Facebook- Assisted Communication in EFL Learning: A Case Study of UHD Students of English

Abstract

this research paper investigates the influences of social networks on the improvement of communication skills among EFL learners. The paper considers the new forms of social networks like Facebook and Skype as new effective mediums for the process of Language Learning that help EFL learners to improve their communication capacity. Since, social networks take a major part in our daily life, and play a crucial role in our development in term of knowledge and information; therefore, they can be integrated and involved in the process of Language Learning because they can provide a better environment and interaction between teachers and learners compared to the traditional classes. So, learners in social network-assisted language learning will be able to accelerate and improve their abilities in term of listening, speaking, and writing skills. Thus, the focus of this paper will be on Facebook as a popular social network that can improve communication skills among EFL learners. To theorize this argument, an experimental study was conducted with the participation of 40 freshmen from University of Human Development in KRG who were taking conversation class in the department of English Language. The students were divided into for two different groups; group A (20 students) as the experimental group, and group B (20 students) as the control group. The investigation consisted of three months of study and observation with two different tests. First of all, an entrance test was conducted for the two groups from the very beginning of the language course to measure the students’ communication skills before their entrance in the course. Then, the two groups were allowed to participate in two different English Language courses; a traditional English Language course inside class for the control group, and a Facebook-assisted English language course for the experimental group. At the end of the language courses, a post-test was conducted to measure the amount of improvement the students made in their communication skills during the three-month language course. The results showed significant improvement in the communication capacity of the students who participated in the Facebook-assisted English language course, while little improvement observed among the students who participated in the traditional English Language course.