Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between EFL students’ experience, attitudes, perceptions, and expectations toward the effectiveness of Social Network Sites (SNS), namely, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Flickr, Classmates, Academica, MySpace, English baby, and Google+, in English language learning. A survey of 103 participants from different higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia was conducted. The study’s results revealed that the participants had an average SNS experience. The findings also indicated that participants had overall positive attitudes, perceptions, and expectations toward SNS. In addition, the correlations between experience and attitudes, and experience and expectations were statistically significant. Data analysis also showed that the correlations between attitudes and perceptions, attitudes and expectations, and perceptions and expectations were statistically significant. However, experience did not significantly correlate with perceptions. The findings also indicated that the model of the three variables (attitudes, perceptions, and expectations toward SNS) predicting the variable (experience in SNS) was statistically significant: The significant predictor was expectations.
Highlights
This study investigated the relationship between EFL students’ experience, attitudes, perceptions, and expectations toward the effectiveness of Social Network Sites (SNS), namely, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Flickr, Classmates, Academica, MySpace, English baby, and Google+, in English language learning
The findings indicated that participants had overall positive attitudes, perceptions, and expectations toward SNS
The findings indicated that the model of the three variables predicting the variable was statistically significant: The significant predictor was expectations
Summary
Social Network Sites (SNS), such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and MySpace, have attracted millions of users, many of whom have integrated these sites into their daily practices, and allowed users to connect based on shared interests, political views, or activities (Clarkson, 2013). According to Boyd and Ellison (2007), SNS allow individuals to “(1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system” Duffy (2011) identified five common features of SNS: “a user can (1) create a profile, (2) find peers online, (3) publicly erect or confirm peer connections, (4) collaborate to share content, and (5) form online communities” According to Boyd and Ellison (2007), SNS allow individuals to “(1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system” (p. 1). Duffy (2011) identified five common features of SNS: “a user can (1) create a profile, (2) find peers online, (3) publicly erect or confirm peer connections, (4) collaborate to share content, and (5) form online communities” (p. 286)
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