Escabarte, Ruthlyn J.

Aliganza, Ledelyn N.

Enano, Jewel Joy P.

Research Title:

Digital Discourse: Analyzing the Impact of Social Media on Contemporary English of

the selected Humanities and Social Sciences students in Lope de Vega Stand Alone

Senior High School

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

In the contemporary learning environment, social media language learning (SMLL)

has been adopted an innovative strategy for teaching and learning languages and

vocabularies. The strategy involves encouraging students to develop social media groupings,

communicate, interact, and share information with their peers. In the process, they are better

placed in the acquisition of English language skills while enhancing their vocabulary bank.

Consequently, the literature review section will evaluate diverse literature sources, including

articles, journals, and books, to understand the impact of social media on learning English

vocabulary.

The pervasiveness of social media has enabled the evolution of novel forms of

expression that encapsulate multifarious feelings, ideas, and contexts into brief symbols or

words (Crystal, 2011). Such digital linguistic features inevitably permeate everyday

communication, finding their way into literature and challenging traditional structures of

narrative while opening up new opportunities for interaction between authors and readers.

Communication is becoming abrupt and straightforward, and this brevity and immediacy are

permeating how modern novels and short stories are structured and paced. Social media
platforms such as Twitter, which allow only a certain number of characters per post, have

fostered a culture of concise expression that finds itself reflected in increasingly

unconventional literary forms.

English Vocabularies and Social Media according to Swan (2017), learning a

language is founded on a learner’s ability to learn, adapt, and use different vocabularies. In

ESL and EFL, vocabulary learning is critical in powering their language acquisition skills,

usage, and enlargement. Vocabularies work as a vital component of language skills as it helps

in connecting the learner’s ability to read, write, listen, and speak to a given language.

Equally, its vocabularies provide the foundation the foundation through which the learner can

utilize the acquired language in different contexts. It implies that the learner will be limited in

their contexts, engagements, and interactions without a well-founded vocabulary. Social

platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch, classified as social networking

platforms, create an environment that virtually assists learners in enlarging their vocabularies.

Through social media, learners can access large amounts of information, encode, and share

their experiences with others. In the process of sharing and processing data on social media,

learners are exposed to a variety of vocabularies that are critical in building the learner’s

language skills.

According to Sebah Al-Ali (2014), English vocabulary learning is influenced by the

magnitude of exposure and the frequency of use in different contexts, forums, and situations.

Social media provides a flexible environment where learners are exposed to different

vocabularies without being coerced into learning. For instance, articles shared on social

media such as Instagram expose the learner to the need to read new content. In reading either

for fun or pleasure, the learner can learn new vocabulary. After reading the article, the learner

may be prompted to give feedback or comment on the article’s contents. In so doing, the
exposure indirectly forces the learner to internalize and understand the content shared to be in

a position to make a quality response. Critically, the entire cycle of interacting, reading,

socializing, and offering reviews within the social media platform exposes the learner to

hands-on skills geared towards language acquisition and vocabulary enlargement.

Learning through social media is an effective method for self-directed learning as

found by Yadav, M.S. in a critical study. Social media can serve as an alternative to tutors and

extra classes for ESLL. Different language skills, such as reading, listening, speaking,

writing, pronunciation, spelling, and creative/critical thinking, can be significantly improved

through various online activities on social media, as highlighted in a review of thirty-two

articles by Ariantini, Suwastini, Adnyani, Dantes & Jayantini (2021).

Gibbins & Greenhow (2016)emphasized that social media also impacts learning

English by accompanying words with visuals. On social media, objects or pictures are labeled

or described using words. The approach takes an activation strategy where a new English

learner can easily understand what different situations mean in pictures and the specific

words to utilize in offering a description. For example, YouTube provides an option for a

viewer to activate video captions. The captions help in transcribing the words described by

the speaker into written words. Other than bridging the process of understanding the context

in which words are used, it creates an avenue where the learner acquires the spelling and the

connective words to utilize while using the particular word. Irrespective of the positive

impact of social media in enlarging a learner’s vocabulary reservoir, there are situations

where it might adversely influence their language acquisition skills. For example, social

media is well known for its rapid use of jargon and internet slang that is not grammatically

applicable. For instance, words such as LOL (Laugh out Loud), IYKYK (If you know, you

know), or BTW (by the way) have the potential of affecting an ESL learner’s English
vocabulary retention and use. Social media’s positive and negative impact on vocabulary

acquisition calls for guidance in the context in which vocabularies are applicable and what

makes them grammatically appropriate. Considering that English is the primary language

used in the modern transactional world, students exposed to social media have an increased

potential to communicate and succeed in the classroom compared to the rest. Social media

platforms such as Twitter are more of a word-based platform when compared to Facebook,

which has more pictures. Learners can utilize the learned vocabularies in different contexts

through intense exposure to words, phrases, and verbs.

Developing learning forms through the coordination of technology to learning is a

pattern to instructors around the world. Educators generally utilize Twitter, Blogs, Facebook,

Youtube, or Flickr in the learners writing procedure. Utilizing social media in the writing

procedure makes it inventive and intuitive through online innovation and condition (Nichols,

2007).

Additionally, Derakshan & Hasanabbasi (2015) social media provides a free

environment for real-time conversations, reducing anxiety and improving language skills.

Peer interactions on social media motivate learners to participate in real-life conversations

and use learned words in different contexts. Social media platforms like Facebook and

Twitter are important English learning tools, offering opportunities to acquire and test new

vocabulary. Continuous exposure to social media conversations helps learners adapt to

evolving language use. Learners can expand their vocabulary through social media

interactions and add new words to their repertoire. Social media educates and empowers

learners with new experiences, enhancing their language usage. Inclusive classrooms

integrate native and non-native speakers, facilitating language learning through socialization

and interactions. Visuals and videos on social media help non-native speakers build

vocabulary.
 The intuitive idea of the Internet assumes a major role in creating an exceptionally

open linguistic setting or condition (Black, 2005). Non-native language speakers who join

online groups and networks and take an interest in talks are conceivably exceptionally

presented to the native language in interaction with the native language speakers and are

occupied with a lot of significant discussions. Socialization empowers the language

“fledglings” to gain from the individuals who are “experienced” in most discourse networks

(Duff, 2002). Language learning through socialization is in excess of a trade of significant

and syntactically stable discussions in social media site. It profoundly includes different

social angles also. Language socialization is “a matter of figuring out how to utilize language

in socially and practically fitting, locally significant ways, and as a methods for drawing in

with others in the course of without a doubt, in the constitution of everyday interactions and

exercises.” (Garrett, 2008) Indeed, even in the internet games networks, the impact of the

online life is getting more apparent.

According to Al-Rahmi &Othman (2013), motivation and self-drive are critical for

successful learning. Social media impacts learners’ confidence, motivation, and attitude

towards personal improvement in vocabulary and language skills. Engagements on social

media offer motivation to integrate vocabularies from various sources. Learners acquire

vocabulary through reading texts, articles, messages, or events shared by peers globally.

Learners can acquire new vocabulary related to global issues through social media

interactions. Learners stay updated with new trending words and phrases through social

media. Learners can improve language skills and extend their language base through social

media activities. Social media exposes learners to a wide variety of information, enhancing

language acquisition and overall language skills.