Influence of Facebook on English Academic Writing: The Case of First Year Master Students of English at Belhadj Bouchaib University Centre, Ain-Temouchent

Abstract

This thesis is a comprehensive study on the impact of EFL (English as a foreign language) students' use of Facebook on their academic writing skill. The use of the informal writing style as well as non- respect of English grammar on Facebook has become very noticeable among EFL students. This may negatively affect their academic writing. The results of the present study, which was conducted on first year Master students of English at Belhadj Bouchaib University Center, Ain Temouchent, showed that the frequent use of informal language style in addition to neglecting English language rules while writing on Facebook has become a habit for some students. Besides, findings showed that this habit has shifted to their academic writing, too. Thus, this study led to the conclusion that Facebook has a negative impact on the academic writing of students.