The Influence of Using Social Media as a Learning Platform by Bilingual and Multilingual Learners on English Speaking Skills

Abstract

This study aims to discover the influences of using social media on the English speaking skills. To fulfill this study’s goal, data was collected using questionnaires, self-assessment, and speaking tests. Participants of the study were 20 bilinguals and multilingual of any two or more languages that are currently studying English as a foreign language (EFL) at the university level in Thailand. The result from speaking proficiency self-assessment shows the perception of bilinguals and multilingual who perceived that they can speak English fluently than accurately. The average score of the self-assessment is 5.59 out of 9. The standard deviation (S.D.) of their score is 1.46. This score shows that the participants consider themselves as competent users of English according to the description from British Councils (2012). Only eight out of 20 or 40 percent of the participants think that they have reached the level of capable users of the English, while the other 60 percent of participants think that they have not reached that level. From this study, it has been found that bilingual and multilingual speakers often use social media for educational purposes.