Social Media for Acquisition of Oracy and Literacy Skills

Social Media for Acquisition of Oracy and Literacy Skills * Ms.V.Jeya Santhi, Research Scholar * Dr.Catherin Edward * Dr.R.Selvam, Assc. Prof. in English Assc. Prof. in English V.H.N.Senthikumara Nadar College Holy Cross College (Autonomous) (Autonomous), Virudhunagar Trichy Email ID: [email protected] Abstract The English language which is constantly undergoing renovation is always evolving; and technology is a healthy part of that evolution. Learning L2 involves social aspects which has impact on the learners’ language. The most effective way to teach English is to help the learners forget their emotional barriers to learning. An interactive environment in ESL classrooms makes them come out of their inhibition and speak freely. Social media provides the learners with the possibilities of participating in real – time online conversations; which in turn is a practice to achieve the target language with or without the help of an experienced teacher by his/her side. The students are therefore invited to emerge in activities which require the use of language that result in learning. A study has been done by the researchers to highlight the positive effect of social media on language development using 20 under – graduate first year samples of V.H.N.Senthikumara Nadar College (Autonomous), Virudhunagar. By nurturing social media communication skills of the samples, language learning takes place with active participation of the virtual community and the teacher. Key words: renovation, emotional barriers, social media, virtual community Social Media for Acquisition of Oracy and Literacy Skills 1V.Jeya Santhi, 2Dr.Catherin Edward, 3Dr.R.Selvam 1 Research scholar in English, 2&3 Associate Professors in English Introduction Learning English is a Herculean task to English as Second Language (ESL) learners as English is our non-native language. As majority of English teachers are non-native speakers, it is difficult to meet the demand of professional English teachers throughout the world. In ESL teaching, the focus on language form and formal grammar instruction has been either strongly doubted or completely rejected. Numerous authors insist on the necessity of an approach rationally combining communication and cognition i.e. on reinforcing unconscious language acquisition in communication with conscious focusing on language structures (B.L.Yadav, 254). The English language is frequently altering to put up with the developments in technology and culture. Some words appear quickly and then fade away; others become permanent fittings of our language. The real revolution has occurred over the past several years because of the Internet and other technologies. A Review on Social Media Social media is the social interaction among people in which they create, share or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content" (61). H. Jan Kietzmann and Hermkens Kristopher viewed social media as depending on “mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive platforms through which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content. They introduce substantial and pervasive changes to communication between organizations, communities, and individuals.” Social media technologies include magazines, Internet forums, weblogs, social blogs, micro blogging, wikis, social networks, podcasts, photographs or pictures, video, rating and social bookmarking. (www.wikipedia.org). Experts agree that to develop learners’ academic English, they need practice in written and oral communication. They must also learn to use language accurately in a range of situations to tell stories, describe events, define words and concepts, explain problems, retell actions, summarize content and question intentions (B.L.Yadav, 46). The greatest issue in second language acquisition is the emotional barrier and anxiety of the learners. While focusing on grammar, they got nervous and they can never come out with apt words needed for the situation. Alex Brown opines that social media is at the center of the struggle, increasing the speed at which new words are adopted and creating new words for possible inclusion in the modern dictionary. Social media has also become a driving force behind the new words that are surfacing in the English vocabulary. A 2010 study by the University of Maryland suggested that social media services may be addictive, and that using social media services may lead to a "fear of missing out," also known as the phrase "FOMO" by many students. It has been observed that Facebook is now the primary method for communication by college students. There are various statistics that account for social media usage and effectiveness for individuals worldwide. Some of the most recent statistics are as follows: 51% of people aged 25–34 used social networking in the office, more than any other age group; On average, 47% of social media users engage in social care; Twitter has risen as the go to site for customer support in 2013, while Email's usage has decreased by 7%.; As of May 2012 Facebook has 901 million users; YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world; One in six higher education students are enrolled in an online curriculum and from November 2011, it is reported Indians spend more time on social media than on any other activity on the Internet. Social Media: Language Evolution Technology-enabled communication channels have changed English language on the basis of how, when and why we communicate. The words which are once considered slang has now been accepted official in social networking. For example, the word ‘facebook’ which is used previously as a noun is used as a verb now-a-days. Instead of saying ‘I will send her a message on facebook’, the brief statement ‘I will facebook her’ is accepted at present. Technology has transformed the words into abbreviations and acronyms, for example, electronic mail became e-mail which then became email. This year, ‘E-reader’ is a term that has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary. Sometimes, the physical spacing of words has also been condensed, i.e. from ‘web site’ to ‘website’, which stresses the use of few characters within social media updates. Activity Language is always developing, unquestionably, but is social media helping to trim down or enlarge it? Social networks constantly introduce new words to our vocabulary, but do their firmness on the crisp stresses less speech in general? Mallary Jean Tennore, the Managing Editor of Poynter.org, winds up that the use of social media is actually strengthening language; it takes us back to the oral tradition which is more conversational. A range of social media can be used to facilitate language learning, including blogs, online role-playing games, fan fiction writing, and so on. Perfect grammar and pronunciation are not essential to the process, rather setting the focus on the communicative competence of the student and the ability to understand and make him/her understood. Mallary Jean Tenore strengthens the benefit of social media in oracy and literacy skills in five ways: by increasing the awareness of mistakes social media can become platforms for catching mistakes; Tweet, Facebook post or Instagram caption reach thousands of people and it can be considered a chance for proofreading one’s language; in a 140-character Tweet, the partial production of a story, a project etc. can be made a full production; this site reminds us constantly that writing well and short isn’t easy; another wonder is, in just six seconds, the short message can be got across and as change is the only constant thing, the characteristics of social media are much more like oral culture than like written culture; many recent neologisms have originated through social media [for example – googled, friended, storified..]. To highlight the positive effects of social media on the learners’ learning a non-native language (L2), an analysis was done by the researchers to find out the latent probabilities on enhancing language learning. The research was conducted on the selected twenty samples of Bachelor of Computer Application students. The social network “Chatting” is used as a tool for evaluation of the samples’ learning the second language. A portion of Grammar from Part II English is taken for study. The samples were taught the Present tense forms (Simple, Continuous, Perfect and Perfect Continuous) and the study material on Tenses being provided to them for reference. They were instructed to frame sentences using all the four forms by chatting within the selective groups. Then, they were asked to converse within one another in pairs using present form as per the situation given to them. To analyze the samples’ level of learning, they were directed to speak on the extempore topics given to them at the end of the two week course. They were also asked to write a brief feedback on this session so as to assess their writing skill. Their performance was appraised. The data collected from the samples was analyzed. Findings At the beginning session, the researchers are very particular in testing the learners’ previous knowledge in present tense form, understanding level, thinking capacity, memory level and their capability to interpret them in writing and speaking. The samples have been given practice in tenses by real and actual communication in the target language through interaction on Social Media channels. Students' personal experience and interests play a defining role in learning, enabling relevant usage of language during and between classes with active participation of teacher and virtual community. The samples are invited to emerge as much as possible in activities which require the use of language which in turn, will result in learning. Home assignment was also given such as writing a short story for the given picture using present tense in tweets or in any social media. In-class and out-of-class communication are equally important. It combines the benefits of another method, known as Blended Learning, which allows the students to learn autonomously, whenever and wherever he/she wants, with all the required grammar material available online (examenglish.com, world_english etc.) with the support of an experienced teacher who eases the learning process and provides a professional and live explanation of the lesson taught at hand. On-site classes with the teacher are intertwined with the ongoing online conversations with the virtual community. Thus learning became a constant, ever-flowing, indivisible part of everyday life, thus making the target language a part of it. From the study, it is understood that the samples have a lot of improvement in expressing their ideas without hesitation. They are also competent in responding the questions that stimulate their previous knowledge because pre-knowledge elements depend on the interest of the learners. Few learners have found difficulty in speaking and certain others find difficulty in writing. This study shows that the samples not only have knowledge, but also, they have abilities: abilities not only to learn new knowledge but also abilities to process information. They become better and more confident. By this, they can write better, listen better and speak better. Cutting cross all the differences in cultural background, and purpose of study, they become effective, efficient and independent second language learners using social media with the encouragement of the teacher. The researcher would also like to put forward some suggestions for teachers and researchers. Challenges and Suggestions Though this method provides the learners with the possibility of participating in actual, real-time conversations, there are some challenges also. Facebook users can update their status and express their personal opinions about life and career issues to their friends online. But this is controversial because employers can access their employee’s profiles, and judge them based on their social behavior. According to Silicon Republic’s statistics, 17,000 young people in six countries were interviewed in a survey. 1 in 10 people aged 16 to 34 have been rejected for a job because of comments on an online profile. This really shows the effects that Facebook has had on these individuals’ lives. There have been numerous cases where employees have lost jobs because their opinions represented their companies negatively. Erin Egan, the Chief Privacy Officer for policy has worked hard to give its’ users the tools to control who sees their information. According to the network’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, sharing or soliciting a password is a violation to Facebook, but according to Erin Egan, Facebook will continue to do their part to protect the privacy and security of their users. Nobody doubts that English is taught for communication and the only way to teach communication in the target language is learning it in communication (B.L.Yadav, 255). The hypothesis is that the learners have two distinct ways of developing skills and knowledge in second language – acquisition and language. Acquiring language is “picking it up” i.e. developing ability in a language by using it in natural, communicative situations. Language learning differs from that by “knowing the rules and having a conscious knowledge of grammar structure” (B.L.Yadav, 274). In the session involving speaking, a teacher has to see to it that each and every student participates with enthusiasm. They should be encouraged to read and write; listen and speak. Massively Multiplayer Online games could be made a part of the learning process. Conclusion Literacy skill is no longer viewed as a passive activity by the learners. It is understood as a process of mind engagement which results in gaining knowledge of language and comprehension at various levels; from a surface-level understanding of stated facts to opinions, preferences to prejudices, beliefs to biases. Oracy skill is an art that can be mastered by practice. So listening practice improves communication skills and in turn team relations. Environment Factors in English states “A good listener is a real learner. By listening to others, one can learn a wide variety of views, ideas, and thoughts. To make a discussion lively and interactive, one should listen with concentration, patience, and interest in technical subjects paying attention to the body language, facial expressions, tone of voice and gestures of the speaker. It will give right perspective of the message. Speaking is the productive skill in the oral mode. It, like the other skills, is more complicated than it seems at first and involves more than just pronouncing words”(36). Lam suggests that students' experiences with English in an Internet chat room can be seen as a process of language socialization through which they acquired a particular linguistic variety of English. Through such studies, the different kinds of constraints as well as opportunities are made evident through what the internet offers language learners in various forms. By nurturing social media communication skills of the samples, language learning takes place with active participation of the virtual community and the teacher. Works Cited en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media Kaplan, Andreas M., Haenlein Michael (2010). "Users of the world, unite! The Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media". Business Horizons 53 (1).p.59-68. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003. Kietzmann, Jan.H, Kristopher Hermkens (2011). 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