Use of Facebook, students’ intrinsic motivation to study writing, writing self-efficacy and writing performance

ABSTRACT

The study aimed to scrutinise how incorporating Facebook into a conventional writing class might impact on students’ intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy and writing performance, and to uncover how best to provide corrective feedback on students’ writing posted on Facebook. Sixty-four subjects from an intact group were recruited by means of purposive sampling. All participants sat the pre-test measuring intrinsic motivation to study writing, writing self-efficacy and writing performance. Following the pre-test, participants attended a regular conventional writing class incorporating Facebook for four months. At the conclusion of the study, participants sat the post-test and were interviewed regarding their learning experience. Participants were also requested to indicate which type of feedback provided on FB is preferred and to justify their responses. It was found that students’ intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy, as well as writing performance, improved markedly in the post-test and that direct corrective feedback is more favoured by students. Overall, the study suggests that not only does incorporating Facebook into a conventional writing class benefit students academically, but it also helps boost their intrinsic motivation to study writing and writing self-efficacy – two critical variables that dictate success in foreign language learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Web 2.0
• Facebook
• writing
• intrinsic motivation
• self-efficacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alberth

Alberth is a senior lecturer attached to the Department of English Education at Universitas Halu Oleo, Kendari, Indonesia. His research interests include computer-assisted language learning, mobile-assisted language learning, and teaching English as a foreign language.