Social Media Exposure and Written Communication Practices of Grade 11 Students in the Division of Batangas City

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

One big challenge teachers face is producing graduates with high levels of English communication skills. Aside from oral proficiency, writing proficiency is also given much attention as it is important in determining graduation eligibility. Toimprove writing skills, teachers resort to different approaches, techniques and even trends that may help students enhance their skills. With the advancement of the science of communication, students' written communication practice is also brought to a new level. Hence, it was significant, timely and appropriate to perform this study to assess the social media exposure of selected Grade 11 senior high school students in Batangas City Division and determine how their exposure bear impact on their online communication practices.

METHODS

This study made use of a descriptive research method. A total of 355 hundred Grade 11 senior high school students from 12 public secondary schools in Batangas City division were the respondents in this study. The researcher made use of a three part self-prepared questionnaire with the following parts. First pertains to the profile of the Grade 11 senior high school students; the second part deals with the level of exposure to social media; and lastly, the extent of showcasing the Grade 11 senior high school students' communication practices.

RESULTS

Majority of the students can access social media, especially Facebook, through their mobile phones at an average time of 3 hours daily. The top purposes for connecting to social media include communicating with classmates, teachers, and friends; writing comments, posts, and uploading or downloading materials which are helpful to students. In terms of written communication practices, students use mostly conversational language whenever interacting online. They learn more ideas by themselves because they are exposed to different topics and are able to receive and share information in various forms. Thus, the utilization of social media, with carefully planned exposure, may directly influence written communication proficiency.

DISCUSSIONS

Careful planning on engaging students to modern instructional tools like social media may be considered by teachers. Decision makers may also organize discussions on improving the regulations set for bringing mobile phones to school. Despite the variations in the profile of the respondents, concerted effort should be exerted by all teachers and administration, to improve students' communication proficiency.