Effects of Audio-visual Social Media Resources-supported Instruction on Learning Outcomes in Reading

Abstract

Perennial poor performance in English language in public examinations has been linked to the proliferation of social media tools in the classroom. However, contrary to the general belief that social media hinders learning and distracts learners’ attention, this study attempted to improve the quality of instruction through social media-supported audio-visual resources in teaching reading comprehension. Pretest, posttest, control group, quasi-experimental research design was adopted for the study and participants were randomly selected from intact Grade 11 classes in two educational provinces in the Gambia. Data were analyzed using inferential statistics, results show a significant main effect of treatment on students’ interest and achievement in reading comprehension. There were recommendations on how to support language instruction using social media.