Using Social Networking Tools for Teaching the English Directive Speech Act of Command to Undergraduate Arab EFL Learners

This study investigates the effectiveness of using social networking tools for teaching the speech act of command to undergraduate Arab EFL learners. Employing an experimental pre-test post-test design, the research involved 40 students distributed across four groups: two experimental groups utilizing social networking tools for direct and indirect command instruction, and two control groups receiving traditional teaching methods. Over a three-week period, the speech act of command was taught to the four groups either through WhatsApp groups or conventional classroom instruction. A discourse completion task was used to assess participants' pragmatic competence before and after the intervention. Results of ANOVA tests showed a significant difference in post-test scores, with the experimental groups outperforming the control groups. Remarkably, among the experimental groups, those exposed to indirect command instruction exhibited the highest mean score. This suggests that social networking tools can positively impact learning outcomes for teaching speech acts like command. The study highlights the value of incorporating innovative technological approaches that align with the evolving communicative needs and preferences of contemporary learners.