The influence of social media on efl learners' speaking skills

Abstract

The integration of social media platforms has proven to be a transformative and valuable addition to English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education. In today's digital age, these platforms have provided EFL educators with an effective means to garner respect and recognition, elevating their teaching methods beyond traditional approaches that often place undue pressure on instructors. Furthermore, conventional classroom settings have long emphasized written and reading skills at the expense of oral proficiency, presenting a significant pedagogical challenge for both EFL teachers and students who often exhibit suboptimal performance in spoken communication. With the objective of shedding light on this issue, the research project titled 'THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON EFL LEARNERS' SPEAKING SKILLS' was undertaken. This study, conducted at Unidad Educativa Anibal Salgado Ruiz in Tungurahua Province, involved 29 students in the experimental group (2nd 'B') and 30 students in the control group (2nd 'A'). Through a quasi-experimental research design and a pretest and post-test framework, the study aimed to measure the impact of social media usage on the development of speaking proficiency. The results of the investigation clearly demonstrated that students in the experimental group, who engaged with social media as part of their learning process, achieved significantly higher average scores in speaking skills compared to their counterparts in the control group. A two-tailed t-test was utilized to confirm the research hypothesis, xv yielding a highly significant p-value of 0.000, thus establishing statistical significance. In conclusion, the utilization of social media platforms has a discernible and positive impact on enhancing students' speaking skills. The experimental group, which underwent a five-week program involving ten hours of intervention, experienced a marked improvement in their speaking abilities. The program incorporated a variety of social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and was enriched with interactive communication activities both in and out of the classroom. The assessment was carried out using pre-test and post-test speaking evaluations, utilizing a standardized rubric based on the A2 Flyers Cambridge speaking tests.