Lecturers’ Assessment of Social Media Influence on the Written English Language Skills of Students of Universities in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

The study focused on lecturers’ assessment of social media influence on the written English Language skills of students of universities in Dar es Salaam. The aim was to ascertain the views of lecturers teaching in different universities in Dar es Salaam region of Tanzania, regarding social media influence on the ability of the students to communicate effectively in written English language. The in-depth interview (intensive interview) research method was adopted for the study. Five lecturers were purposively selected from three universities (University of Dar es Salaam, Open University of Tanzania and Bagamoyo University) in the region. The selected lecturers teach languages and linguistics, English studies, media studies, journalism and mass communication in the universities and often examine the students including their written submissions. This implies that a total of 15 lecturers participated in the study. Using the interview guide, interview sessions were held with the respondents at different times and locations. The data collected were presented using the summary technique. This made it possible for the data to be presented in a summary form for the purpose of clarity. It was found that Social media has significantly reduced the students’ skills on spelling of words. It was also revealed that social media has negatively affected the sentence construction skills of the students. In line with the findings, it was recommended that when writing in English language on social media, students should avoid the unconventional way of writing on the platforms and ensure all their writings are in compliance with the demands of English Language. This will enable them to write correctly in formal settings like examinations and other serious academic writings. It was also recommended that lecturers should also make it a point of duty to educate the students on the damage social media is making on their writing skills. This may help raise the consciousness of the students in that regard and ultimately make the desired decision to avoid the unconventional / social media way of writing.