Chat and learn: Effectiveness of using whatsapp as a pedagogical tool to enhance efl learners' reading and writing skills

Abstract

This study has examined the pedagogical role of WhatsApp as one of mobile-assisted language learning applications in developing motivational levels of Yemeni EFL learners to develop reading and writing skills. Twenty EFL undergraduate students of Aden University joined a WhatsApp English-medium chat group where they chatted, shared and commented on news articles in English for two months. Participants also took a pre-test and a post-test and responded to a questionnaire at the end of the study. Findings revealed that WhatsApp was a very effective application in developing students" motivation to improve their reading and writing skills. It helped them develop vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension and writing. The study also revealed that WhatsApp was positively perceived by students as a pedagogical tool for their learning of English. The study concluded that WhatsApp English-medium groups provide students with opportunities for practising a natural language, especially in written communication, outside the classroom and motivate them to learn mutually. The study therefore recommends EFL teachers to utilize Whats App as a pedagogical technique and to encourage their students to create and join WhatsApp English-medium groups for natural interactions and contextualized language use that cannot be easily provided in traditional classrooms.