Use of Snapchat to Enhance Primary School English as Second Language Learners in the Writing of Personal Information

Writing is one of the fundamental skills in language production. Writing simple sentences is therefore important, especially for pupils learning English as second language (ESL). Teachers can use multiple ways to teach how to write simple sentences. However, pupils need a platform wherein they can explore and express their ideas and observe their peers’ work to develop their skills. In this Covid-19 pandemic era, online learning plays an essential role in providing a mobile platform wherein pupils can learn without any restrictions. Teachers use social media applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Telegram as a bridge to convey the teaching and learning processes and encourage active engagement amongst the pupils. Only a few studies attempt to investigate the use of Snapchat, which is also a social media application that can be used in the teaching and learning processes. Other scholars suggested that Snapchat may have negative effects on the academic development of pupils. This study sought to investigate the implementation of Snapchat to enhance primary school ESL learners’ sentence construction of personal information through pre and post-writing tests. It employs a paired sample t-test to compare the results. The participants comprised 30 Year 2 students from a national type primary school. Findings reveal that most of the pupils improved sufficiently in writing simple sentences of personal information using Snapchat. Some limitations and possible avenues for further research are also discussed.