The Impact of Social Media on the Teaching and Learning of EFL Speaking Skills during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The shift to teaching online during the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the extensive use of social media in the English language classroom. The current study investigated the impact of social media on the speaking skills of tertiary-level EFL students during the pandemic. Adopting a qualitative framework, data was collected by using in-depth interviews with both students and lecturers. Findings generally point to the benefits of using social media in the speaking classroom. However, accounting for students’ cultural differences is the most important aspect during the lessons. Implications on the pedagogical awareness of lecturers are underscored.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• EFL students
• online teaching
• social media
• speaking skills