Effect of LinkedIn as an ICT Tool on Iranian Post Graduate EFL Students' Writing Skill
Keywords:
ICT (Information and communication technology), writing skill, Linkedin, social network sitesAbstract
ICT has become an important part of students’ life. Therefore, more and more university teachers accept the idea that it can also be used at an academic level and not just at a social level. Current study on Linkedin use suggests that students primarily use it to develop educational purposes. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of using Linkedin on Iranian post graduate EFL students writing skill. The participants were 100 MA students who were following their educational carrier at Islamic Azad University, Najafabad branch. They were placed in two groups, namely experimental, and control. The participants in control group received traditional writing class activities which included writing an essay and having the teacher correct it. However, the treatment for the experimental group was different from that of control group. The participants of the experimental group were all members of the LinkedIn network. The teacher prepared a common page in LinkedIn for experimental group that used to provide relevant information to the course and give opportunity for student’s interaction. The outcomes of the study revealed that learning process was done quickly, not only did learners learn more vocabularies but also their witting skill was enhanced, they could recognize and treat their errors consciously. The study has educational implications that can profit either for learners to get familiar with new methods in learning language skills particularly writing skill or teachers to tranquilize teaching process.
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