The Familiarity of Internet Slang among EFL Female Learners in Saudi Arabia

Enas Abdelwahab Eltom Rahmtallah

doi:10.5296/ijele.v8i2.17332

Abstract

The knowledge of Internet slang is essential for English language learners who aim to achieve native-like fluency. This study investigated the familiarity of internet slang among EFL female learners in Saudi Arabia. The study aimed explicitly to examine to what extent EFL female learners are familiar with the Internet slang? Besides, what does the students' knowledge of slang reflect? To achieve these objectives, a total of 71 Saudi female undergraduate English majors at Unaizah College of Sciences and Arts participated in the study. The students were given a test of Internet slang. The data were analyzed through SPSS. The study results demonstrated that the learners' knowledge of Internet slang was moderately limited, and they are not familiar with internet slang. The results also revealed that some acronyms and abbreviations are popular among learners because of the learners' exposure to social media. In light of these results, recommendations are presented.

Highlights

The new communication technologies and emerging media cultures profoundly affected the world; technological advances have demonstrated a dramatic shift in how individuals communicate (Adams, 2013). Kern (2006) mentions that rapid evolution of communication technologies has changed language pedagogy and language use, enabling new forms of discourse, new types of authorship, and new ways to create and participate in communities
This study investigated the familiarity of internet slang among EFL female learners in Saudi Arabia
The study aimed explicitly to examine to what extent EFL female learners are familiar with the Internet slang? Besides, what does the students' knowledge of slang reflect? To achieve these objectives, a total of 71 Saudi female undergraduate English majors at Unaizah College of Sciences and Arts participated in the study

Summary

Introduction

The new communication technologies and emerging media cultures profoundly affected the world; technological advances have demonstrated a dramatic shift in how individuals communicate (Adams, 2013). Kern (2006) mentions that rapid evolution of communication technologies has changed language pedagogy and language use, enabling new forms of discourse, new types of authorship, and new ways to create and participate in communities. Internet communication is an essential and valuable part of life whether the user is nineteen or ninety, a teacher or an engineer, the internet is all over society. It has dramatically changed how people communicate and use English in both writing and speech. Crystal (2011) argues that these developments in English form and use have created a new linguistic branch he calls Internet Linguistics He added that as a society and economy continue to grow, internet slang has moved from a form of communication to a language of daily use. Most new words come from slang. Zabotnova (2017) add that English has become the language of the computer and the internet and students need to be familiar with contemporary English, and slang will be a significant part of this

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Conclusion