The role and impact of Facebook on English Language Acquisition among Sri Lankan university students

Abstract

Both non-users as well as users of Facebook often complain about it as a waste of time. This has led to some universities denying access to Facebook to their staff and students using university computers. Designed initially for interaction among friends, Facebook is increasingly used for a variety of purposes, ranging from marketing goods and services to blackmailing unknown people. Taking into account the expanding role of Facebook as a medium of linguistic communication, this study examines the role and impact of Facebook on tertiary-level students learning English as a second/foreign language. For the purposes of the present study, the research methods are: (a) a series of structured interviews conducted via Facebook chat with 30 survey respondents, and (b) participant observation of social networking behavior (of informants as well as in general). A qualitative approach to data analysis was adopted. The discussion segment features a detailed analysis of how social networking behavior and various Facebook features/applications facilitate the process of language acquisition. This study is significant because it examines an emerging trend in Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and edutainment with an emphasis on the Sri Lankan university context.