Mother tongue and social media influence on second language learners' English proficiency

Abstract

English is used as a medium for global communication, education, business, and research. Subsequently, universities in more than 130 countries determine prospective students’ level of proficiency through English competency tests like the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). This adds an additional burden to Grade 12 English second language learners to be more proficient. Even so, poor Grade 12 results in the National Senior Certificate examination in South Africa, especially for English First Additional Language, and poor reading achievement of learners in lower grades in the Annual National Assessment (ANA) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), remain a concern. It is in this context that I investigated mother tongue and social media influence on English second language learners’ proficiency, focusing on Grade 12. The study was conducted through a qualitative approach with an interpretivist paradigm. It was theoretically framed on the Linguistic Interdependence Theory of Cummins (1978), which argues that the mastery of L1 skills is influential in the development of the corresponding abilities in L2. The findings reveal that unsuccessful skills transfer from L1 to L2 result in learners committing concord and spelling errors. Even so, the brevity mostly used on social media was found in learners’ written work. L2 learners switch and mix both mother tongue and English when they lack vocabulary. They also lacked motivation to use and develop adequate English proficiency in the classroom. Key words: brevity; code-switching; code-mixing; concord errors; International English Language Testing System (IELTS); Linguistic Interdependence Theory; Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)