AN EVALUATION OF THE ROLE OF USING FACEBOOK ON LANGUAGE LEARNING AMONG EFL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

Nowadays, social networking sites are becoming popular throughout the world and have been quite popular among various age group users particularly the young users but small number of researches have been done, especially in Iraq, on how much these websites can contribute to language learning and teaching though they seem to offer plenty of opportunities. This study provides insight into EFL students‟ opinions and attitudes of participating in activities through Facebook for language learning. Therefore, it aims at examining students‟ views about the online learning atmosphere after having an eight-week course using Facebook, and to find the role of Facebook in language learning. In addition, the study discusses the overall effects and possible uses for Facebook in the field of foreign language learning and teaching. Forty-six students at the English Department, School of Languages from University of Garmian in the academic year (2015-2016) participated as the sample in this study. They were third year University students in northern Iraq, who voluntarily joined a closed Facebook group. This study used a one-group pretest-posttest design to examine its research questions. A questionnaire form using a 5-point Likert scale was used for both tests with research tasks based on any tasks and lessons to improve English language skills. The results indicated that there is a significant difference between participants' attitudes before and after the course and it showed positive attitudes toward most activities for language learning following the completion of the study compared to prior opinions. In the pre-test, the majority of participants considered Facebook to be generally useful because through this network, they can communicate and share knowledge. After the online course, most students indicated that, Facebook has high possibilities for being used as an effective formal educational tool. Furthermore, the posttest revealed that students‟ positive attitudes toward the usefulness of social networks increased under the influence of research tasks and activities. Finally, this study confirmed that every participant considered Facebook to be highly effective and potential educational tool, especially for improving language knowledge and performance in various online activities.