The Impact of Computer-mediated Communication upon Written English.

Abstract

Perhaps the most prominent achievements of the 20th century have been in the fields of technology and ommunication, namely the Internet, which is at the core of computer-mediated communication. The latter changed the world drastically and affected many fields, like the way language is taught, learned and utilized. This study aims to explore the impact of computer-mediated communication on written English among English as a Foreign Language learners. Put explicitly, we need to know whether computer-mediated communication tools impacts students' English academic writing, distort it or inhibit it. To this end, a mixed method of research was conducted using a students’ questionnaire and a teachers’ interview with eight teachers and 60 master students at the Department of Foreign Languages, Mila University Centre. The participants were chosen randomly. After the data analysis, it was found that all of the teachers stated that CMC causes the students to commit a wide range of mistakes; including contractions, acronyms, intended wrong spelling, and number homonyms. Yet, they also believe that CMC can enhance students’ writing by taking advantage of its tools like spelling and grammar correctors. Moreover, they believe that CMC is a great source for learning new ocabulary and communicating with people who use formal English. Overall, the results indicate that both the teachers and the students stand by the fact that CMC hinders the students’ academic writing if not used appropriately, like immersing oneself in social networks, but it can improve their written English when connecting to academic blogs or sites, and the like. To benefit from CMC, the present study recommends raising the students’ wareness of its proper use and of the difference between formal and informal writing. The limitations of the study are volunteered at the end.