Using Facebook in EFL Writing Class: Its Effectiveness from Students’ Perspective

Abstract

Social media has now much been integrated as a learning platform in various
 educational settings, including those in Language Teaching and Learning (LTL).
 Increasing number of studies has also reported the effectiveness of social media to
 support LTL activities. This present study aimed to investigate whether Facebook, as
 the most popular social media in Indonesia, would be an effective learning tool for EFL
 university students taking advanced writing class. This study employed a case study
 qualitative approach. The data were collected through questionnaire, interview, and
 observation of students’ discussion on Facebook and then analyzed using frequency
 count and thematic content analysis. The findings reveal that most students find
 the use of Facebook in writing class effective in boosting their confidence in using
 English as communicative means, encouraging their participation in class discussion,
 and improving their English language proficiency, particularly the writing skill. This
 study suggests that Facebook can be used as a supplementary learning tool in higher
 education classrooms as it brings positive effect not only on students’ learning habits
 but also competence.