Date

Spring 2017

Document Type

Master's Thesis (Open Access)

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

Teacher Education

Abstract

In recent years, social media has become a common technology-supported learning tool for public and academic use. Students can use social networks to supplement their learning through the discussion and sharing of academic materials. The purpose of this study was to identify the English as a Second Language (ESL) students’ experience in the classroom facilitated by using a social media platform. Specifically, a quasiexperimental quantitative research design was used to determine the impact of social media on ESL students’ learning performance. Participants consisted of ESL students’ at an adult school in Central California aged 18 and older (n = 37). In order to assess the learning performance of ESL students, a Student Perception Toward Social Media in Education survey (SPSME) was used to measure students’ feelings about the impact of using social media on academic performance. Independent and paired samples t-tests were conducted to determine if there were statistically significant differences between the means of both groups on the SPSME. Data analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between the mean scores on the post-tests between the two groups (i.e., treatment and control). Meaning that the students in the treatment group demonstrated greater perception of engagement and improved upon their learning performance more than the students who did not receive the social media intervention.

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