An Examination of Utilizing the X Platform in the Context of Indefinite Article Production Among Saudi English Learners

The current study aims to investigate the role of integrating the X platform in a linguistic pedagogical setting to enhance specific linguistic features, namely the indefinite article. It follows the theoretical frameworks of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (1930), Long’s interaction theory (1996), and the surface structure taxonomy of errors (Dulay et al., 1982). The study utilizes a sequential exploratory research approach that involves both qualitative and quantitative research. In the first stage, a qualitative questionnaire was distributed to English learners at Jazan University to identify learning practices, and an online interview was conducted with Jazan University instructors from two different campuses to examine teaching practices. Following that, a quantitative questionnaire was distributed to the same learners to examine the accuracy of indefinite article, and this questionnaire was later analyzed by the Forced Choice Elicitation Task. The analyses, including a one-way ANOVA and an ANCOVA, were conducted to test the variables, specifically, to examine whether hours on social media (time dedicated to consuming English on social media), type of content, type of interaction, age, gender, and motivation influence the result of the study. The results indicated that while the type of content, gender, and motivation do not affect the result significantly, the hours on social media and type of interaction significantly impact the result, while age shows a marginal effect. The findings of the study suggested first that the learners showed a predictable sequence of types of errors when producing English articles (regulation addition, simple addition, omission, and substitution). Second, the learners who consume English content on the X platform vi Texas Tech University, Amnah Madkhali, December 2025 frequently received higher scores (M=19.25) compared to the learners who depend only on classroom instructions (M = 15.9). Third, although educators demonstrated a positive attitude toward integrating social media platforms, the integration of these tools and the encouragement of their students are still insufficient. Therefore, the study suggests adapting online networking in a structured manner to overcome the gap of authenticity in language classrooms.