Malaysian Diploma Students’ Use of Social Media and its Relationship with CEFR English Language Performance

Numerous studies established the relationships between social media usage and academic performances but few were conducted in Malaysia using CEFR grading as its academic performance indicator. This study determined the relationship between social media usage and CEFR English language performance. A survey method on semester one diploma students in a Malaysian public university was employed. Stratified sampling enabled the selection of 121 students where data collected using a self-administered questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS v. 20. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics that include Independent sample t-test, ANOVA test, and Spearman Rank Correlation were used. Findings indicated female students spent significantly more time and used English more extensively on social media. There was a positive linear relationship between time spent interacting using the language in social media and the rate of CEFR grades. Nonetheless there was insufficient evidence to conclude the mean time spent interacting in social media using English were different for students with differing CEFR grades. There is a weak positive but significant correlation between time spent interacting in social media using English language and CEFR grades for reading component. Nevertheless, there is almost no correlation for the writing component. In light of the findings, it is recommended that social media be used as a tool for teaching and interaction among teachers and students. Nevertheless it will only be effective if English is used in the interaction.