Abstract:
The attention on using social media for educational purposes is increasing especially
in the wake of Corona Virus outbreak that brought the whole world to a standstill.
Available literature shows that social media platforms are effective teaching and
learning tools. The purpose of this study was to look at the impact that social media
have on Junior High School students spoken and written English Language. A mixed
research method was used for the data collection and analysis. Data were collected
through observation of Junior High School students‟ exercises, and in-depth
interviews with them. The participants included six (6) teachers (who answered the
questionnaires) representing teachers that teach different subjects in the school,
Dachio Junior High. The other participants were the students. They were thirty (30) in
number. The researcher conducted a face-to-face interview with them. Data were
analyzed using the interview questions. The commonly used social media platforms
by the participants are WhatSapp and Facebook. It was revealed in this research that
over 60% of the respondents use social media for less than an hour. The students also
use social media platforms as tools to communicate with their friends and family,
share information with their friends and family, and learn. The following were given
by the respondents as some of the positive effects of social media. They are enhanced
reading, writing, speaking, pronunciation, spelling and communication skills. The
respondents again indicated that social media negatively affected them through the
use of foul language, poor grammar, and the use of abbreviations and inaccurate
spellings. The study provides a clear picture of the current use of social media for
educational purposes. It bridges the gap between policymakers‟ expectations and
students‟ current technology use, and reinforces the effort to institute more fruitful
education reforms.
Description:
A dissertation in the Department of Applied Linguistics,
Faculty of Foreign Languages Education and Communication,
submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment of
the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Education
(Teaching English as a Second Language)
in the University of Education, Winneba