EFFECTS OF SOCIAL NETWORK SITES ON TEACHER TRAINEES’ GRAMMAR AND SPELLING SKILLS IN GHANAIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

Against the backdrop of social network sites pluralism, this study was conducted to explore the effects of social network sites on teacher trainees’ grammar and spelling skills. The study adopted descriptive design. The simple random sampling technique was used to select 335 respondents from three colleges of education: Bagabaga, St. John Bosco and Tumu to complete sets of questionnaires. Data collection covered respondents’ bio data, reasons and rationales of social network sites, benefits of social network sites and effects of social network sites on trainees’ grammar and spelling skills. Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and multiple regression were used for data analysis. The findings show that an overwhelmingly majority of teacher trainees use jargons, shorthand, abbreviations and acronyms on WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook accounts, which affect their grammar and spelling skills resulting in poor performance in English Language test. The study asserts that teacher trainees could do better if they stick to good use of words while communicating on social network sites with their peers.