The influence of social media on EFL learners' speaking skills

The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of social media on the oral skills of students of English as a foreign language in the second years of BGU at the Unidad Educativa 12 de Noviembre in Píllaro, Tungurahua province. The research was qualitative and quantitative, with a quasi-experimental design and fieldwork and bibliographic work. The population consisted of 37 students of the specialty of Mechanics, parallels "A" and "B", 3 women and 34 men, who were between 15 and 17 years old. The results of the survey determined that social media is not only used for entertainment, but that students have a favorable preference for using such applications within the educational setting and to develop the English skills in which they feel most comfortable to develop their speech. In conclusion, the researcher suggested incorporating social media inside and outside of English classrooms as students can improve their oral proficiency as an effective means of communication and interaction with each other.