Untitled

Abstract

Gaining proficiency in speaking skill has always been a great point of concern for potential EFL communicators. This need is now more concrete than any time before. In face-to-face communication contexts, plenty of such factors as anxiety, shyness and not being enough proficient are demotivating and inhibit the individuals to communicate with native-speakers. Along with the emergence of the virtual world, the cyber space, where you can stay anonymous and yet express yourself in the most comprehensive way, this problem has been fairly solved. Online learning can facilitate learning new languages; Ally (2008) defines online learning as the use of the Internet to access learning materials, to interact with the content, instructor, and other learners, to obtain support during the learning process in order to acquire knowledge, to construct personal meaning, and to grow from the learning experience. Kern, Ware and Warschauer (2008) state that those students who can converse in spontaneous online chat discussions, for example, should have an easier time contributing to the ongoing flow of a face-to-face conversation. It is believed that online learning can increase the learners' motivation and it is also a useful method to improve English language proficiency. 2. Review of the Literature 2.1. Social Networking The idea of "Social Networking" has existed for several decades as a way for people to communicate in society and build relationships with others (Coyle & Vaughn, 2008). With the increase of technology used for communicating with others and the popularity of the Internet, "Social Networking" has become an activity that is done primarily on the Internet, with sites like MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, Friendster, and Xanga (Coyle & Vaughn, 2008). Social networking sites (SNS) may be defined as: "Web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system" (Boyd & Ellison, 2007, p. 1).

The Effects of Extensive Journal Writing on the Vietnamese High-School Students’ Writing Accuracy and Fluency

“…Advocating its implementation, language teachers take responsibility for creating opportunities to help develop students' autonomy. Baghi et al (2016) suggested using journal writing as a practical device to boost autonomous learning among students. This helps facilitate teaching and learning writing (Marefat, 2002).…”