes towards engaging in
activities using social media, and whether these factors correlate. Based on
the research findings, a high percentage of students use social media. The
researchers found that the role of social media in the development of English
writing performance at the school level was dominant. The role of social
media in the development of English help English learners learn new words
and phrases and improve their writing skills.
Khan et al. (2016) claims that the role of social media in English
vocabulary development at the university level is dominant. The role of
social media in developing English vocabulary seems to be the brilliance of
the day as social media make it easier for English learners to learn new
words and phrases and improve their vocabulary. Similarly, the results of the
study also show that young college-level learners find social media are easier
to use than books and other text materials while going to the library to get
vocabulary development books.
Anwas et al. (2020) suggest that students need to be encouraged to
improve their English proficiency by using English social media content. It is
known that there is a significant correlation between the use of social media
content and English proficiency. Therefore, it is essential to use social media

23
to learn English. The types of social media are very diverse. Similarly,
content and other facilities can attract millennials as a place to practice,
practice, and become accustomed to learning English. Meanwhile, Chueinta
(2017) states that: participants mainly used social media to improve their
English proficiency because social media is convenient for regular use,
Hardiana (2019) propose that use of social media among English
Education students mostly give positive effect for them to solve problems in
completing their theses. In this study, the writer found various factors in
dealing with students to complete their theses such as; psychological factor
(less motivated), socio-cultural factor (the relationship between students
and supervisor), linguistic factor (finding references, insufficient of
grammar).
1.10 Importance of writing skill:
1. Creativity

2. Communication

3. Effective writing

4. Critical thinking skills

5. Writing clears your mind

6. Help in getting a job

7. Writing is an essential job skill

In a world increasingly dominated by screens and emojis, the written

word remains an invincible force. Writing skills, often overlooked in the age
of rapid digital communication, are more critical than ever, especially for
students. They are not just a tool for academic success; they are the key to
unlocking a world of opportunities and personal growth. Let’s study and
delve into the importance of writing skills and the myriad benefits they offer
to students.

24
“Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic.” – J.K. Rowling

Learning how to write brief paragraphs and essays is one of the terrible
experiences for students in school, but it is also one of the essential skills. If
kids do not attempt to learn the skill of writing at a young age, they will face
difficulties in mastering the skill in their later life.

However, it’s true that a student should be proficient enough to write a

sentence together accurately. Writing goes beyond school purposes.
Businesses require candidates who can write and communicate effectively.
Even the digital age has not reduced the need for writing. Be it emails, online
chat conversations, faxes or website updates all these require excellent
writing skills.

The clearer the communication is, the greater will be the chance of a high
success rate. Be it any field or any profession, writing skill is required in
some part of the journey in life.

Moreover, writing also facilitates a person to think better. When student

learn how to write, he or she becomes more capable of analyzing what they
read, interpret and think.

1. Ability To Explain Yourself

Writing is a great way to teach, inform, entertain one’s behavior and educate
oneself. Some children are natural in writing, while others learn to write. One
requires a good sort of knowledge & appropriate experience about the topic
which he/ she is writing, required to be natural in this skill.

2. Serves As A Record For Future

Jotting down your ideas & experiences on a paper for future references. For
instance, scientific, logical & technological achievement can’t be verbally

25
communicated. They must be presented in a composed format, such as
scientific journals, logical diaries and white papers. Science would not have
existed if the researchers had not recorded each experiment in an equitable
composed format.

3. Helps You in Getting A Job in Later Life

Children who start learning writing skills from an early age achieve high
levels of academic success. These benefits result in excellent professional
skills.

Mastering over good writing at an early age is associated with better

outcomes on the overall performance of children in school. Students who
learn to write a complete sentence without an error from a very young age
are more likely to develop that skill while they become old.

4. Improve Communication Skills

Yes, this eventually increases your communication skills as well. Writing
abilities channelize your knowledge and brain to the point of value. It about
conveys the point that is significant for other people.
If you want to be successful in speeches & debates, you’ll need effective
writing skills. Apart from facts & figures to present your ideas &
viewpointsto the audience.
5. Improve Focus & Connects With Yourself
Whether it is a blog post, an article, essay, travel experience, business trips,
quotes, shayaris, or whatever you write, one cannot write effectively without
connecting his/ her brain to the heart. This is the way you become focused,
more conscious & intelligent. It also reflects the personality of an individual.
6. Increases Your Knowledge, Creativity & Imagination
Effective writing ensures a writer to be smart enough as he/ she writes with
his experience as well as creativity.

26
While writing anything, a human brain uses every part of the brain & cells. If
a person is writing his/ her life experiences, travel experience, article for a
blog, editorial or anything else, all his knowledge related to that, memories,
incidents, success & failures, present situations & future possibilities,
everything comes out of writing. This ultimately increases awareness,
improve memory, make you sharp and increase your creativity and
imagination.
These are desirable traits to be successful in students’ life and career.

7. Help in Getting A Job

Today, due to the advancement of information technology (IT), writers &
authors are in demand to make digital media content. Such as digital
marketing companies, advertising organizations do require a content writer
or a journalist.

News websites, social media marketing companies and many other IT or

non-IT companies need a writer to help them write for their digital
marketing channels such as brand cites, commercial advertisements, social
media posts and blogs.
How to improve writing skills:
 Grammar
 Spelling
 Punctuation
 When to use capital letter
 Using plain English
 Know your medium
 Writing styles
 Reread

27
  Importance
 Stick to your main idea

Tips for Improving Writing Skills for Students (For Teachers in an

Online/Traditional School)

 Invest time in sentence crafting activities.

 Make it fun with games (classic and innovative) like spelling bee and
extempore activities etc.
 Encourage students to read, and suggest supplementary reading
material.
 Be innovative with your language.
 Add variations with voice modulation.
 Focus on building a sound knowledge of grammar.
 Use examples to help students use their imagination and record their
ideas.

Tips For Good Writing

 Make simple, short & precise sentences that are easy to read &
understand.
 Stay away from the excessive stuffing of words.
 Avoid the use of jargon while paying attention to grammar & spellings.
 Do not use repetitive sentences as it may confuse the reader.
 Instead of passive form, always use the active voice of the verb.
 Don’t delay in writing instead get it done now.
 Review your previous work & examine how you’ve grown up your
skills till now.
 Brush up on the basic principles of writing skills by starting writing
anything roughly.

28
  Try to imitate your favorite writers & authors.
 Outline, edit, simplify & improve your writing tasks.
 Take your time to analyze what all you’ve read.
 Develop your skills & abilities by reading more & more.
 Accept your mistakes as first attempts are always wrong.
 Join a workshop, meet up, consult adults or else take a writing class.
 Write something every day.
 Ask your friend to read what you’ve written and also provide you with
feedback.
 Do good research on the topic you need to write.
 Do the practice of writing daily.

These are some characteristic traits of good writing skills. These abilities not
only help students in their school academic life but also aides many business
people like newspaper editors excelling in their field.

1.11 Characteristics of writing skill in social media

Qualities of good writing skill:

1. Focus
2. Knowledge
3. communication
4. Development
5. Unity
6. Coherence
7. Correctness

29
  Learn best by reading and taking notes.
 Like reading out-loud.
 Use dictionaries and other source materials as reference.
 Learn by re-reading their notes.
 Tend to remember information that they read or write down.
 Can become great writers.
 Consider Your Audience. Before you go any further, it's time to take a
minute to consider your audience. ...
 Choose Adjectives to Describe Your Content.
 Consider Your Point of View.
 Outline Grammar & Punctuation Rules.
 Get Serious About Formatting.

1.12 NEEDS AND IMPORTANCE OF WRITING SKILL IN SOCIAL

MEDIA
Writing skills are at the heart of education. They are essential for composing
essays, research papers, and assignments that demonstrate a student's
understanding of a subject. A well-written paper not only garners higher
grades but also reflects a student's depth of knowledge and critical thinking
abilities.

Strong writing skills are essential in many areas of life, including

academic and professional settings, as well as in personal communication.
Good writing skills can help students effectively express their thoughts,
ideas, and opinions, and can contribute to greater success in various fields.

The primary reason for writing anything is to communicate with others, to

stimulate interest or action from the reader. You may also use writing to help
you to reflect on your experiences and learn from them.

30
 Writing makes our thinking and learning visible and permanent. Writing
fosters our ability to explain and refine our ideas to others and ourselves.
Writing preserves our ideas and memories. Writing allows us to understand
our lives.

When you write for websites, blogs, and social media platforms, your
work has the potential to be seen by thousands, if not millions, of people.
This is because digital media has the unique ability to reach a global
audience, and your work can easily be shared and spread through the
internet.

Content is the lifeblood of the digital world, and the significance of writing
skills in content creation and marketing cannot be overstated. In the realm of
content marketing, well-written blogs, articles, and social media posts have
the potential to attract, engage, and convert audiences.

Important of writing:

a) Communication
b) Improved vocabulary
c) Increases critical thinking
d) Handwriting strengthens our memory
e) Persuasion
f) Focused
g) Your thoughts are more organized
h) Writing well positions you as smater

Importance of Writing Skills in Social Media

In the age of YouTube, TikTok, and IGTV, writing is not as important as

before. People often use Twitter that only allows a few sentences. In
Instagram, where the written text is of no importance.

So, why should we still develop our writing skills to succeed in social media
in this online world? Are there any real advantages? Yes, there are, and let us
discuss their importance.

31
Writing skills

1. Social Media and Business Writing Skills

2. Search Engines Look for Text

3. Why Writing Skills Matters

4. Ways to Develop Writing Skills

5. Not All people Prefer Videos

Here are some ways most professional social media team can develop
their writing skills:

1. First, thoroughly research your company’s products or services as well as

markets to understand the audience. Only then can you correlate the two in
your writing.

2 . Next, research thoroughly to understand the demographics of potential

readers. This process will help you prepare informative content and
presentation.

3 . Always use short paras and short sentences and keep the language
concise and clear.

4. Hook your readers’ interest from the beginning by front-loading

paragraphs and sentences. Meaning give the most important information
first.

5. Use meaningful and attractive photos, graphics, videos, and hypertext

links. These will make your writing dynamic, authentic, and credible. It will
also add value to your website, which leads to more likes and shares, helping
you reach out to a larger audience.

1.13 Aims and Objectives of the Study

32
The aim of this study is to determine the role of social media platforms in
improving the English writing skills of students. The objectives in this
regard can be divided into the following:
 To determine the use of social media among students.
 To assess if social media is useful in improving English of students.
 To determine if the university encourages the students to use social
media as a platform for improving their written English skills.
 An intention or aspiration: what you hope to achieve
 Aims are statement of intent , written in broad terms.
 Aims set out what you hope to achieve at the end of the project.
The purpose of study was to find out whether or not excessive social media
participation adversely affects the ability of learners in secondary schools to
master proper writing and reading skills in public schools. The study had the
following specific objectives:
 To assess and evaluate the perception held by educators about the
relationship between excessive participation in social media activities
and the writing and reading skills of learners in public schools; and
 To identify factors that undermine the quality of education in public
schools .
 To identify progression of writing skills through the foundation phase

33
 To outline opportunities and offer effective strategies and activities for
developing boys and girls writing within the learning environment and
across areas of learning.
 To plan experiences for developing children’s writing skills
 To plan for effective teaching and learning to develop children as
independent writers.
 Explains why it is important for health care professionals to have good
writing skills.
 Identify the content of what you need to write and knowvhow to
gather and organize the information.
 Determine the writing style that will best convey what you are writing
and use writing tools and references to help you write effectively.
 Describe how tests are part of the daily life of a health care
professional and use them as incentives to learn rater than as
instruments of torture
 Prepare effectively for tests and use techniques to help manage test
anxiety.
 Apply effective techniques to maximize your performance on
classroom tests.
 Identify reasons for teaching writing to ESL students at all levels
 Identify the stages of the ESL writing process
 Learn instructional strategies for teaching ESL students the
collaborative , teamwork and academic writing skills involved in using
sentence and paragraph frames
 Identify strategies for supporting adult learners in transferring writing
skills from the classroom to home, school, the workplace and civic
environments

34
  This course is for any student, aspirant or a common man who wants
to improve English writing skills
 In this course essay writing, report writing all will be covered.
 Sample will be provided for each topic and in details will be explained
and at the end of the lesson question will be given to test your
knowledge which will get checked
Goals and objectives:
 Understanding written communication
 Understanding importance of possessing good writing skills
 Knowing about different types of documents used for business writing
 Discussing company’s current writing skill-set among employees
 Reviewing , analyzing & suggesting organizational improvement in
written communication
 A goal or a step on the way to meeting the aim, how you will achieve it
 Objectives use specific statements which define measurable outcomes.
For example what steps will you take to achieve the desired outcome?
1.14 Tools of writing skill:
Many computer-based tools—like spell check on your word processor or
Grammarly— can help you find and fix simple spelling and grammar errors.
These tools are imperfect but can help even the most seasoned writers avoid
mistakes.
 Grammarly
 Hemingway app
 Canva
 Blog topic generator tool
 Keep it simple
 Wordcounter
Grammarly:

35
Perfect Your Writing
It's a comprehensive writing assistant that ensures your social media posts
are grammatically correct, clear, and engaging. With its AI-powered
suggestions, Grammarly helps you craft compelling content that resonates
with your audience, free from typos and grammatical errors.
Hemingway app:
This is an in-browser desktop app and editing tool where you can paste your
content or text, and the opportunities for improvement get colour-coded,
explaining the improvement in each part. The colour-coded highlighting
feature in this app helps in quick editing of the content.
Canva:
Canva offers a plethora of features and functions for content writers. You can
create images, infographics, change fonts, colors, size of images, and
writeups. It is the most widely used free tool that works as a photo editor
and includes innumerable features that help to bolster your content with
great graphics. They have a great pro version available that you can pay to
use. However, the standard version is adequate for content writers. You can
choose from hundreds of images and can format according to the element
you want to include.
Whether it is an image for a blog, brochure, social media, ebook, there are
numerous layouts available. You have a variety of templates, structures,
filters available for social media, and other digital platforms images.
Blog topic generator tool:
When you are confused about which topic to write about, this tool will help
you. HubSpot’s Blog topic generator tool enables you to enter up to five
keywords, after which it will come up with a long list of subjects that will be
ready to use. You can simply paste in the keyword/s that you want to focus
on and this tool will spit out topics and titles. You can use this to plan for a

36
series of blog posts or to come up with a great title without wasting time
brainstorming. Another important tool from the list of tools for content
writing.
Keep it simple:
Imagine you’re writing to an 8th grader. Like, actually.
This is a simple but super effective exercise that will force you to write
clearly and ditch any unnecessary jargon that would likely only confuse your
readers.
“Drive innovation.”
“Become a disruptor.”
Ugh.
LinkedIn, in particular, is home to some of the most over-used, under-
effective statements of all time. And sure, it’s a “businessy” social media
channel. But business people are, well, people too. And people respond well
to succinct, clear copy — not overused buzzwords with little to no real
meaning behind them.
To connect with your audience, you have to speak a language they
understand. Say something real. Use plain language and short sentences.
Practice on your niece, mom, or friend, and see if they get your message.
WordCounter :
This tool is very helpful for social media marketers. Along with counting
words and characters, this tool can help you to improve word choice, writing
style, and, optionally help you to detect grammar mistakes and plagiarism.
To use this tool, you need to start typing into the text area. Many copywriters
directly paste the text in from another application, but whatever the
preferred method of entry, the auto-save feature ensures no work will be
lost. Secondly, the presence of spell-checking and rudimentary formatting
makes it a compelling alternative to heavyweight writing tools.

37
1.15 Features of social media writing skill
A rough estimate states that around 3.5 billion people in
the world today use social media. Social media is the space
that opens up myriad opportunities with almost instant
reputation and recognition. While there is no special skill or
talent required to get on the social media wagon, but one
can stand out and make the most of its reach than you need
skills. Writing and especially social media writing skills
could be one of the most profitable assets to have at the
moment if you want to do something remarkable in the
digital space.

1. FOCUS: An essay should have a single clear central idea.

2. DEVELOPMENT: Each paragraph should support or expand the central

idea of the paper.

3. UNITY: Every paragraph in an essay should be related to the main idea.

4. COHERENCE: An essay or paper should be organized logically, flow

smoothly, and "stick" together.

5. CORRECTNESS:

The Six Traits of writing are Voice, Ideas, Presentation, Conventions,

Organization, Word Choice, and Sentence Fluency. It creates a common
vocabulary and guidelines for teachers to use with students so that they
become familiar with the terms used in writing. It develops consistency from
grade level to grade level.

Features of style include the following: diction (word choice)

• sentence structure and syntax

• nature of figurative language

• rhythm and component sounds

38
 • rhetorical patterns (e.g. narration, description, comparison-contrast,
etc.)

Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of human language.

A writing system uses a set of symbols and rules to encode aspects of spoken
language, such as its lexicon and syntax. However, written language may take
on characteristics distinct from those of any spoken language.

 Write clear headlines and subheads so the user knows what they are
getting into on the page.
 Questions make great headings – what easier way to find the answer
for which you are searching?
 Never use 'click here'. Link language should describe what a reader
will get if they click the link.

What is a feature writing example?

An example of a feature story is an article about a group of children coming

together to raise money to help the community after a storm. The damage
from the storm may be featured on the news, but a feature article would be
about the children and how they helped.

What is a feature writing example?

An example of a feature story is an article about a group of children coming

together to raise money to help the community after a storm. The damage
from the storm may be featured on the news, but a feature article would be
about the children and how they helped.

What are the main characteristics of feature writing?

Characteristics of a feature article

 Explore a topic or issue of current importance.

39
  Follows narratorial conventions (i.e. There is a plot, complication, and
conclusion)
 Written in short paragraphs.
 Combine facts and opinions.
 Provide a perspective or angle about the topic or issue.
 Includes catchy features (eg. Catchy title, images ect.).

What are the features of the writing process?

The Writing Process

 Discovery/Investigation. The first step in writing a successful paper in

college requires an active engagement with your sources. ...
 Prewriting. ...
 Drafting. ...
 Revising. ...
 Editing. ...
 Formatting, Inner-text Citation, and Works Cited.

What are features of writing style?

Features of style include the following: diction (word choice)

• sentence structure and syntax

• nature of figurative language

• rhythm and component sounds

• rhetorical patterns (e.g. narration, description, comparison-contrast, etc.)

Writing Skill of Primary level i.e. (1-5)

 Teach the different writing styles.
 Encourage regular reading in the classroom and at home.
 Give learners a real-life situation to write about.
 Encourage students to keep a diary.

40
  Give learners opportunities to read aloud.
 Use sentence starts and promts.

Writing Skill of High level i.e. (6-10)

 Build strong foundations
 Read - a lot
 Improve understanding of text types
 Teach a writing process model( prewriting, drafting, revising, editing,
submitting)
 See feedback as an opportunity
 Revise these high school writing skills- rigorously
 Proofread closely.

Writing Skill of Higher level i.e. (11-12)

 Developing ideas.
 Finding a focus and a thesis.
 Composing a draft.
 Getting feedback and comments from others.
 Revising the draft by expanding ideas, clarifying meaning,
reorganizing.
 Editing.
 Presenting the finished work to readers.

1.16 Difference Between Public Schools v/s Private Schools

41
1.17 Sample and Sampling Procedure
In this study, one hundred and eighty (180) students of three classes were
selected out of Three hundred and twenty (320) students of GHSS, GRG and
GSMS and formed the experimental group. One hundred and eighty (180)
students of three classes were selected from five hundred and thirty-nine
(539) of SSVHS, , GRG and GHSS and served as the control group working in
Masinagudi, Nilgiris district have been selected for the study.
AREA:
In this study selected area for the Masinagudi village, Nilgiris district.

1.18 CONCLUSION
Social media are platforms that facilitate any forms of activities that
can be done via online such as creating and sharing information, exchange
ideas, interests and thoughts. There are seven types of the most popular
social media, namely: SNS, blog, micro-blog, wiki, social bookmarking

42
websites, media sharing sites, and RSS (Really Simple Syndication). In
education, social media has brought improvement in learning, such as
increasing students’ engagement in learning by providing various platforms
and fun learning sources, minimalizing shyness, and increasing students’
self-learning skills. In the EFL context, researchers has proven that social
media has brought more usefulness or positive effects into learning than
negative ones (lackness).
This article has shown the benefits of integrating social media in
writing skill. Second language learners as well as teachers can benefit from
social networking integration under the appropriate conditions. It is hoped
that this study will contribute to the development of a better understanding
of the concept of roles of social media in general and its application in
writing skill in particular.

43
 CHAPTER – II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE:
2.1 Key Definitions of SM:
Having a glance at the provided definitions that exist in the literature on the
concept of social media, one can find that it has no clear definition and that
all of them share some common properties. Jacka and Scott (2011) assert
that “there is no single recognized definition of social media” (p.5). In fact,
several scholars have put forward insightful definitions of the term ‘social
media’. To state but a few of these prominent ones: Carr & Hayes (2015)
identify it as an “Internet-based, disentrained, and persistent channels of
mass personal communication facilitating perceptions of interactions among
users, deriving value primarily from user-generated content” (p.8). McCay-
Peet & Quan-Haase (2016) define it as “web-based services that allow
individuals, communities, and organizations to collaborate, connect, interact,
and build community by enabling them to create, co-create, modifies, share,
and engage with user-generated content that is easily accessible” (p.17).
Margetts, John, Hale & Yasseri (2015) opine that it is an “Internet-based
platform that allows the creation and exchange of user-generated content,
usually using either mobile or web-based technologies” (p. 5). Safko & Brake
(2009) define it as
activities, practices, and behaviors among
communities of people who gather online to
share information, knowledge, and opinions
using conversational media. Conversational
media are Web-based applications that make

44
 it possible to create and easily transmit
content in the form of words, pictures, videos, and audios. (p.6)
And as far as Dabbagh & Kitsantas (2011) are concerned, social media is
a 21st century term used to broadly define a
variety of networked tools or technologies
that emphasize the social aspects of the
Internet as a channel for communication ,
collaboration, and creative expression, and
is often interchangeable with the terms Web
2.0 and social software. (p.1)
Last but not least, one particularly useful and widely used definition is
conveyed by Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) who identify it as a “group of
Internetbased applications that build on the ideological and technological
foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User-
Generated Content” (p.61). Put differently, social media is web-based and
developed through Web 2.0 applications and ideologies where anyone can
participate due to the democratic nature and the expected equality of
participation. Individuals participating in social media are communicating,
encoding, transmitting, and decoding messages at a basic level. By and large,
this communication takes the form of user-generated content (UGC) which is
created, shared, and gathered. Communication is predominately efficient.
The social process is distant through time and space; individuals can
participate anytime and anywhere. Social interactions can equally assist
individuals in completing a task or building and maintaining relationships.
Or more simply put, social media are virtual places where people can share
anything anywhere anytime.
Overall, there seems to be a general consensus among scholars about the
term social media. Generally, all the definitions provided by the literature on
social media seem to describe it as a channel through which knowledge is

45
conveyed and transmitted between learners and communities. Likewise, all
these definitions of social media imply use of Internet and online
technologies. In today’s modern world of technology, everything that we
need to know is available online through the use of social media. One can
even express their opinions and thoughts instantaneously on things that
have been written or advertised. It must be said that social media has made
this world a paperless and open-sourced environment where people are able
to convey thoughts on certain issues with less control as compared to
newspapers or magazines where comments are held for approval by editors.
Social connectedness is also a key attribute that characterizes social
media. It can be defined as “interpersonal, community, and general social
ties” (Teixeira, 1992, p. 36). Interpersonal ties can be maintained by these
social networking technologies. In fact, what makes social media unique is
that it enables users to make new acquaintances, spark meaningful
conversations with strangers and extend their social network (Boyd &
Ellison, 2007). In line with this idea, Mayfield (2008) asserts that “most kinds
of social media thrive on their connectedness, making use of links to other
sites, resources and people”.
2.2 Prominent studies on SM and students’ academic performances:
Several studies have shed light on the important role social media plays on
students’ academic performances in higher education. For example, a study
conducted by Faizi (2018) entitled: “Moroccan Higher Education Students’
and teachers’ Perceptions towards Using Web 2.0 Technologies in Language
Learning and Teaching” reveals that students and language faculty members
are immersed in virtual online communities for educational purposes and
make beneficial uses of these online platforms. Moreover, these users
acknowledged that Web 2.0 technologies exert a positive impact on language
teaching and learning. Another study led by Wheeler, Yeomans and Wheeler,

46
(2008) found that social media usage by university students has four main
advantages, namely it helps improve learning motivation, it offers
personalized course materials, it develops collaborative abilities and finally it
boosts relationships and networking. Likewise, an AT&T online survey
conducted in 1998 revealed that 68% of parents, 69% of students, and 69%
of teachers said that they had personally seen students ‘grades improve with
the help of the net technology (AT&T.,1998). In another study made in 1994
by three scholars, namely Worthen, Van Dusen & Sailor (1994), they found
out that students with computer-assisted technologies outperform their
peers who use traditional methods of education. Khan (2012) made a
research study to explore the impact of SNSs on university students. He
found that students having 3.0 to 3.5 GPA mostly use social media
applications for entertainment. This finding signifies that a large proportion
of Doctorate students use social media platforms to better their academic
performance. In the same line of findings, Jain, Verma, Verma & Tiwari
(2012) conducted a study which they entitled “The Impact of Social
Networking in Promoting Education” and found that students are fond of
using social media as a helpful learning tool to boost their confidence for
presentation and reports. Jain and his colleagues also found that chatting
online and texting on social media platforms helps improve their
communicative skills in English. They also found that by chatting, the
inferiority complex of writing and speaking is thus reduced to the minimum.
Another interesting study was conducted by Ahmed (2019) that he entitled:
“Chat and Learn: Effectiveness of Using WhatsApp as a pedagogical tool to
enhance EFL Learners Reading and Writing Skills” to examine the
pedagogical role of WhatsApp as one of mobile-assisted language learning
applications in developing reading and writing skills. Its findings revealed
that WhatsApp is a very effective application in developing students’

47
motivation to improve their reading and writing skills. Thanks to WhatsApp
English-medium groups, students were able to expand their vocabulary
repertoires, improve their grammar, reading comprehension and writing
skills. The study also found that students displayed positive perceptions of
WhatsApp as a pedagogical learning tool. Likewise, Yunus & Salehi (2012)
undertook a study titled: “The Effectiveness of Facebook Groups on Teaching
and Improving Writing: Students’ Perceptions” to investigate students’
perceptions on the effectiveness of Facebook groups for teaching and
improving writing. Their findings reveal that social media usage does help
students expand their vocabulary repertoires in English, improve their
writing skills and reduce their spelling mistakes. These scholars conclude
that “the main challenge that teachers need to take note of is the distractions
by other features of FB such as FB chat, games, and other applications”
(Yunus et al., 2012, p. 95). Overall, it is incumbent on users to be prudent and
cautious towards social media usage lest their academic lives should be
affected.
As a matter of fact, social media has tremendously facilitated learning
and broadly impacted the nature of learning in higher education as never
before. Different researchers conducted research to see the influence of
social media on users’ academic performance and found positive relations
between the use of SNSs and writing ability.
Other scholars, like Kolan & Dzandza (2017), Mensah & Nizam (2016),
Osharie (2015), Kuppuswamy &Narayan(2010), Maya (2015), among others,
argue that social media is a double-edged tool or, as Christian Lous Lange
puts it, ‘the most useful servant but a dangerous master’. Indeed, social
network platforms can be a lethal weapon that distracts students from their
studies but these platforms can be tremendously useful for education based
on judicious use. As far as research related to the impacts of social media on

48
writing standards is concerned, much ink has been spilled on it. According to
Connolly (2011), a researcher of the Wisconsin Center for Education and
Research, social media is tremendously beneficial in that it offers students
the platform to connect with their school, classmates and peers and share
their creative thoughts. Besides, he assumes that introvert students who are
willing to quit school could change their minds and link up smoothly and
quickly with others through social media and thus overcome their isolation
as they form friendships. Social media helps isolated students to build and
maintain long-lasting relationships, develop communication skills and
display their interests and potentials without obstacles with others. Social
scientists believe that being involved in groups through social media exerts a
positive influence on users’ well-being; social media users benefit when
making meaningful social connections.
Broadly, studies on the effects of social media on students’ writing
skills are dissimilar and divergent. Some scholarsargue in favor of the
positive academic aspect of social media while others argue conversely. Last
but not least, Asad, Mamun, & Clement (2012) have nicely settled the debate
on the interplay between social media and students’ academic performances
as they assert:“students’ academic learning outcomes could increase when
their social learning outcomes were heightened” (p. 501). Social media is not
only aneffective tool that serves educational role but also an appealing
medium of instruction for English language learning.
There are many studies performed about the positive and negative effects of
social media on the students' academic performances. For example, Mushtaq
(2018) alleged that the use of social media can be a good outlet to deal with
academic frustrations, especially if the students are in contact with another
student that is having the same problem. Social media lets students to get
connected with other students, which can be very useful because it will allow

49
them to discuss class matters via social media. Additionally, Bkeer (2009)
tried to obtain students’ perceptions of how their use of social networking
sites influences their academic performances. The researchers performed a
preliminary survey of a group of Malaysian university students. It was found
that the majority of respondents agreed that social networking sites have a
positive impact on their academic performances.
Mensah, and Nizam (2016) described that social networking have a
meaningful effect on the students' academic performances. They also pointed
out about the abnormal use of social media platforms by students. The study
suggested it is useful that universities and colleges in Malaysia educate their
students to use these platforms positively for educational purposes which
will ultimately result in a positive impact on their academic performance.
Babbie (2015) asserted that students more probably affected by social
media. To some extent, it absolutely affects the lives of college students
counting the grades. They added that social media is attractive as it gives
college students another world to make friends, also provides a good way to
release pressure. It was also noted that an approach is required to balance
the relationship between social media and academic study. Consequently,
college students should think more about the balancing of social media and
academics.
Additionally, the findings of an investigation conducted by Eke, Omekwu and
Odoh (2014) among undergraduates in Nigeria showed that there are some
benefits come from using social media, which encourages virtual meeting
with co-research scholar; self-esteem and wellbeing; Research and learning;
strengthening interpersonal relationship; read and write web skills etc. It
was also noted that students use social media to communicate with friends,
viewing movies, for discussing national issues like politics, economy and
religious matters, and for academic purposes. Mingle and Adams (2015)

50
stated that there are some students experienced improvement in their
reading skills as a consequence of participation and involving social media.
Also, respondents shared ideas, discussed and shared examination questions
among themselves on social media.
Moreover, Heffner and Tara (2016) conducted a study among
undergraduates at Rowan University of the USA. The study results described
that social media do not have a positive effect on the students' academic
achievements. Because the student GPA decreased as much as they were
engaged in social media. The study suggested the undergraduate students
should manage and monitor their time spent using social media such as
Facebook. In another study, Mushtaq (2018) discovered social media as a
factor in the lacking of habits of reading newspaper among students and it
may cause them to lose much advantageous information consist of the
newspaper.
Furthermore, Urdan and Schoenfelder (2006) alleged that social
networking is absolutely affecting students’ effectiveness as well as their
grades. Therefore, educators need to be worried about these problems and
attempt to find better ways to solve these problems. Though, framed within
an academic context, the concepts outlined here can be used to investigate
the use of communication technology not only at school, but also at home,
workplace, and many other settings, and for a diversity of different viewers
like teenagers, young adults, the elderly, or families.
Social media provide English Language Learners (ELL) with choices of when,
where, and how to study and enable them to take charge of their own
learning by focusing on content instead of struggling with the mechanics of
reading and writing English (Kurzweil Educational Systems, 2004). Kurzweil
instills 3000 features that aid in the composition, editing, and proofreading
of written work, such as converting highlighted text into an outline as a

51
starting point for writing, using word prediction to improve vocabulary
selection and spelling, using the thesaurus to substitute alternate words to
make writing more interesting, and using the dictionary and spell check to
make proofreading easier (Bakeer, 2018). Researches on social media focus
on the use of media tools, personally or for the purpose of learning/ teaching
a language. It is assumed that integrating social media applications brings
several benefits to learning a foreign language. However, if Facebook is
utilized as an educational tool, it must be effectively integrated into the
course objectives in order to facilitate effective language learning (Jones et
al., 2010; Kabilan et al., 2010; Tess, 2013). Social media develops a particular
language behavior in a given social setup which is the need of current
teaching and learning program. In this kind of setup, preferably, the learners
not only learn a language but also explore the possibilities to use language in
a variety of contexts.

Integrating social media in teaching and learning language leads to the

development of a new phase of educational inquiry, educational
communication, educational groups, collaboration groups, and multiple
platforms to share information and resources. Wherever they are, students
and teachers are always connected with each other through online group
activities. They only need to have an account and a group where they can
share assignments, queries, homework, etc. They can discuss their academic
issues and problems with quick feedback (Manish & Yogesh, 2015). Previous
researches suggest incorporating social media with curriculum enhances the
scope of interaction, collaboration, identity work, information, & resource
sharing, or has good cognitive, social, and emotional effects (Greenhow &
Lewin, 2015). Professors can use social media to stay in touch with their
students both on and off campus, as well as with former students. Professors
utilize social media to teach their students by creating groups and accounts

52
for them to access information (Bakeer, 2018). According to Ghasemi &
Hashemi, (2011) social media tools serve to enhance interactive teaching
and learning methods and provide various opportunities for innovation.
They can temper students' interest in how languages work, increase
cognitive difficulty, and increase their ability to be selfsufficient in the use of
the new language. ICT is a great tool for allowing students to be completely
engaged in their language learning process while also encouraging creativity
and collaboration (Bakeer, 2018). Social media plays an important role in
breaking out the imposed restrictions on receiving education online from
home. Students, comfortably, can access materials, lectures, and guidance by
connecting to the online classroom through a computer network, breaking
all barriers such as age, economic and gender issues, etc (Selfe,1990). This
study indicates social networks like Facebook, email, WhatsApp and
computer delimit the chances of barriers in learning language. Social media
is more responsible for bringing changes to develop, acquire and deliver
knowledge of a foreign language. It never intends to replace the teacher but
shoulders more responsibilities on the teacher to play the role of a manager,
controller, designer, and facilitator in developing communication
technologies for teaching language. The teacher collaborates, shares, and
generates knowledge and content in a different way which seems more
creative and interesting for learners. This is the so-called need of the current
education system (Gupta, 2019). Due to several advantages of social media,
the present research is an attempt to identify, assess, investigate, &
rationalize the use of social media in enhancing English language skills,
which is a very rare practice at Najran University, KSA. This research
anticipate motivating several of EFL teachers worldwide use social media
(WhatsApp & Facebook) inside/ out-side the classroom to develop writing
skill of students.

53
2.3 Literature review

According to Chan, Lee and Chen (2021), social networking has brought
people together regardless of geographical boundaries. The authors have
pointed out that excessive use of social media has become harmful to young
learners and leads to failure to master proper writing skills in the English
language. The authors have further stated that social media activities have a
negative effect on basic academic and scientific learning and writing skills.
The study conducted by Adawiah and Rachmawati (2021) has shown that
academic writing skills among learners in high schools and universities are
affected significantly and adversely by social media activities. The authors
have pointed out that learners often take shortcuts in school writing
activities, and that shortcuts and abbreviations that are commonly used on
social networks often result in poor written language. The authors have also
found that text-shortcuts and abbreviations are increasingly being used in
formal written language. The aim of study is to assess and evaluate the
degree to which the writing skill of high school learners at Tshwane North
District is adversely affected by social media experience.

According to Shao, Shi and Zhang (2021), more learners use mobile
phones these days, and that they have immersed themselves in social
networking activities. Learners are often seen to be quite busy working on
their phones and laptops at Wi-Fi hotspots. The authors have shown that
pupils often spend a lot of valuable time working on social media networks
at the expense of mastering proper English language writing skills. Often,
young pupils get distracted from practical writing lessons in class due to
excessive use of social media. Pupils often spend a lot of valuable learning
and studying time with their faces glued to screens, continuously sending
and receiving text messages at the expense of mastering proper writing

54
skills. Tadros, Hutcherson and Greene (2021) have shown that the use of
social media by pupils needs to be monitored by parents and educators alike
strictly. Excessive use of social media by pupils is quite detrimental to pupils.
Although communicating on social media systems allows users to send and
receive messages from handheld, digital mobile phones, or from a computer
to a mobile phone, excessive use of social media by pupils often results in
distraction from the need to master proper writing skills in classrooms by
paying full attention to teachers. Verheijen, Spooren and van Kemenade
(2020) have pointed out that providing learners with free access to the
internet prompts them to spend considerable time chatting and updating
their social media pages. By so doing, they often ignore essential reading and
writing exercises. According to Magness (2020), learners usually make use of
social networks for personal use, and not for educational purposes.

Jacob and Lawan (2020) have shown that the reason why most
learners use text messages is that it is quick, does not adhere to the rules of
English grammar, is relatively cheap, more convenient, and allows creativity.
Linguistic traditionalists worry that the use of informal written language will
lessen the ability of learners to write correct English sentences and harm
their ability to spell out phrases accurately. The authors have shown that
little children and pupils alike must be supported adequately by their
parents and teachers so that they master basic writing and academic skills
that are essential for success at the level of primary schools.

According to Cunliffe‐Jones (2020), the language used on social media

sites does not observe grammatical and syntactic rules. As such, users often
fail to communicate clearly and effectively. This makes it difficult for
educators to understand what is written by social media users.
Wanniarachchi, Mathrani, Susnjak and Scogings (2020) have shown that

55
communicating on social media sites involves taking immediate turns
talking. According to Lipschultz (2020), learners are more interested in
transferring information and less concerned about accurate spelling, proper
use of grammar and punctuation. According to Healy and Mulholland (2019),
excessive use of social media among pupils has the potential for distracting
pupils from the discipline and commitment required to master proper
writing skills in English. The authors have shown the need for a strict control
by parents and teachers.

According to Esman, Madrigal and Mascunana (2021), there is a high

addiction rate among social media users. Extensive use of social media takes
up valuable studying time. It also abuses designated study time, and makes it
difficult for learners to read and write properly. The authors have reported
that there was a drop in the grades obtained by learners when they began
participating in social networks regularly.

Moodie (2020) has reported that people communicating through social

media platforms often use short sentences and abbreviations, and fail to use
proper punctuations and capitalisations. This is done in order to speed up
the pace of communication. According to Chijioke and Nwala (2021), most of
the wordings are being reduced or substituted by symbols, words with a
single letter or digits. The authors have stated that symbol are often used to
represent human facial expressions. Some of which indicates sadness, 4 for
‘for or four’, bcz for ‘because’ and short sentences like how r u?

Van Schalkwyk, Mouton, Redelinghuys and McKenna (2020) have

shown that educators and parents often express concern that the writing and
reading skills of their children are being sacrificed due to the demands of
social networking. Celik (2020) has shown that social networking is not bad,
and that what is bad is the misuse of abbreviations, punctuation, and

56
nonstandard expressions and spellings. Such a failure has had a negative
impact on the basic writing and reading skills of learners. Pai and Alathur
(2020) have argued that language proficiency consists of the ability to read,
write with comprehension, observing grammatical, syntactic as well as
semantic rules governing the proper use of language.

Manivannan, Jogalekar, Kavitha, Maran and Gangadaran (2021) have

shown that the closure of schools for various reasons often results in the loss
of valuable teaching time and morale among learners and teachers alike.
Interruption in the learning process leads to loss of discipline and morale
among pupils. Zengele (2013) has shown that strike actions result in
undesirable outcomes that include a high dropout rate of learners at the
expense of the rights of learners to education and quality education.
Sekhaulelo (2021) has shown that the high dropout rate among black
learners in South Africa is attributed to strike actions, lack of good leadership
and lack of accountability to learners. Trade unions often consume a portion
of the budget allocated for teaching and learning. Curriculum change is not
the only source of dropout from schools. Teacher unions also contribute in
many ways to the loss of teaching days. Atteh, Assan-Donkoh, Mensah, Boadi,
Badzi and Lawer (2020) have shown that teachers who are more unionised
and more militant are working at the poorest schools and the quality of the
teachers is of lower quality. There is always a spill over effect for the striking
teachers. The effect will be the same for TND striking teachers. Findings by
Willis (2015) show that less privileged schools are most affected by strike
actions. He, Huang, Li, Zhou and Li (2020) have shown the harmful nature of
strike actions by teachers and learners, absenteeism and lack of punctuality
to the proper education of learners who need to master written English.
Strike actions deny learners the opportunity to be educated by their
teachers. Strike actions deny learners the opportunity to read and write

57
English properly in public schools. Ndofirepi, Farinloye and Mogaji (2020)
have shown that the quality of education in South African public schools is
undermined due to strike actions, lack of good leadership, political
interference, lack of accountability, and uncontrolled behaviour and lack of
discipline by trade union leaders and student representatives. Kenway and
Epstein (2021) have shown that graduates of South African public schools
often lack competencies in English grammar and syllables due to
interruptions in teaching and learning activities. The authors have argued
that good leadership and accountability are needed to protect the right of
learners to be educated with minimal interruption to the teaching
curriculum.

King and Sen (2013) claimed that social connections affect many aspects
of lives; the fact that they can also be applied to education and learning
comes as no surprise. The role of emerging social media may offer new
opportunities to enhance the teaching and learning experience. Prensky
(2001) revealed that students are often referred to as ‘digital natives’ having
spent most of their time on computers, game consoles, digital music players,
video cameras, cell phones, as well as the Web itself. More and more uses of
its unique features are being found every day, and it is not surprising that the
field of education is also being strongly affected.

Social media networks such as Facebook support cognition,

communication/networking, and cooperation (communities, collaborative
work, sharing of user-generated and other content). It is classified as online
learning based on the two different approaches to online learning that have
emerged: synchronous and asynchronous learning. Synchronous learning is
instruction and collaboration in “real time” via the Internet. It involves tools
such as live chat, audio and video conferencing, data and application sharing,

58
shared whiteboard, joint viewing of multimedia presentations and online
slideshows. Any learning tool that is in real-time, such as Instant messaging,
Twitter, and Facebook that allows students and teachers to ask and answer
questions immediately, is synchronous. Synchronous learning environments
provide real-time interaction, which can be collaborative in nature
incorporating e-tivities (Salmon, 2013). Asynchronous eLearning, on the
other hand, refers to learning and teaching that take place simultaneously via
an electronic mode.

Synchronous language learning is closer to the communicative way of

language teaching/learning with whiteboards, video chat or voice chat,
providing immediate feedback to help students improve their language skills.
Thus, it can duplicate the face-to-face real time classroom (Keegan et al.,
2005). The familiarity of the classroom model, immediate feedback from the
teacher and fellow students, and creating content quickly in the classroom,
are the hallmarks of a synchronous language e-learning environment.
Synchronous net-based discourses can improve understanding of complex
subject matters (Pfister, 2005), and as a result, non-native English speakers
can outperform face-to-face language learners. However, it can be
problematic for students due to being time bound, and the availability of
technology on a scheduled time.

Rather than learning on their own, students who participate in

synchronous learning courses are able to interact with other students and
their teachers during the lesson. A synchronous virtual classroom is a place
for instructors and students to interact and collaborate in real time. Using
webcams and class discussion features, it resembles the traditional
classroom, except that all participants access it remotely via the Internet.

59
 Asynchronous learning methods use the time-delayed capabilities of the
Internet. It involves tools such as e-mail, threaded discussion, newsgroups,
bulletin boards, and file attachments. Asynchronous sessions require a
simultaneous student-teacher presence. On the other hand, asynchronous
environments are not time bound and students can work on e-tivities at their
own pace. An asynchronous mode of learning/teaching has been the most
prevalent form of online teaching so far because of its flexible modus
operandi (Hrastinski, 2008). Asynchronous environments provide students
with readily available materials in the form of audio/video lectures,
handouts, articles and PowerPoint presentations. Asynchronous learning can
be carried out even when the student or teacher is offline. Coursework and
communications delivered via the web, email and messages posted on
community forums, are perfect examples of asynchronous elearning. In these
instances, students will typically complete the lessons on their own, and
merely use the Internet as a support tool. Rather than venturing online solely
for interactive classes. Asynchronous e-learning can incorporate all L2
teaching methods that allow for delayed feedback and delayed response as in
emails and discussion boards. Asynchronous language learning can be more
encouraging for learners to ask questions that require long answers (Abu
Seileek & Qatawneh, 2013).

Parsad and Lewis (2008) claimed that asynchronous e-learning is the

most adopted method for online education, because learners are not time
bound, and can respond at their leisure. The opportunity of delayed response
allows them to use their higher order learning skills, as they can keep
thinking about a problem for an extended time period and may develop
divergent thinking. However, the asynchronous mode also carries that
disadvantage of reducing direct feedback and immediate interaction.
Bernard et al. (2004) confirmed that, in terms of achievement and attitude

60
outcomes, asynchronous environments had more positive effects than
synchronous ones. In spite of the positive outcomes for asynchronous
instruction, the authors also found that retention rates were lower, and
dropout rates substantially higher in asynchronous mode of learning than in
synchronous.

Both asynchronous and synchronous modes can be beneficial for

language learning (Pérez, 2013). A blend of the two models can give students
opportunities to learn better than any of the individual modes.
Asynchronous and synchronous modes can complement each other in
teaching/learning language through the conversational framework
(Laurillard, 2007), and constructivist approaches of creating meaning
through dialogue, reflection and experience (Reynolds, Wang & Poor, 2002).
When blended, they can provide a wonderful model for enhancing language
learners’ cognitive participation, information processing and motivation (Ge,
2011). Language learning is more of a skill-oriented process rather than
content mastery.

In online learning, there is a plethora of different systems of learning,

such as the Learning Management System (LMS), the Virtual Learning
Environment (VLE) and Web 2.0, which allow courses to be delivered. LMS
and VLE have been used as applications that provide a comprehensive set of
tools for educators to manage learning resources, assessment and grading.
But in 2005, a new range of web tools began to find their way into general
use, and increasingly into educational use. These new web tools are
described as Web 2.0 tools, as they reflect a different culture of web use from
the former “center-to-periphery” push of institutional websites. Web 2.0 is
the current state of online technology as it compares to the early days of the
Web, characterized by greater user interactivity and collaboration, more

61
pervasive network connectivity, and enhanced communication channels.
Social media are examples of Web 2.0. Web 2.0 has some sort of interaction
capability between participants. Web 2.0 tools empower the end-user to
access, create, disseminate, and share information easily in a user friendly,
open environment. Web 2.0 tools have proved increasingly popular in both
social media and educational application.

Thus, Web 2.0 has the ability to support active and social learning. It
provides opportunities and venues for student publications and provides
opportunities for effective and efficient feedback to learners. It also provides
opportunities to scaffold learning in the student’s Zone of Proximal
Development (Hartshorne & Ajjan, 2009; Vygotsky, 1978). Web 2.0 tools
include blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Podcast, Wikis, WhatsApp etc.

The present study utilized both asynchronous and synchronous learning

activities. This allowed the students and teachers to benefit from the
different delivery formats regardless of their schedules or preferred learning
methods.

2.4 Technology for developing writing skill:

Bakeer (2009), clarifies that the teacher is no longer the sole source of
content, and the students are able to shape their learning in ways which align
closely with the needs of their daily lives. All the above encourage the user to
engage with information in English, reading and writing both formally and
informally. The use of these techniques can act as a bridge to facilitate
communication inside and outside the classroom. These devices can be a
powerful teaching and learning device too.
Khan, Ayaz & Faheem (2016), in their descriptive study investigated the
role of social media in English language vocabulary development at
university level. The sample consisted of 36 University Teachers selected via

62
random sampling technique. They concluded that social media role is
dominant in vocabulary development of English language at university level.
The role of social media in English language vocabulary development is like
the brightness of the day because social media facilitate the English learners
to learn new words and phrases and to improve their vocabulary. Social
media plays a dominant role in English language learning because it provides
opportunities to the English language learners to improve their writing,
reading, and similarly, to read new text and phrases to improve their
vocabulary. Educators have found that software tools can be extremely
beneficial in addressing the needs of English Language Learners. The
unlimited exposure to academic, business and technical texts provides
opportunities to increase learners' fluency and comprehension. Text-to
speech software can be used alone, or as an enhancement to special purpose
programs already in place.

Purcell, Buchanan, and Friedrich (2013), conducted a survey on 2,462

advanced placement and national writing project teachers. They find that
digital technologies are shaping student writing in myriad ways and have
also become helpful tools for teaching writing to middle and high school
students. These teachers see the internet and digital technologies such as
social networking sites, cell phones and texting, generally facilitating teens‟
personal expression and creativity, broadening the audience for their written
material, and encouraging teens to write more often in more formats than
may have been the case in prior generations.

Sakkir, Rahman and Salija (2016) and Al-Jarrah, Talafhah, and Al-Jarrah,
(2019), in their study examined students‟ perceptions of the use of social
media in the process of teaching English in a higher institution in Indonesia.
Findings from this study indicate that the majority of students showed a

63
positive attitude toward and a willingness to use social media in the writing
classroom. However, factors such as large classes, lack of training on the use
of the Internet, and the lack of facilities could be possible barriers to the use
of social media in the classroom.

64
 CHAPTER - III

METHODOLOGY
The quantitative research design is adopted as the main substantial method
of the study. Researchers who use quantitative methods attain a high level of
objectivity, reliability and generalizability. Some social scientists believe that
reality about human phenomena can be generated, measured, quantified
through numbers and analyzed statistically by fragmenting them into
measurable units and variables (Welman, Kruger, &Mitchell 2006; Charles
1995; Dudovskiy 2016). This method of inquiry seeks to understand the
relationship between variables through using deductive procedures. That is
to say, researchers form hypotheses, use data collection strategies that yield
numerical data and analyze it in an objective way so as to come up with
conclusions which eventually allow them to either confirm or refute their
suggested hypotheses (De Vos, Strydom, Fouche & Delport, 2011).

3.1 INTRODUCTION

This research encourages deepening the studies about the students‟

experience with learning academic English writing skills through social
media; therefore, the study takes into consideration the usual practices for
their development, especially as an inseparable dimension of teaching as
part of the conception of a tool for the educational principle (Kumar, 2019).
In this sense, the proposed question in this study helped the researcher to
configure a research path.

3.2 METHOD OF RESEARCH

The research adopted a triangulation: students’ survey questionnaire,

students’ semi structured interview, and WhatsApp message thread of

65
students. They are selected keeping in mind the research problem to be
investigated, the nature of sampling, and the effectiveness of the tools (Rana
& Kumar, 2014).

3.2.1 Data Collection method

The secondary data was used in the formation of this research.

The online databases were given priority by the researcher for data
extraction as due to COVID-19, going to libraries was not possible (Kumar,
2019). Due to similar reason, the researcher did not opt for primary data in
this study. The databases of Science Direct, Scielo, PsychInfo and Google
Scholar were used (Fletcher, 2017). The following keywords with Boolean
„AND‟ were used in the databases to collect the relevant articles and
journals: academic writing – English writing skills - social networks AND
English writing - social networking ANDArab students – writing skills AND
improved language – Arab students AND academic English writing.
3.2.2 Survey method
The first objective of this study is to examine the trend of using social media
among
university students. For this purpose survey approach was adopted to collect
data. 800 students of the undergraduate Programs at University of
Education Multan Campus made the population of the study and 200
students were randomly selected from these students as a sample for the
survey. A survey consisting of 10 items was distributed personally to the
participants in the classes in order to maximize the return ratio.
3.2.3 Experiment method
An experiment was conducted to study the effects of using Facebook on
students writing skills. A single group research design was employed in the
experiment. 25 students were randomly taken from BBA (hons) 3rd
semester who were enrolled in communication skills course as participants
for the experiment. Using Facebook for discussion is the independent
variable, whereas paragraph writing skills served as dependent variable in
this study. The randomized pretest-posttest single group design was
employed. The same group was measured twice. The first measurement
served as the pretest, the second as the posttest which served as the data
collection tools in the experiment.

66
Procedure of Experiment
First of all the teacher gave lecture to students about paragraph writing in
the
class. They were taught about the structure and components of paragraph
writing. In the second class students were asked to write a paragraph on ‘My
Family’ which served as the pre-test. A secret group was formed on
Facebook page consisting of 25students who had easy access to Facebook.
The subject teacher and the researcher were also the 128 member of the
group. The group was named as BBA Writing group. Researcher
observed students’ participation and also participated in discussion when it
was felt that students’ participation had decreased and there was a need to
motivate them to actively participate in the discussions. The subject teacher
performed the role of a moderator in the group.
Before starting the discussions on the group page few rules of conduct
were agreed upon by students, teacher and researcher which are given
below:
1.A topic will be given on alternate days on the Facebook group page
and studentshave to post their views, opinion on the given topic or
comment on other
students’ posts.
2.Every student has to comment or post at least four times a week for a
period of four weeks.
3.The size of students’ post should be 50 to 100 words i.e. not too
small and not
too large.
4.The size of comment can be about 15 to 25 words.
5.Be respectful to other members’ posts and behave appropriately.
6.Do not misuse the group page.
7.Students can also suggest the topics for discussion.
The members of the writing group used Facebook discussion forum for
writing
practice by participating in discussion on different topics as given by their
teacher.
Students were posting their comments and were engaged in discussion with
the teacher and peers. Students were also motivated to initiate the
discussions by suggesting topic of their own choice. This practice continued
for four weeks (16thApril to 15th May 2016). The teacher and researcher also

67
participated in the discussion by commenting on students’ poststo stimulate
and motivate students’ participation and also to give them feedback about
their writing.
After four weeks students were asked to write a paragraph on “Our
responsibilities as a patriotic Pakistani” which served as posttest. The
students’ pretest and posttest paragraphs were analyzed in terms of five
writing components, content, vocabulary, organization, grammar and
mechanics. The pretest and posttest comprised of 25 marks each. Each
writing component was allocated 5 marks. The marks of pre and posttest
were analyzed and compared to find out the impact of discussion on
Facebook on students ‘writing skills.

students’ writing ski

3.2.4 Focus Group Discussion

At the end of experiment researcher also used focus group discussion
with the
students to gain in-depth information about students’ opinion regarding
using Facebook writing.
129 in language teaching and their attitude towards using Facebook to
improve their Englishwriting.

3.3 TOOLS USED

One survey questionnaire (containing 14 items) for students, students’ semi-

structured interviews, and WhatsApp message threads of students are used
to obtain and analyze the data. A set of selected topics from the course book
is given to students to write on any one topic after a training/ teaching of
two months. The write-ups are analyzed to compare and contrast what they
perceive (in the questionnaire) regarding the use of social media in writing
enhancement and what they could actually perform (writing samples in form
of WhatsApp threads) to validate the data. A semistructured interview was

68
conducted to ensure the validity & reliability of using WhatsApp develops
writing skills.

3.4 Data Analysis

Students responses to the survey question were calculated using the
Students’ responses to the survey questions were calculated using the
percentage method. The data collected through pretest and posttests was
analyzed through SPSS and paired sample t-test (dependent t-test) was
employed. Moreover data collected generated through focus group
discussion was analyzed by employing content analysis.
A critical analysis was carried out on the problem to analyse how students
improve their written English academic skills through using social media. As
a bibliographic survey was carried out, this study can be termed “state of
knowledge”. According to Mohajan, (2018) research knownas “state of
knowledge” is defined by the bibliographic character, they seem to bring
together the challenge of mapping and discussing a certain academic
production in different fields of knowledge, trying to answer what aspects
and dimensions have been highlighted and privileged in different times and
places, in what ways and under what conditions they have been produced
and evaluated scientifically.
3.5 Research Findings
This study was conducted to explore the use of social media as a forum
for
discussion to improve undergraduate ESL students writing skills.
Survey Results
Results of the survey which was conducted to explore school students use
Results of the survey which was conducted to explore university students’
use
of social media reveal that almost 87% of students use social media in their
daily life. It was found that whatsapp is the popular form of social media
among school students as the result of the survey shown in figure 1.1 points
out that about 90% of school students prefer to use whatsapp than other
social networking sites e.g. twitter, blogs, instagram, facebook etc.

Figure 1.1 use of different Social media sites by school students

69
 90
80
80

70
60
60
50
50

40

30

20
10
10 5
0
Facebook Twitter Blogs Instagram Whatsapp

Figure 1.2 below shows the sources which students use to access social
media.

ACCESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

90%
84%
80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%
20%
20%

10% 5%

0%
Mobile Laptop PC

Survey also revealed that most of the students use mobile phone to access
social media as it is highlighted in the figure 1.2 that about 84% of
students use social networking sites through their mobile phones, about
18% students do not have facility of android cell phones and they use their
laptops and personal computers to access social media especially Facebook.
Use of mobile phones to access social media enables the students to use
social media conveniently without time and space constraints.

70
Figure 1.3 Time spent on Social Media by Students
60%

50%
50%

40%
40%

30%

20%
15%

10%
5%

0%
1 Hours daily 2-3 Hours daily 4-5 Hours daily Weekly

Table 1.1 presents the results last five items of survey.

As shown in table 1.1,97% students are of the opinion that their teachers do
not use Facebook or any other social media for teaching purposes in
classroom and 95% of students said that social media can be used as a tool
for teaching purposes in classroom. 89% of students believe that use of
social media can be an effective tool to resolve different educational and
professional issues and about 63% students in the university use social
media for sharing different materials like time table, date sheet, notes etc.
and most these studentsbelive that use of social media is not the waste of
time. The survey highlighted that
majority of university students do use Facebook as a social networking site
and they
believed that Facebook can be used as an effective tool for teaching
purposes. After this survey the experiment was planned to use facebook to
improve students weiting skills.

Methods and materials of study

The response variable of study (Y) measures the ability to write English
properly based on the criteria defined by Huhta, Alanen, Tarnanen, Martin
and Hirvela (2014).

71
 {1. if English writing skill is inadequate
2. if English writing skill is adequate}

The independent variables of study are socioeconomic factors that affect the
quality of education provided to learners who attend public schools in
Tshwane North District (TND). Data was collected on 95 factors that are
known to affect the writing skills of learners and the quality of education.
Examples of such variables are gender, age, highest level of formal education,
employment status, duration of employment, degree of job satisfaction,
preparation and updating of lesson plans, participation in tutoring and
mentoring learners, interaction with parents and pupils, the availability of
teaching materials needed for teaching in class, the availability of laboratory
equipment needed for teaching, perception on degree of support from the
school leadership, access to training opportunities, the provision of work-
related incentives, punctuality at work, personal neatness, the degree of job
satisfaction, the degree of pride taken in the profession of teaching, and the
like. The analyses of data sets was performed by using univariate methods of
data analyses (frequency tables), graphical methods such as pie charts and
bar charts, bivariate methods of data analyses (Sheskin, 2020) such as
Pearson’s two-by-two tests of associations and multivariate methods of data
analyses such as ordered probit and logit regression analysis (Giri, 2019).
Data was collected on a 96 socioeconomic factors that affect the ability of
school level learners to write English accurately with proper grammar and
syllables based on the criteria defined by Huhta, Alanen, Tarnanen, Martin
and Hirvela (2014). Examples of such variables are gender, age, highest level
of formal education, employment status, duration of employment, degree of
job satisfaction, preparation and updating of lesson plans, participation in
tutoring and mentoring learners, interaction with parents and pupils, the

72
availability of teaching materials needed for teaching in class, the availability
of laboratory equipment needed for teaching, perception on degree of
support from the school leadership, access to training opportunities, the
provision of work-related incentives, punctuality at work, personal neatness,
the degree of job satisfaction and the degree of pride taken by teachers in the
profession of teaching.

3.6 Participants:

Twenty-six students are selected using the convenience sampling method

for conducting the research survey. During the interview, the researchers
followed the purposive sampling criteria.

The respondents of the study were Moroccan EFL university students from
the department of English at govt school of students. 153 EFL school
students were selected as the subjects of quantitative data.A convenience
sampling, which falls under the non-probability sampling technique, was
used. These respondents were selected on the basis of their proximity and
convenient accessibility to the researcher.

3.7 Procedure:

The questionnaires are distributed among students and analyzed using

SPSS. Further, data from students is also used to justify the use of social
media. Students’ write-ups through WhatsApp threads are analyzed to
minutely observe the development of writing skills. Finally, the data is
compared to rationalize the WhatsApp application as a formal tool to teach
and learn the language and use it as a formal tool.

3.8 Research Design:

The design adopted for this research was a quasi-experimental research

design. The design required the existing classes in a given school not to
create classrooms through random selection and random assignment. The

73
study examined the effects of social media on the written English
performance of selected senior secondary school students.

The study was descriptive in nature which attempted to make an

analysis of social media role in writing development of English language at
school levels in Irbid, Jordan. The population consisted of all students who
were learning English at secondary level at school. The sample of the study in
hand comprised 132 students who were currently learning English at the
secondary level either functional or compulsory English. The researcher
used self-made questionnaire as a research instrument for collection of data,
and then the collected data was statistically analyzed by SPSS version 24 in
order to find out reliable result of the study.

To achieve the aim of this study, an exploratory descriptive study

was developed, with a qualitative approach (Fletcher, 2017). The research is
divided into stages where, a descriptive bibliographic survey was carried out
to analyse the theme in published, online and printed studies, within the
main databases in updated studies of the last 05 years (Mohajan, 2018).

3.9 Population

The population of this study comprised of all the 2022\2023 registered

students in the seven (7) Local Government school. The schools registered
six hundred and fifty-nine (659) students.

Table 1.Distribution of the students of the writing skill

SCHOOL MALE FEMALE TOTAL

Government higher 99 112 241

secondary
school ,masinagudi.

GRG Higher secondary 185 235 420

74
school ,
vazhaithotham. (TM\
EM)

Good shepherd 105 92 197

matriculation school,
masinagudi.

Sri shanthi vijaya 65 80 145

higher secondary
school, Masinagudi

Govt higher secondary 97 110 207

school, karkudi.

Government school: (primary level, high school level)

75
Private school:

Handwriting for primary level:

Handwriting for high school level:

76
Social media : ( online class)

3.10 Objectives of the study:

77
Objectives of the Study The following were the main objectives of the study:

This study will be accomplished by conducting a review of relevant

literature and by analyzing data collected via a questionnaire.

1- To describe students’ perceptions, attitudes and engagements with social

media apps vis-a-vis writing skill development.
2- To identify the role of social media in the enhancement of university
students’ writing performances.
3- To highlight the views of school students regarding the use of social
media in writing performance development of English language.
4- To identify the role of social media in writing performance development
at school level.
5- To assess, investigate, and rationalize the role of social media in
developing writing skill.
6- To analyze participants’ responses on the use of social media.
7- To offer recommendations to integrate social media as a formal tool.
8- To describe students’ perceptions, attitudes and engagements with social
media apps vis-a-vis writing skill development.
9- To identify the role of social media in the enhancement of university
students’ writing performances.
10- To highlight the views of school students regarding the use of social
media in writing performance development of English language.
11- To identify the role of social media in writing performance
development at school level.

78
 CHAPTER – IV
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1Analysis of data: INTRODUCTION

The study has been divided into two parts: the first contained a detailed
distinctive analysis and discussion of the statements of the questionnaires
and the second one was a detailed distinctive analysis and discussion of the
responses of the interview. Based on the findings, the researchers offered
recommendations and suggestions to integrate social media as a formal tool
in language learning/ teaching.

4.2 Data Analysis

Age
90.00% 84.60%
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00% 15.40%
10.00%
0.00%
15-20 years 21-25 years

Fig. 1: Age group of respondents.

The above graph shows that 84.60% students are in the age group of 15-20
years and 15.40% students are in the age group of 21-25 years. Therefore, it
is clear that the most of the students are in the age group of 15-20 years.

79
 GENDER
80.00%
73.10%
70.00%

60.00%

50.00%

40.00%

30.00% 26.90%

20.00%

10.00%

0.00%
Male Female

Fig. 2: Gender group of respondents.

In Fig. 2, we can see that 73.10% of the participants were male and 26.90%
were female. It shows that the percentage of male participants is higher than
female participants. It also depicts that less female students participated in
the study.

Do you use any social media application

120%

100%
100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%
0%
YES NO

Fig. 3: Knowledge of Social Media Respondents.

80
The above item has two options [a. Yes b. No] and only one option was
selected by the respondents. The data in the graph three reflected that 100%
of the respondents were of the view that they used social media in their daily
life. Therefore, it reflects that every student either male or female uses social
media applications.

Table 1: A Dichotomy group is tabulated at value 1.

Respones Percent of Cases

N Percent N
a) Facebook 8 7.1% 30.8%
b) Youtube 19 16.8% 73.1%
c) Twitter 18 15.9% 69.2%
d) Instagram
13 11.5% 50.0%
e) Whatsapp
40 35.4% 153.8%
f) Google
15 13.3% 57.7%
Total 113 100% 434.6%

180.00%

160.00% 153.80%

140.00%

120.00%

100.00%

80.00% 73.10% 69.20%

57.70%
60.00% 50.00%

40.00% 35.40%
30.80%

20.00% 16.80% 13.30% 15.90%

11.50%
7.10%
0.00%
Facebook YouTube Whatsapp Google Instagram Twitter

81
Fig. 4: Knowledge of Social Media

The above item has seven options [a. Facebook b. YouTube c. WhatsApp d.
Google e. Instagram] the respondents selected all these options. In the above
table, the column “N” indicates how many respondents selected each option.
The ‘Percent of Responses’ column indicates what percentage of the total
number of options mentioned is contained in each category. The ‘Percent of
Cases’ indicates what percentage of respondents selected options of each
given type. In the column of ‘percent of cases’, there is a possibility to have
above 100%, that is because each respondent can select more than one
category. As shown in the above figure, 26 students were selected and total
113 responses were generated. Those 26 students opted 88 categories that
are almost more than four categories per respondent. Of the 113 category "c”
[WhatsApp) was selected frequently by 40 responses (representing 35.4%,
the largest portion of total) by 153.8%, in other words we can say from the
above data that 153.8% of the cases responded that mostly they use
WhatsApp as a social media in their daily life. That is 35.4% of all responses.
Category "b" [YouTube] is the second most chosen response 73.1% of the
respondents selected the option that is the 16.8% of the total response.
Category "e" Instagram, the third most chosen response, 57% of the
respondents selected the option that is the 13.3% of the total response.
Category "e" [Instagram] was the least opted category by the respondents.
The above data indicates that most of the participants (PYP students) used
different social applications in their daily life whereas WhatsApp was the
most popular among students. The data in the graph five reflects that
30.8% of the respondents use social media 1-2 hours daily, 53.80% of the
respondents use social media 3-5 hours daily which is the highest figure in
graph and 15.40% of them use social media more than five hours daily.

82
Therefore, this graph depicts clearly that most of the students use social
media 3-5 hours on daily basis.

How much time do you spend on social media

60.00%
53.80%

50.00%

40.00%

30.80%
30.00%

20.00%
15.40%

10.00%

0.00%
1-2 hours 3-4 hours more then 5 hours

Fig. 5: Time spend on social media.

Social media improves your writing skill

50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Agree Strongly agree Neutral

Fig. 6: Writing Skills of social Media.

The data in the graph six reflects that 44% of the respondents agreed that
social media improved their writing skill, and 36% of them strongly agreed

83
that it improved their writing skill, while as, 16% of them remained neutral.
Therefore, it clearly shows that most of the respondents agreed that by using
social media application and improved their writing skill.

Social media helps to develop your writing skill,while chatting

with friends &family members
70.00%
61.50%
60.00%

50.00%

40.00%

30.00% 26.90%

20.00%

10.00%

0.00%
Agree Strongly agree

Fig. 7: Social Media chatting rate.

The data in the graph seven reflected that 61.50% of the respondents agreed
and 26.90% of them strongly agreed that while (texting) with friends and
family members, they developed their writing skill. Therefore, it is clear that
all the respondents agreed that social media application developed their
writing skill.

84
 social media helps you to improve your vocabulary
45.00%

40.00% 38.50%

35.00%

30.00% 26.90% 26.90%

25.00%

20.00%

15.00%

10.00%

5.00%

0.00%
Agree Strongly agree Neutral

Fig. 8: Vocabulary response on Social Media.

The data in the graph eight reflects that 26.90% of the respondents
responded that social media helped them to improve their vocabulary and
38.50% strongly agreed while as, 26.90% remained neutral. Therefore, it
clearly shows that majority of the respondents agreed that use of social
media helped them in developing vocabulary which ultimately affects their
writing skill.

85
 social media helps you to get familiar with formal & informal writing
45.00% 42.20%
40.00%

35.00%

30.00%

25.00% 23.10%

20.00% 19.20%

15.00%

10.00% 7.70%

5.00%

0.00%
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly agree

Fig. 9: Social Media helps familiar with formal and informal writing.

The data in the graph nine reflects that 42.20% of the respondents agreed,
that social media helped them to get them familiar with formal and informal
writing. 7.70% of them also strongly agreed with the same while as, 23.10%
of the respondents admitted that social media did not help them to
comprehend familiar and unfamiliar writing, and 19.20% of them did not
express themselves. Therefore, it shows that most of the respondents agreed
that social media helped them to get familiar with formal and informal
writing.

86
 Social media facilitates teachers in proviing feedback to students
45.00% 42.20%
40.00%

35.00%

30.00%

25.00%

20.00% 19.20%
15.40% 15.40%
15.00%

10.00%

5.00%

0.00%
Agree Disagree Neutral Strongly agree

Fig. 10: Facilities of Social Media.

The data in the graph ten reflects that 42.20% of the respondents agreed that
social media facilitates teachers in providing feedback to students. 19.20% of
them strongly agreed to it. 15.40% of them disagreed while 15.40% of the
respondents remained neutral. Therefore, it is clearly depicted that social
media facilitates teachers in providing feedback to students.

social media application (whatsapp) provides enough practice to

score better in exam
40.00%
34.60%
35.00%

30.00%
26.90%
25.00%

20.00% 19.20%

15.00%
11.50%
10.00%

5.00%

0.00%
Agree Strongly agree Disagree Strongly disagree

87
Fig. 11: Social Media application.

The data in the graph eleven reflects, that 34.60% of the respondents agreed
that social media (WhatsApp) provide enough practice to score better in
exam. 26.90% of them strongly agreed while 19.20% of the respondents
disagreed to it. 11.50% of them strongly disagreed to the statement.
Therefore, it clearly depicts that social media (WhatsApp) provided enough
practice to students to score better in exam.

social media assists you to better understand topics related to your study
70.00%

60.00% 57.70%

50.00%

40.00%

30.00%

19.20%
20.00%
11.50% 11.50%
10.00%

0.00%
Agree Strongly agree Neutral Disagree

Fig. 12: Social Media assist.

The data in the graph twelve reflects, that 57.70% of the respondents agreed
that social media helped them to understand topics related to their study,
and 19.20% of them strongly agreed while as, 11.50% of the respondents
disagreed 11.50% of them remained neutral. Therefore, it is clearly depicted
that social media helped a majority of students to understand the topics
related to their study.

88
 Social media helps you get rid of fear &shyness in developing writing
communication
40.00%
34.60%
35.00%
30.80%
30.00%

25.00% 23.10%

20.00%

15.00%

10.00%

5.00%

0.00%
Agree Strongly agree Neutral

Fig. 13: Communication by Social Media.

The data in the graph thirteen reflects that 30.80% of the respondents
agreed that social media helped them to get rid of fear and shyness in
developing writing communication, and 23.10% of them strongly agreed to
the same while as, 34.60% of the respondent’s remained neutral. Therefore,
it clearly depicts that social media helped them to get rid of fear and shyness
in developing writing communication.

89
 Social media help to diiscuss acedemic issues with friends & teachers, ect
60.00%
53.80%

50.00%

40.00%

30.00%
23.10%
20.00%
11.50%
10.00%

0.00%
Agree Strongly agree Neutral

Fig. 14: Academic contribution of social media.

The data in the graph fourteen reflects that 53.80% of the respondents
agreed that social media helped them to discuss academic issues with friends
and teachers and 23.10% of them respondents strongly agreed that it helped
them a lot.

Students' Open-ended Responses

Table 2: Showing students’ suggestions regarding the use of social media in English
language learning.

Items Responses

1.English news channels subscribed by BBC

students None

CNN

Aljazeera

No response

Arabic

English
2.Languages mostly used by students Arabic and English
while chatting

90
3. Social media helped you to improve By reading newspapers
language skills: reading and writing By reading books on Google

By watching videos on YouTube about

reading and writing skills by English
teachers

By reading chats on Twitter and Facebook

British Council

Learning English
4.English Learning/ entertainment None
channels subscribed by students on
YouTube Hollywood movies

English with Khalid

11.50% of them remained neutral and did not show their interest. Therefore,
it clearly shows that most of them agreed that students could improve
writing skills more easily on social media (by discussing related topics) than
in the actual classroom.

The above table shows that all the questions were responded by the
students. The table shows when the students were asked which English news
channels they had subscribed, thirteen of the students responded that they
had not subscribed to any English news channel. One of them responded that
he had subscribed BBC, followed by two respondents who had subscribed
CNN and Aljazeera. Ten of the respondents did not respond to the question.
It seems that most of the students do not listen to or watch news in English.
While listening or watching news, students can find several topics, and
sources. Students are required to be able to interpret spoken language and
enhance their listening comprehension by listening to the news (TV or
radio). When asked which language they usually used while chatting with
friends on social media, ten of them said they used Arabic as a medium, eight
said they used English and Arabic as a medium, and six said they only used
English as a medium with their friends while chatting on social media. It

91
clearly shows only few of them use English on social media while chatting or
commenting with their friends. It has been proved by many of the studies
(Hamad, 2017 & Anamalia, 2019) that Whats App plays an effective role in
developing students’ vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehend-sion and
length of their writing. It is graded positively by the students as a motivating
pedagogical tool for developing learning and making language learning more
interesting and enjoyable than the traditional method of teaching. It provides
students with good opportunities to practice English as a means of
communication (specially written communication) and helps them to learn
from each other. At the same time when students were asked which social
media applications helped them in reading and writing skills, nine of them
responded that reading chats and comments on Face book and Twitter
helped them a lot, while as four of them responded that by watching videos
on YouTube about reading and writing by English teachers proved to be me
of immense help. Three of them responded that by reading newspaper they
had developed these skills; three of them responded that by reading books
on Google they developed these skills (reading leading to writing) of English
language. At last when the students were asked which English
learning/entertainment channels they had subscribed on YouTube, nine of
them res-ponded that they had not subscribed any English
learning/entertainment channels on YouTube, but eight of them responded
that they had subscribed Hollywood movies channels on YouTube. Six of
them responded that they had sub-scribed English with Khalid English
language learning on YouTube, while as four of them responded that they
had subscribed British Council on YouTube. Four of them responded that
they had subscribed American English Language learning channels on
YouTube. But it had been observed that YouTube could be a valuable tool
through which English language skills could be taught more easily. Using it

92
both inside and outside the classroom can enhance conversation, listening,
and pronunciation skills. Even reading and writing activities can be
structured around YouTube videos.

CHAPTER –V

93
 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND
SUGGESTIONS FORFURTHER RESEARCH
5.1 INTRODUCTION:

The result and findings of this study revealed that social media plays an
important role in writing performance development of English leaners at
school level like: it facilitate the English learners to learn new words and
vocabulary suitable for them in the ability of English language learning , it is
easy for to write.

The more we write , the better we become as writers. Social media can be
tool where students are encouraged to use their creativity combined with
personal expression to improve and strengthen their writing.

On Twitter , students can use viral tweets as mentor sentence, breaking them
apart to discover what made them so popular. Instagram and twitter, which
let users pair images and short videos alongside minimal text to convey
ideas, offer a new take on creative writing.

5.2 Research questions:

1) To what extent social media can help in developing writing skills?

2) Whether social media can be integrated as a formal tool in teaching/

learning?

5.3 Hypothesis

For the development of this proposed study, the following hypothesis is

posed: 1.The pe-dagogical use of Social Networks improves students’ Writing
skills from third Grade in a major computing system at “High School”. For a
long time, Writing skills in the English language have been a weakness in
students’ learning process because of the traditional methods used by

94
English teachers. This kind of outdated method does not only affect rural
areas but also, all area levels. According to the above paragraph, it is relevant
to analyze if the use of Social Networks as a new language can strengthen
students’ Writing skills.

The increase of ICT and the great impact of the internet of offer new
tools for the development of different abilities in the language learning
process through audio, video, documents online, interactive pages, radio,
channels, TV, magazines, PowerPoint, images, virtual words, chats, video
conferences.

Considering students from “ High School” have faced challenges in the

Writing skills process, it is necessary to apply new language practices with
the use of Social Networks.

Hypothesis
For the development of
this proposed study, the
following hypothesis is
posed: 1. e pe-
dagogical use of Social
Networks improves

95
students’ Writing skills
from ird Grade in a major
computing system at
“Nabón High School”. For
a long time, Writing skills
in the English language
have been a weakness in
students’ learning
process because of the
traditional methods used
by
English teachers. is kind
of outdated method does not
only aect rural areas but also,
all area

96
levels. According to the
above paragraph, it is
relevant to analyze if the
use of Social Networks
as
a new pedagogy can
strengthen students’
Writing skills.
e increase of ICT and the
great impact of the internet
oer new tools for the
development
of dierent abilities in the
language learning process
through audio, video,
documents online,
97
interactive pages, radio,
channels, TV, magazines,
PowerPoint, images,
virtual words, chats,
video
conferences.
Considering students
from “Nabón High
School” have faced
challenges in the Writing
skills
process, it is necessary
to apply new
pedagogical practices
with the use of Social
Networks.
98
Hypothesis
For the development of
this proposed study, the
following hypothesis is
posed: 1. e pe-
dagogical use of Social
Networks improves
students’ Writing skills
from ird Grade in a major
computing system at
“Nabón High School”. For
a long time, Writing skills
in the English language
have been a weakness in
students’ learning
process because of the
99
traditional methods used
by
English teachers. is kind
of outdated method does
not only aect rural areas but
also, all area
levels. According to the
above paragraph, it is
relevant to analyze if the
use of Social Networks
as
a new pedagogy can
strengthen students’
Writing skills.
e increase of ICT and the
great impact of the
100
internet oer new tools for
the development
of dierent abilities in the
language learning process
through audio, video,
documents online,
interactive pages, radio,
channels, TV, magazines,
PowerPoint, images,
virtual words, chats,
video
conferences.
Considering students
from “Nabón High
School” have faced

101
challenges in the Writing
skills
process, it is necessary
to apply new
pedagogical practices
with the use of Social
Networks.
Hypothesis
For the development of
this proposed study, the
following hypothesis is
posed: 1. e pe-
dagogical use of Social
Networks improves
students’ Writing skills
from ird Grade in a major
102
computing system at
“Nabón High School”. For
a long time, Writing skills
in the English language
have been a weakness in
students’ learning
process because of the
traditional methods used
by
English teachers. is kind
of outdated method does not
only aect rural areas but also,
all area
levels. According to the
above paragraph, it is
relevant to analyze if the
103
use of Social Networks
as
a new pedagogy can
strengthen students’
Writing skills.
e increase of ICT and the
great impact of the internet
oer new tools for the
development
of dierent abilities in the
language learning process
through audio, video,
documents online,
interactive pages, radio,
channels, TV, magazines,
PowerPoint, images,
104
virtual words, chats,
video
conferences.
Considering students
from “Nabón High
School” have faced
challenges in the Writing
skills
process, it is necessary
to apply new
pedagogical practices
with the use of Social
Networks.
Hypothesis
For the development of
this proposed study, the
105
following hypothesis is
posed: 1. e pe-
dagogical use of Social
Networks improves
students’ Writing skills
from ird Grade in a major
computing system at
“Nabón High School”. For
a long time, Writing skills
in the English language
have been a weakness in
students’ learning
process because of the
traditional methods used
by

106
English teachers. is kind
of outdated method does
not only aect rural areas but
also, all area
levels. According to the
above paragraph, it is
relevant to analyze if the
use of Social Networks
as
a new pedagogy can
strengthen students’
Writing skills.
e increase of ICT and the
great impact of the
internet oer new tools for
the development
107
of dierent abilities in the
language learning process
through audio, video,
documents online,
interactive pages, radio,
channels, TV, magazines,
PowerPoint, images,
virtual words, chats,
video
conferences.
Considering students
from “Nabón High
School” have faced
challenges in the Writing
skills

108
process, it is necessary
to apply new
pedagogical practices
with the use of Social
Networks.
Hypothesis
For the development of
this proposed study, the
following hypothesis is
posed: 1. e pe-
dagogical use of Social
Networks improves
students’ Writing skills
from ird Grade in a major
computing system at
“Nabón High School”. For
109
a long time, Writing skills
in the English language
have been a weakness in
students’ learning
process because of the
traditional methods used
by
English teachers. is kind
of outdated method does not
only aect rural areas but also,
all area
levels. According to the
above paragraph, it is
relevant to analyze if the
use of Social Networks
as
110
a new pedagogy can
strengthen students’
Writing skills.
e increase of ICT and the
great impact of the internet
oer new tools for the
development
of dierent abilities in the
language learning process
through audio, video,
documents online,
interactive pages, radio,
channels, TV, magazines,
PowerPoint, images,
virtual words, chats,
video
111
conferences.
Considering students
from “Nabón High
School” have faced
challenges in the Writing
skills
process, it is necessary
to apply new
pedagogical practices
with the use of Social
Networks.
Hypothesis
For the development of
this proposed study, the
following hypothesis is
posed: 1. e pe-
112
dagogical use of Social
Networks improves
students’ Writing skills
from ird Grade in a major
computing system at
“Nabón High School”. For
a long time, Writing skills
in the English language
have been a weakness in
students’ learning
process because of the
traditional methods used
by
English teachers. is kind
of outdated method does

113
not only aect rural areas but
also, all area
levels. According to the
above paragraph, it is
relevant to analyze if the
use of Social Networks
as
a new pedagogy can
strengthen students’
Writing skills.
e increase of ICT and the
great impact of the
internet oer new tools for
the development
of dierent abilities in the
language learning process
114
through audio, video,
documents online,
interactive pages, radio,
channels, TV, magazines,
PowerPoint, images,
virtual words, chats,
video
conferences.
Considering students
from “Nabón High
School” have faced
challenges in the Writing
skills
process, it is necessary
to apply new
pedagogical practices
115
with the use of Social
Networks.
5.4 Analysis of data:

The study has been divided into two parts: the first contained a detailed
distinctive analysis and discussion of the statements of the questionnaires
and the second one was a detailed distinctive analysis and discussion of the
responses of the interview. Based on the findings, the researchers offered
recommendations and suggestions to integrate social media as a formal tool
in language learning/ teaching.

5.5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION :

The results and findings of this study revealed that social media plays an
important role in writing performance development of English learners at
school level like: it facilitate the English learners to learn new words and
vocabulary suitable for them in the ability of English language learning, it is
easy for English learners as compare to books reading and other text
materials, and arouse the interest of English learners towards the English
language learning, and the English learners may use social media tools for a
long enough period of time without any hesitation or boredom. Similarly, the
findings of the study also confirmed with (Al-Jarrah, Talafhah, & Al-Jarrah,
2019) that the use of social media is easy for young university level learners
as compare to books, or other text materials while going to library and get
books related to vocabulary development. However, the learners may use
social media sources like Facebook, twitter, flicker, YouTube, WhatsApp, and
other so many tools of social media to improve their writing performance of
English language not only in text form but they may see the pictures of things
through online media.

116
 Data were mainly collected from a questionnaire addressed to EFL
university students. One of the most critical research questions the present
study sought to answer was the role of social media in English writing
development. The bar chart in (Figure 1) highlights the role of social media
in the enhancement of writing performance because 104 (68%) Respondents
either ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly disagreed’ to the statement that social media
plays a significant role in the improvement of writing skill.However; 16% of
the respondents ‘disagreed’while only (24%) remained ‘neutral’. Overall, the
overwhelming majority confirmed that social media improves their writing
skills as (Figure 1) shows: 68 % answered favorably while 30.9 % responded
negatively.

90

80 77

70

60

50

40

30 27
24
20 15
10
10

0
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

Fig.1: The distribution of students in terms of social media role in the development of the writing
skill

Table 1: The Role of Social Media in the Development of the Writing Skill

Scales Frequency Percentage

Strongly agree 77 50%

117
 Agree 27 18%

Neutral 24 16%

Disagree 15 10%

Strongly diagree 10 6%

Total 153 100.00%

Likewise, to explore the nature of activities EFL university students take up

while getting online, they were asked to determine if they use social media
for learning goals. Table ‘2’ indicates that out of 153 respondents, 124 (81%)
expressed their agreement to the statement; 18 (12 %) expressed
disagreement while (7%) answered that they had no opinion.

60

50
50

40

31
30

20

10 7 7
5

0
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

Fig.2: The distribution of students in terms of SM use for English language learning purposes

Table 2: EFL university students use SM for English language learning purposes

Scales Frequency Percentage

Strongly agree 77 50%

Agree 47 31%

118
 Neutral 11 7%

Disagree 11 7%

Strongly disagree 7 5%

Total 153 100.00%

In order to explore students’ perceptions apropos the effectiveness of

social media vis-à-vis writing performance, students were asked if they use
social media for the sake of writing development. The overwhelming
majority, as (figure 3) highlights, (68 %) of the respondents answered
favorably; (19%) responded negatively while (13%)voiced no opinion. These
findings reveal that a large proportion of students use social media in order
to develop their writing skills.

45

40 39

35

30 29

25

20

15 13
11
10 8

0
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
disagree

Fig.3: The distribution of students in terms of SM use to improve writing performance

Table 3: EFL university students use SM to improve their writing skills

Scales Frequency Percentage

119
 Strongly agree 59 39%

Agree 45 29%

Neutral 20 13%

Disagree 12 8%

Strongly disagree 17 11%

Total 153 100.00%

The respondents were further asked if they witnessed some improvements

in their writing performances since they became engaged into social media
apps. The results of the data (figure 4)indicated the following: 68% of the
students answered favorably; 18% responded negatively while 14%
remained neutral. The results suggest that a large proportion of students
achieved satisfactory results in writing since they became engaged in social
media apps.

Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

10%

8%

39%

14%

29%

120
Fig.4: The distribution of students in terms of improvements in their writing performances since
they became engaged into SM apps.

Table 4: There have been some improvements in my writing performance since I became
engaged into social media app.

Scales Frequency Percentage

Strongly agree 59 39%

Agree 45 29%

Neutral 21 14%

Disagree 13 8%

Strongly disagree 15 10%

Total 153 100.00%

In order to measure the role of social media in enhancing English language

skill, the following questionnaire items were used:

Table 5: The overall mean score of SM perceived usefulness.

Items Frequenc Percen Valid Standard

y t Percent deviation

I have recourse to materials obtained from 79 51.6 51.6 0.6

Social Media apps I order to brush up my
English

Social Media helps me to feel comfortable to 77 50.3 50.3 0.7

practice my English other with online users

Online interaction between a student, his/her 87 56.9 56.9 0.58

classmates and the teacher makes learning
fruitful.

I use Social Media for online academic group 97 63.4 63.4 0.9
discussion

I use Social Media to research work 76 49.7 49.7 0.6

I use social networking sites to solve my 80 52.3 52.3 0.3

121
academic problem

I practice my writing on Social Media apps 98 64.1 64.1 0.2

better than class

Social Media can be used as a tool for formal 106 69.3 69.3 0.13
teaching

My academic performance will undermine in 81 52.9 52.9 0.1

case I stop using Social Media

Engaging in instructive materials on Social 65 42.5 42.5 0.4

Media increases the rate of my
understanding

In order to explore students’ perceptions apropos the impact social

media exerts on their writing performances, students were asked if they
think social media use, in general, benefit them academically in any way. The
overwhelming majority said that social media does indeed benefit them
academically. The analysis of data, as (Table 5) highlights, indicates that the
overall score of social media perceived usefulness is high and the items
rankedas follows: (Social media can be used as a tool for formal
teaching:69.3 ± 0.13) (I practice my writing on social media apps better than
class: 64.1 ± 0.2) (I use SM for online academic group discussion: 63.4 ± 0.9)
(Engaging in instructive materials on social media increases the rate of my
understanding: 42.5 ± 0.4). It is worth-noting that all of the items were at
high levels and this evidence suggests that there was a positive correlation
between the judicious use of social media and writing development.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION : SCHOOL LEVEL

The primary source of data collection included a questionnaire

addressed to the students who are currently learning English at school level.

122
 60
55

50

40

30
24 23
20 18

12
10

0
strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree

Table 1: The role of social media in English language writing performance development

Scales Frequency Percentage

Strongly Disagree 12 9.09%

Disagree 18 13.64%

Undecided 24 18.18%

Agree 23 17.42%

Strongly agree 55 41.67%

Total 132 100%

The above table clearly highlights the role of social media in English language
writing development because 78 (59.09%) respondents either ‘Agreed’ or
‘Strongly Agreed’ to the statement that social media use plays a dominant
role in writing development. A sizable number of 18(13.64%) ‘Disagreed’
and only 24 (18.18%) of the respondents remained ‘Undecided’.

123
 70
63
60

50

40
32
30

20
15
12
10
10

0
strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree

Table 2: Social media use is not difficult for English learners at school level

Scales Frequency Percentage

Strongly disagree 10 7.58%

Disagree 12 9.09%

Undecided 15 11.36%

Agree 32 24.24%

Strongly agree 63 47.73%

Total 132 100%

The data presented in table 2 indicated that out of 132 respondents 12

(9.09%) ‘Disagreed’ to the statement that the use of social media is not
difficult of English language learners at school level in order to improve their
writing performance, while a majority of 10 (7.58%) strongly disagreed to
the statement. Another 15 (11.36%) respondents stayed ‘Undecided’. A large

124
number of 32 (24.24%) respondents ‘Agreed’ to the statement, and high
number was 63 (47.73%) percent respondent ‘Strongly Agreed’ to the
statement.

50
45
45 42
40

35

30

25

20 17
15
15 13

10

0
strongly disgree disagree undecided agree strongly agree

Table 3: Students at school level use Social media for English language writing
development

Scales Frequency Percentage

Strongly disagree 15 11.36%

Disagree 13 9.85%

Undecided 17 12.88%

Agree 42 31.82%

Strongly agree 45 34.09%

Total 132 100%

125
The data presented in table 3 highlighted that out of 132 respondents 15
(11.36%) ‘Strongly Disagreed’ to the statement, while 13 (9.85%)
respondents ‘Disagreed’ to the statement that school level English language
learners use various social media sources for English language writing
development. Another 17 (18.88%) respondents remained ‘Undecided’,
while 42 (31.82%) ‘Agreed’ and another 45 (34.09%) respondents were
found ‘Strongly Agreeable’ to the statement.

50 47
45

40

35
30
30 27
25

20
15
15 13

10

0
strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree

Table 4: Social Media is an easy way for development of English writing skill.

Scales Frequency Percentage

Strongly disagree 15 11.36%

Disagree 13 9.85%

Undecided 27 20.45%

Agree 30 22.73%

Strongly agree 47 35.61%

Total 132 100%

126
The data placed in table 4 showed that out of 132 respondents, a vast
majority of 77 (58.34%) respondents either ‘Agreed’ or ‘Strongly Agreed’ to
the statement that the students do not feel any boredom while using
different social media sources for English language learning at school level. A
medium number of 27 (20.45%) respondents remained ‘Undecided’. While
13 (9.85%) respondents showed their disagreement to the given statement.

The researcher used questionnaire items to measure the role of social media
in developing English language.

Number Items Mean Standard Level

deviation

1 I make use of social media to disseminate 4.35 0.73 High

knowledge to my classmate.

2 I use materials gotten from blogging sites to 3.96 0.66 High

complement what I have been taught in class.

3 Social media is a good place to check class notes 4.06 0.76 High
or homework posted by the teacher

4 I engage in academic discussions on social media 3.69 0.75 High

and this has improved my academic performance.

5 Watch cartoon with English sound track from 3.90 0.74 High
websites

6 I usually have unlimited access to social media 4.05 0.78 High

and this has affected my academic performance
negatively.

7 I will not perform well in my academics even if I 4.04 0.75 High

stop using social media.

8 The usage of social media for research has helped 4.08 0.71 High
improve my grades.

9 Engaging in academic forums on social media 3.69 0.70 High

reduces my rate of understanding.

10 Use online dictionary to solve linguistic problems 3.90 0.72 High

Total 4.00 0.50 High

127
Table 1 shows the overall mean score of perceived usefulness of social media
which was at high level (Mean = 4.00). The first highest mean score fell on
item no. 1 (I make use of social media to disseminate knowledge to my
classmate, Mean = 4.35), followed by item no. 8 (The usage of social media
for research has helped improve my grades, Mean = 4.08), and item no. 3
(Social media is a good place to check class notes or homework posted by the
teacher, Mean = 4.06). The lowest mean score was on items no. 9 (Engaging
in academic forums on social media reduces my rate of understanding, Mean
= 3.69). It is interesting to see that all of the items were at high levels.

DISCUSSION:

The results and findings of this study revealed that social media plays an
important role in writing performance development of English learners at
school level like: it facilitate the English learners to learn new words and
vocabulary suitable for them in the ability of English language learning, it is
easy for English learners as compare to books reading and other text
materials, and arouse the interest of English learners towards the English
language learning, and the English learners may use social media tools for a
long enough period of time without any hesitation or boredom. Similarly, the
findings of the study also confirmed with (Al-Jarrah, Talafhah, & Al-Jarrah,
2019) that the use of social media is easy for young university level learners
as compare to books, or other text materials while going to library and get
books related to vocabulary development. However, the learners may use
social media sources like Facebook, twitter, flicker, YouTube, WhatsApp, and
other so many tools of social media to improve their writing performance of
English language not only in text form but they may see the pictures of things
through online media.

128
 One of the most fascinating findings that this study unveiled is the
significant role of social media in EFL university students’ writing
performance development. It is also found that social media is positively
perceived by students as an educational tool that helps them to expand their
vocabulary repertoires. They expressed acute awareness that digital media
played a key role in developing their writing skills and in providing them
with opportunities for communication in English in such a way that enabled
them to enhance their linguistic competences.They have also given sufficient
proof that social media is a convenient tool to develop better writing skills.
Social media,as Lakhal 2021 confirms, has “tremendously facilitated learning
and broadly impacted the nature of learning in higher education as never
before” (p.134). It is intriguing to reiterate that social media have yielded
positive outcomes on English language learning in general and on writing
performancein particular, especially when students use it for educational
goals. Students are therefore advised to develop a self-directed online
learning approach such as online bloggingfor it helps them to learn writing
skills through a method that is individualized, collaborative, participatory
and interactive.Given that writing is a skill that necessitates much practice,
online blogging can thus meet this need and be utilized as a powerful tool to
optimize students’ writing performances. Blogging-based writing practice
can dramatically hone students’ writing skills in terms of style, diction,
structure, language mechanics as well as other writing sub-skills.The
findings from the present study converge with other findings in the
literature. For instance, Jain, Verma, Verma & Tiwari (2012) andQuader
(2014) found thatsocial media appsplay a key role in developing written and
spoken communicative skills in English and reduce the inferiority complex of
writing and speaking to the minimum.In general, not only does social media
support social interaction and community building, but it also motivates and

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empowers low achievers to be more engaged in the writing task.
Interestingly enough, it makes writing an enjoyable experience and provides
students with plenty of practice to increase their writing performances. It is
high time to revolutionize the traditional method of writing in class that
seems tedious and substitute it with the modern one that initiates learning
through pleasure deriving channels.

The analysis of the respondents’ views (Fig. 1) on social media affirms that
youngsters, particularly teenagers, take great interest in social media. They
are obsessed with social media. According to a similar survey conducted by
Kuss and Griffiths, (2011), between 55 and 82 percent of teenagers and
young adults use Facebook on a regular basis. The sample population
selected for this study specifically constitutes a bigger part of the teenager
youngsters. Therefore, it ascertains that use of social media can be made a
rewarding experience for the students specifically belonging to teenage as
they spend most of their time on social media. Among the respondents, the
percentage (Fig. 2) of active female users of social media is only 26.90%. It
shows that less female students have participated because of cultural or
modesty issues. The female students were deliberately made the part of the
study as to identify and determine whether social media is going to be a
successful learning tool with female students or not. Unfortunately, female
students did not support social media because of the privacy issues.

However, females’ reluctance to use social media cannot be attributed to

regional, cultural or religious sensitivities; it may be more because of
personal reasons. A study conducted by Mary Madden in Washington reports
similar results as Mary, (2012) presents an analysis on female privacy
settings on social media: However, there is a significant gender gap when it
comes to the way male and female social media users choose to manage their

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profiles. Women are much more conservative in the basic settings they
choose; 67% of female profile owners restrict access to friends only
compared with 48% of male profile owners. Likewise, men are more apt than
women to choose partially are private (23% vs. 16%) or fully public (26% vs.
14%) settings (p.5). It shows that women’s concern with their privacy is
universal and not regional. Nevertheless, the data in the Fig. 3 reflected that
100% students whether male or female use social media applications.
Women prefer to use social media having protected their privacy. It affirms
that the use of social media is all-pervasive and it is quite inevitable for
students not to use social media. Teachers in the female section can use
social media as a learning tool by determining to protect their privacy. The
Fig. 4 reflected that all the participants used one or other social media
platform in their daily lives. However, all the given options were selected by
the respondents, but WhatsApp got the highest number of response as
35.4% followed by YouTube 16.8%. Moreover, only 11.5% of the
respondents selected Instagram as a social media application used by them.
However, this analysis cannot be universalized as a research in Kansas City
in US by Seo et al. (2013) rates the YouTube as the most popular site but it
excludes the other two, “YouTube was the most popular social networking
site among youth, followed by Facebook and Twitter” (p.893). There is no
mention of WhatsApp or Instagram. It shows that social media applications
vary from region to region, person to person, or group to group. In US,
people prefer to use Facebook and Twitter though this choice may vary from
country to country. In Najran, a city in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, most of the
respondents use Instagram, YouTube and WhatsApp in their daily life as
analyzed in this study. Because most students use social media for 3-5 hours
per day, as indicated in Fig. 5, teachers can take advantage of this fascination
with social media applications to help EFL students learn more effectively.

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Students spend a lot of time on social media, and it obviously helped them
enhance their language skills, as seen in Fig. 6, where 80% of respondents
agreed that social media improved their speaking ability. Namaziandost &
Nasri, (2019) conclude in their study, “Learners will enhance their speaking
skill if they use Social media in an appropriate way” (p. 211). While analyzing
their data they mentioned, “The majority of participants (eighty-two) making
up (82%) stated that they always use Social media, while only sixteen
students making (16%) stated that their use of social media is not a priority
and therefore, they use them only sometimes” (p.11). It clearly reveals that
social media applications are good facilitator in improving writing skill.
Social media is a great source of encouragement to improve writing skills of
students as 61.50% of the respondents (Fig. 7) agreed and 26.90% of them
(Fig. 7) strongly agreed that social media developed their writing skill. There
was a drastic improvement in the performance of students while using
WhatsApp. One excerpt of student from WhatsApp is pasted here:

The excerpt shows that students have developed their writing skills
exceptionally. They seem to be more confident in expressing themselves.
Though they have not used full stop at the end of each sentence, their
grammatical structures are quite convincing.

The problem of punctuation is usually found while using social media as

students do not pay attention to it. Teachers need to advise students
repeatedly so that they can develop the habit of using proper punctuation.
However, social media and online resources are one of the best means to
develop writing skills of students. De Voss et al. (2010) state, “Posting their
writing on the Youth Voices network forces it to be archived and searchable,
allowing students to revisit their own-and others’- work in order to develop
and refine ideas for future writing” (p. 85). Therefore, it reaffirms the

132
assumption that social media application might be used as a tool in
developing the writing skill. A significant percentage of the participants (Fig.
8) admitted that social media applications helped them to improve their
vocabulary. One of the screenshots of students’ conversation with teacher is
pasted here to show their improvement in using vocabulary through
WhatsApp.

Social media provides a platform where participants can acquire new

vocabulary as the same is evidence found in the above screenshot. Khan et al.
(2016) examined the influence of social media in the development of English
language vocabulary at the university level. They came to the conclusion that
social media plays a key role in the development of English language
vocabulary at the university level because it allows English learners to learn
new words and phrases and expand their vocabulary. English language
learners can use social media to improve their writing and reading skills, as
well as read new texts and phrases to expand their vocabulary. Social media
serves multipurpose in language learning, as it not only contributes in
acquiring vocabulary or developing linguistic structures but also familiarizes
with formal and informal writing.

The above screenshot shows that students improved their formal writing
also through WhatsApp. Teachers not only assigned formal writing to
students but also focused on their informal writing by sharing the greeting or
wishing on the festivals. One screenshot is pasted here to show that students
also progressed informal writing through WhatsApp. Mostly, students learnt
informal writing unconsciously through texting teachers.

Almost 50% of the participants (Fig. 9) admitted that social media helped
them to get familiar with formal and informal speech. The same is proved
through the screenshots pasted above. WhatsApp has been quite beneficial

133
as a unique feature in improving communicative competence of students.
Berge & Muilenburg, (2013) state that the use of social media and mobile
platforms is creating a major impact on the learning and teaching process.
Social media create an atmosphere in which individuals can learn from their
peers about communication as the screenshot shows here:

The above screenshot reveals that students can communicate not only
formally but also informally as they share with each other coupon offer
information in AlOthaim market. WhatsApp sometimes deviate’s students as
they get more involved in personal than academic chats. Here lies the risk of
using mother tongue and avoiding the target language. A significant number
of the participants (Fig.10) also frankly opined that social media facilitates
teachers in providing feedback to students. Students were enthusiastic by
receiving instant feedback from teachers. Their learning was not confined
only to classroom as they could access teachers anytime. Teachers were
prompt to provide the feedback as soon as they were free. One of the
screenshots showing the same is pasted here.

As the message shows, the feedbacks was provided by the teachers at 8:11
pm which ensures that WhatsApp crosses the boundaries of classroom
teaching and engage students and teachers beyond the classroom teaching
hours. This study suggests that social media should be incorporated as a
formal tool because of the several advantages associated with it. There is no
doubt that it has innumerable educational benefits, which help students not
only to learn in the classroom but also to write in the examination. However,
one cannot deny the fact that WhatsApp cannot be instrumental in
conducting the formative assessment though summative assessment can be
carried out with the help of WhatsApp. In this research, almost 60% of the
respondents (Fig. 11) agreed that social media (Whats App) provide enough

134
practice to score better in exam. One of the screenshots is presented here
where teacher shared a quiz on WhatsApp and students enthusiastically and
positively responded to it.

There were many quizzes provided by the teachers on WhatsApp. One of

them is pasted above to show how students positively responded to a quiz
shared by the teacher. However, there were also students who did not agree
to it, which corresponds to a study by Stollak et al. (2011) as it demonstrates
that students’ grades can be affected negatively by using social networking
tools and visiting many sites. This study used a questionnaire to test this fact,
and the results suggest that 63 percent of students earn good grades because
they spend less time on the internet. Unlike Facebook, the researchers chose
WhatsApp because it can be easily monitored by teachers to safeguard that
students are not wasting their time. It is impossible to deny that students
need to be taught how to use educational apps to their full potential in order
to use them effectively in the classroom. There is scope of further research
on how social media can assist in conducting formative and summative
assessments. A significant number of participants (Fig. 12) agreed that social
media assisted them to better comprehend the topics related to their study.
One of the screenshots is shared here to show how students responded to
the question of teacher on how to become a successful entrepreneur.

Students have searched for the materials on the topic and wrote the essay.
Some of them copied it from Google. When teacher refused to accept their
essays, they used their own language to write on the topic. Of course, Google
and YouTube are a source of immense information on almost every topic in
the world. However, it also stresses on the need that students should avoid
copy and pasting from Google or steal ideas of others. Students need to know
how they could discuss with each other on the specific topics through getting

135
ideas from Google or YouTube and share them on WhatsApp. The use of
social media as a learning tool has the potential to connect informal and
formal learn ing. Third-party social media applications, such as Word Press,
Wikipedia, and LinkedIn, for example, can extend beyond the one-semester
time frame and connect learners with communities, experts in the subject,
and peers all over the world. It also provides interactive multimedia
channels for student-student, student -instructor, and student-content
interactions (Chen & Bryer, 2012). Social media also provides several
blessings for the shy students who hesitate in initiating and maintaining
face-to-face interaction and eye con-tact. A good percentage of students (Fig.
13) were positive about social media as it helped them to get rid of fear and
shyness in developing communication skill. Use of social media can prove a
good learning and teaching strategy for shy students. The following
screenshot shows that students feel free to ask the questions in the group, to
each other as well as teacher.

Though some of the students use Arabic to communicate with each other,
teacher doesn’t intervene as they are using some words of target language
also. Teacher aimed at improving their shyness first and then he motivated
them to use only target language in their conversations. Social media creates
a sense of community and togetherness, which makes students extrovert. It
promotes collective intelligence by forming social networks around
academic issues or connecting students with alumni, community members,
and experts from around the world. Students are encouraged to join
professional groups on social media, such as the National Academy of Public
Administration's LinkedIn group (Chen & Bryer, 2012). The data in the Fig.
14 reflected that most of the respondents agreed that social media
(specifically WhatsApp) helped them to discuss academic issues with friends

136
and teachers. The following screen-shot shows that students were able to
explain present continuous tense along with their examples.

It corresponds to a study by Chen & Bryer, (2012) in which, “Interviewees

also had success with social media activities outside of class. For instance,
they maintained and shared learning content, such as justintime news
articles and videos, and facilitated noncredit, extracurricular discussions
amongst students and a network of friends, associates, and colleagues” (p.
95). Therefore, it clearly showed that most of them agreed that social media
helped them to discuss academic issues with friends and teachers. It, of
course, boosts the confidence of the students too. Yunus et al. (2012)
describe one of the advantages of networking services as, “they increase
motivation and build confidence for students in using and learning English”
(p.47). Students were enthusiastic to search other sources for learning too
like their national newspaper Arab News and share the breaking news with
their teachers and students.

The above screenshot shows that WhatsApp encourages students to read

more which ultimately affects their writing skills. In the open-ended
questions session, the researchers observed that the students were well
aware of the role of social media. They came with good and creative
suggestions that might help them improve English language skills. Two of
them had subscribed BBC. Here is one of the screenshots shared by the
student on WhatsApp which shows that WhatsApp encouraged them to
search the different newspapers as teachers could ask them to write on any
topic extemporarily.

One of them subscribed the New York Times and another one subscribed
English language learning channel. Thirteen of the respondents responded
that they had not subscribed any English channels on their social media

137
applications. Here, teachers need to suggest students and help them choose
newspapers, which might enhance their language skills as newspapers, are a
great source of learning. Mittal, (2014) states “For effective English Learning,
newspaper can work as a major tool. Numerous activities can be done with
newspapers for EET. Students want innovations and new ways of learning
and newspapers always give them teaching in innovative way, as they
change thought, topic and ingredients daily” (p. 690). Most of the students
responded that they use Arabic language while chatting, only 6 of the
respondents responded that they use English language and 8 of them
responded that they use both: Arabic & English language while chatting with
others. The following screenshot represents those students who use Arabic
while chatting with friends.

5.6 IMPLICATIONS OF THIS STUDY:

This study has contributed empirical knowledge to the field of educational

technology and media studies. It has highlighted the utility of social media as
an educational tool. Social media is a useful means of providing learners with
great opportunities to develop vocabulary, grammar, reading
comprehension and written communication skills.When exploited well, they
can excel in the creative area of writing.Social media can be utilized as an aid
for students to develop a daily writing practice. Owing to the affordances of
social media,coordinated efforts on the part of education stakeholders
should be geared towards the development of this critical skill. Social media
is an amazing tool that serves educational role and proved to be a motivating
pedagogical tool for English language learning.Duffy and Bruns (2006) point
out that “many students are already socially hyperactive in Internet-based
environments, interacting with and commenting on one another’s written
accounts — even without being cognizant of that- (…). It is now possible to

138
harness these developments in an educational context” (p. 35). Thus, though
some education practitioners view social media platforms as informal
settings unfit for formal learning, there is no harm in incorporating them as
formal educational instruments to hone writing skills- the end sometimes
justifies the means.EFL university students are encouraged to use social
media responsibly and meaningfully by developing a daily writing practice
and good habits for forging productive relationships with online community
members willing to improve English language and writing skills through
social media and available ICT technologies.

5.7 Contribution of this Research

This study is significant to the teachers, parents, and students. This study
will serve as a guide and help the teachers of the school to know the
influence the social media has and is still wielding over the academics of
students especially on their English speaking and writing abilities, and also
as an eye opener for them to assist in enlightening and creating awareness
for the students, enumerating to them the possible negative influences it
could have on them if not checked In the same vein, the study will enable the
students of the senior level to have an understanding that, apart from the
social benefits of this social networking site which is more protected, using
the sites more than necessary will pose possible dangers to their life and
career. It will be relevant in assisting students in understanding the diversity
of social media. It will provide relevance material for students and other
researchers undertaking similar research.

5.8 FUTURE SUGGESTION:

139
Learning to use social networks in writing activities, in the education system,
can be a mediating tool for the training of the Arab university students for
improving their written English academic skills. It also facilitates the
insertion in reading in the world of young people, since many young people
spend hours of their day in a virtual space. The use of social networks is an
open door to new literature and the construction of new texts. Thus, the
results point to the need for teacher, student and technology (social media)
interaction, inserting what may be valuable in the use of technology to
transform reading into something that transmits pleasure and leads to the
formation of new writers in the classroom. Experimenting and getting to
know the new and inserting it into the traditional way of teaching are acts
that expand learning. This research opens the door for new questions,
bringing a priori the perspective for new field of research.

5.9 Conclusion:

Teachers should create a control group and ensure that students use only
English language while chatting with friends and colleagues. In response to
the role of social media to improve writing skills, three of them accepted
reading newspapers and tweets helped them to improve writing skills. Two
of them suggested that reading books on Google and watching videos on
YouTube helped them a lot. Some of them suggested that following
comments and chatting with friends on Facebook and Twitter helped them
develop their reading and writing skills. It reveals that social media has been
a good source for students. When the students were asked about English
channels they have subscribed on social media, most of them responded that
they had not subscribed any English language-learning channel. Some of
them confessed that they had subscribed some channels like; English courses
online, Hollywood movies, English with Khalid and American English etc.

140
Teachers need to suggest English channels and websites, which students can
use while learning English language and improving their writing skills.

In the current context, it is important that students keep abreast of

technological developments and are aware of English language skills, that
each learner possesses these need to be harnessed and developed further to
both engage learners and improve their English language skills. Based on the
research findings, a high percentage of students use social media. After the
successful of completion of this descriptive study it was concluded that social
media role is dominant in writing performance development of English
language at school level. The role of social media in English language writing
development is like the brightness of the day because social media facilitate
the English learners to learn new words and phrases and to improve their
writing skills. Moreover, Emerging technologies, especially social media,
have transformed the forms and genres of writing. Studies suggest that
pedagogically sound use of social media has the potential to increase
students' motivation for writing, strengthen their awareness of audience and
authorship, and promote writing development. These affordances of social
media expand opportunities for second language learners to engage with
writing in their daily lives and can enhance students' writing development in
classroom environments.

The aim behind this study was to explore the effects of social media on
university EFL students’ writing performance development. The evidence
from this study suggests that Moroccan university EFL students continue to
show more and more engrossment with Internet-based media applications
and that social media have yielded positive outcomes on writing
performance development. Social media is undoubtedly a convenient tool to
develop better writing skills when students use it judiciously.

141
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JAIRUPA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION THOTTIAPALAYAM

Respected sir\ madam,

150
 Greeting, I have undertaken a research work entitled “ THE
ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH
LANGUAGE WRITING SKILL AT SCHOOL LEVEL” . in order to collect
research tools are provided here. I kindly reques you to go through the
statement in the tools and provide your responses. The information provided
by you will be treated most confidential and will be used only for academic
research. Your free and frank feedback will be taken as an immense
contribution to the present research work.

Yours faithfully
Malasree M

GENERAL INFORMATION

Please fill up the following information:

1. Name
2. Sex Male\Female
3. Marital status- Married/ unmarried
4. Educational qualification- Post graduate/ M.Phil / Ph.D
5. Subject
6. Teaching experience - 1-10 years , 15 and more years.
7. Types of management – Private / Govt.
8. Locality - Rural / Urban

SOCIAL MEDIA DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING SKILL

S.No Statements Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly

151
 Agree Disagree

1 Social media could

help me to develop my
writing skills.
2 Social media could
help me to develop my
communication skills.
3 Social media could
help me to develop my
vocabulary
knowledge.
4 I like to communicate
frequently with my
teacher in English
using social media.
5 I like to write neatly in
English could help me
to develop social
media.
6 Social media
encourage me to be
more confident to
write in English.
7 I enjoyed using a
social media app to
learn and write.
8 Using social media
apps helped me access
additional info,
outside of using my
textbooks.
9 Using a mobile app to
test my vocabulary
knowledge was more
fun & less stressful.

152
 (school computer lab)
10 I think activities
through social media
(technology ) can help
me in writing English.
I think using social
media (technology) in
11 English class enhance
my interest in writing
English.
12 I hope I can operate
mobile & computer by
myself when using
computer technology
in English class.
13 I think doing writing
exercises through
social media are more
interesting than doing
identical exercises of
printed version.
14 I think writing
exercises through
social media enhance
my memory for
English vocabulary.
15 I think writing English
with the use of social
media is suitable for
me.
16 I learned social media
to writing how to use
punctuation and
capitalization.
17 When I am used social
media for writing
improved for my

153
 grammar knowledge.
18 The used app
motivates me to learn
& write English.
19 I believe I am a good
English writer.
20 Social media, I use it
everyday, I can
practice writing
English language
easily.
21 We always discuss
with our friends about
English learn & write
assignment or task by
using social media.
22 I think that social
media helps me to
learn & write more
effective.
23 I believe , I can write
quickly in English.
24 I check my mistakes
after I get feedback
from the teacher, and
try to learn from them.
25 I show my text to
somebody and ask for
his\her opinion.

WRITING SKILL SCALE

Two choices are given in the answer sheet: YES or NO.

154
S.No Questions YES NO

1 Do you enjoy writing?

2 Do you think of yourself as a writer?

3 Can you easily write on any relevant topic?

4 Do you use prewriting techniques?

5 Do you practice at home for writing?

6 Do you feel confident in your ability to express your idea

in writing?

7 Do you like the social media app for developing your

writing skill?

8 Do your teachers encourage you to practice writing in

English in the classroom?

9 Do you use social media to communicate with your

teachers?

10 If you answered no to Q2 , then would you be interested in

using social media as an educational tool?

155