Attitudes of Jordanian university students towards using online chat discourse with native speakers of English for improving their language proficiency

Abstract

This study aims to investigate Jordanian university students' attitudes towards using video and text chat discourse with anonymous native speakers of English to improve their English proficiency. To achieve this aim, a questionnaire was designed. The study sample consisted of 320 university students enrolled in two Jordanian universities. Results revealed that students' attitudes towards using video and text chat with English native speakers for improving their English language skills were higher concerning speaking skills, followed by listening skills, reading skills and finally writing skills. Furthermore, results indicated that there were statistically significant differences amongst students, which are attributed to their gender, the faculty they are enrolled in, the chat messenger mode they use most frequently and their seniority of study at university. In light of the aforementioned results, the researchers proposed a number of pedagogical recommendations.