The Effectiveness of Facebook Groups on Teaching and Improving Writing: Students' Perceptions

Language learning has grown beyond the boundaries of the four walls of the classroom; in fact, most language learning occurs outside and informally. Informal learning, through a medium like ICT therefore, is a significant alternative environment for language practice and use. This study attempts to investigate the students’ perceptions on the effectiveness of Facebook (FB) groups for teaching and improving writing. The authors see a need to carry out this study as it provides a platform to discover pedagogical implications that would benefit the Y-generation in terms of improving their writing skills in a Malaysian ESL context. The respondents of this research comprise 43 third year students completing their bachelor’s degree in TESL, in the Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). The students’ perceptions were measured through a questionnaire comprising 10 close-ended items and 3 open-ended ones. Respondents were required to participate in a Facebook group created by the researchers. The Facebook group, called ‘Write Out Loud’ was hosted by Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_193133474042344& ap=1. The findings showed that ‘Facebook groups’ is an effective tool in improving the students’ writing skills, especially in the brainstorming of ideas before the actual writing. The results of this study may be beneficial to ESL educators in incorporating ICT into their teaching repertoire. It is suggested that future research should focus on the challenges of integrating Facebook groups for teaching and improving writing, and look into the perceptions of the teachers as well. In addition, experimental research could also be done to see how FB and FB groups help in improving writing skills. Key-Words— Facebook, Facebook Groups, ICT, Writing, Learning, Perception, Social Network