EXPLORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WHATSAPP FOR ESL READING AND WRITING: PERCEPTIONS OF PAKISTANI LEARNERS IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

Abstract

The rapid advancement of technology had significantly influenced students' lifestyles, with platforms like WhatsApp playing a pivotal role in shaping modern learning experiences. As a social networking tool, WhatsApp had proven to be an effective resource for enhancing the reading and writing skills of English as a Second Language (ESL) learners, offering a dynamic communication channel between teachers and students. While numerous studies had explored this trend in various countries, limited research had been conducted in Pakistan. This study aimed to examine the perceptions of undergraduate students in government colleges of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) regarding the use of WhatsApp as a tool to improve ESL reading and writing skills. Additionally, the research investigated the significance of WhatsApp in ESL classrooms. A total of 300 undergraduate ESL students from different government colleges in KP were selected as the sample for this research. A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was adopted, using a close-ended questionnaire to gather data. The data were analyzed quantitatively with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), applying descriptive statistics, including percentage, mean, and standard deviation, to interpret the results. The findings revealed that students perceived WhatsApp as a beneficial tool for online learning, specifically in enhancing their ESL reading and writing abilities. This study provided valuable insights into the potential of integrating WhatsApp into ESL classrooms to support language development.

Keywords: Technology, perception, second language learning, SPSS, reading and writing