The Effectiveness of Social Media in Enhancing Saudi EFL Students' English Vocabulary and Language Proficiency

Abstract

Despite the potential of social media to help English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students improve their abilities and competences, some EFL students still hesitate to use it to help their language learning process. Some students are also not aware of the fact that disregarding social media in favour of more conventional learning methods can have unintended consequences for their interests and efforts. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of social media on the English vocabulary and language proficiency of EFL students in Saudi Arabia. It unravelled the attitudes of EFL students towards the use of social media as a tool for English language proficiency in Saudi Arabia, the impacts of the use of social media on the English language proficiency of EFL students in Saudi Arabia, the challenges confronting EFL students in the process of the use of social media as a tool for English language proficiency in Saudi Arabia, and what the future holds for the use of social media as a tool for English language proficiency among EFL students in Saudi Arabia. This is a quantitative study, and a Likert scale questionnaire was employed to elicit data from a total of 67 EFL female and male students at Jeddah University in Saudi Arabia who are conversant and active on social media platforms. The data was analysed with the use of a frequency table, an arithmetic mean, and a standard deviation. The findings revealed that EFL students in Saudi Arabia generally have positive attitudes towards using social media as a tool for improving their English language proficiency. They perceive social media as a means to enhance their confidence, motivation, and overall language skills. Similarly, social media primarily excels in enhancing listening skills, followed by its role in overall proficiency, spoken fluency, exposure to language variations, and comfort in real-life conversations. The conservative cultural sensitivity and the evolving legal and regulatory landscape are the challenges that need to be most efficiently addressed among Saudi EFL students when using social media for language proficiency. The study concluded that there is a promising future for the continued use of social media as a tool for language development among EFL students in Saudi Arabia.