Influence of social media in enhancing English language skills outside classrooms: a study on tertiary level students

Abstract

Among the people of the 21st century, the formation of digital social media has brought a massive change. The use of these new media tools has specific effects on learning English. This study aims to find out how digital social media influences learners to enhance their English Language skills at the tertiary level. The researcher followed the qualitative method in this study. To collect the data from total of seven students, close-ended questions and semi-structured interviews have been taken. The study’s findings show how the students of tertiary level used different social media namely; Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, etc., outside the classroom for self-development as English learning materials. In doing so, the study found a list of authentic channels and sources to learn accurate language inputs. Moreover, this study also allowed to a deeper understanding of effective usage of social media by the tertiary students for enhancing their English language skills.