The impact of digital media in students spoken and written English in Dachio junior high school in Bolga East District

Abstract

The attention on using social media for educational purposes is increasing especially in the wake of Corona Virus outbreak that brought the whole world to a standstill. Available literature shows that social media platforms are effective teaching and learning tools. The purpose of this study was to look at the impact that social media have on Junior High School students spoken and written English Language. A mixed research method was used for the data collection and analysis. Data were collected through observation of Junior High School students‟ exercises, and in-depth interviews with them. The participants included six (6) teachers (who answered the questionnaires) representing teachers that teach different subjects in the school, Dachio Junior High. The other participants were the students. They were thirty (30) in number. The researcher conducted a face-to-face interview with them. Data were analyzed using the interview questions. The commonly used social media platforms by the participants are WhatSapp and Facebook. It was revealed in this research that over 60% of the respondents use social media for less than an hour. The students also use social media platforms as tools to communicate with their friends and family, share information with their friends and family, and learn. The following were given by the respondents as some of the positive effects of social media. They are enhanced reading, writing, speaking, pronunciation, spelling and communication skills. The respondents again indicated that social media negatively affected them through the use of foul language, poor grammar, and the use of abbreviations and inaccurate spellings. The study provides a clear picture of the current use of social media for educational purposes. It bridges the gap between policymakers‟ expectations and students‟ current technology use, and reinforces the effort to institute more fruitful education reforms.