International Journal of English Language Teaching (IJELT)

EA Journals

Academic Writing

Influence of Social Media Language on Students’ Grammar and Writing in Kogi State College of Education Technical Mopa and Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara Kogi State (Published)

This study examines the influence of social media language on students’ grammar and writing skills at the College of Education Technical, Mopa and Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara Kogi State. With the growing usage of social platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter/X, and Instagram, informal language patterns, abbreviations, emojis, and non-standard spellings have increasingly filtered into academic writing. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study collected data from 200 students and 10 lecturers via questionnaires, writing tasks, and interviews. The findings reveal that social media language significantly affects students’ ability to write grammatically correct and coherent essays. While some digital literacy skills were found to enhance creative expression, the majority of students frequently transferred informal digital expressions into their formal academic writing. The study recommends targeted academic writing programmes and awareness campaigns to promote register sensitivity and metalinguistic awareness among students.

 

Keywords: Academic Writing, Grammar, Higher Education, Nigeria, Social media, digital influence, student language

Empowering EFL Learners through a Needs-Based Academic Writing Course Design (Published)

Using needs analysis as a research methodology, this study attempted to design a 20 hour academic writing (AW) course for Level 2 Foundation Year Saudi EFL students. Needs analysis was based on a diagnostic test, structured questionnaires, and researcher’s observation to obtain information on students’ language and skills needs, profile, levels of motivation, and learning styles and preferences. The results showed that the students did not have the writing proficiency for producing longer compositions and, therefore, the course should focus on appropriate language systems and skills to help learners with writing paragraphs based on two rhetorical strategies: cause and effect; and exemplification. The course content provides for the appropriate language systems and skills as voiced by the students and needed for writing these two types of paragraphs. The study also points to a course evaluation strategy that can be used for validation and future use of the proposed course.

Keywords: Academic Writing, Discourse Features, Form, Needs Analysis, Process Approach, Study Skills, function

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