Dr. Vinukonda Rajesh
Assistant Professor E-mail: softskillsrajesh@gmail.com ,
Abstract countries like India which are in developing state’s main obstacle to be developed is unemployment, though they have a good percentage of literacy but lack of skills. This paper suggests, How to use Social Media or Network to improve English Language and Communication Skills. Nowadays using electronic gadgets is a common thing but people are not focusing to improve English Language and Communication Skills which is a basic need for employment. By knowing the sources in Social Media or Network Viz. websites and Apps everyone can be proficient in LSRW and Communication skills.
Key Words Social Media or Network, LSRW and Communication skills
Introduction
An Article in recent times in local News Paper (Eenadu) mentioned that 95% Engineering Graduates are unable to speak in English after their studies. This is the main cause, why a graduate is unable to get a job? The answer is lack of English Language and Communication Skills. As John Naisbitt said “We are drowning in the information but starved for knowledge” and in developed countries they consider, “Information is wealth” (The Sunday Leader), since information has such priority to know or to learn anything. In this digital and technologically developed world are we really utilizing it? How many of us are utilizing it? Since Social Media or Network has emerged as a source of learning for researchers and students.
Methodology
Any Methodology is based on the cognitive and level of perception of the students, here the ancient and unique methodology is “Learning from Mistakes”
Fig:-1 Methodology of How Social Media or Network helps to improve English Language and Communication Skills
Outcome is important in any aspect in education olden days we did not use to have other resources except Books, News Papers and the primary source was Teacher. This methodology helps to find information to improve knowledge in acquiring Language and Communication Skills. Since we have learner centric education even after failing to present, to overcome one need not to contact Teacher. We can utilize Social Media or
Result:
It’s been proved that through Social Media or Network we can improve a lot like Students can easily clarify their doubts without contacting Teachers, without spending much time on books. By using the technology according to the development and optimum utilization of recourses like Internet, Websites, You tube channels and Apps. We can expect growth in social and professional life. If we follow the resources we should be in position to compete others, these are really helpful especially the people who are from villages. Such a way Social Media or Network made this Big World as a Global Village. We have advantages and disadvantages while utilizing Social Media or Network. If we use any tool, module or software there are pros and cons.
Discussions
The main question creeping in our mind is, how can we acquire Language and Communication Skills? And how can it possible? The answer is Language consists of LSRW Communication Consists of Verbal and Non- Verbal. We can improve like Listening to MP3 conversations and giving prompting to them, speaking with others through Voice or Video calls, Reading Massages and Status in Social Media or Network, by Massaging, Chatting and Mailing. Initial days in Social Media or Network, how people habituated with some sentences and phrases though they grammatically not correct few for example.
1) I will whatsApp you
2) I Google it
3) I will Tweet this
4) Ask Google
5) WhatsApp me
6) #tags
7) @places
and so on though these are wrong grammatically now a days we are using it. Such a way to a learner it can be possible to acquire Language and Communication Skills.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Learning to participate or Collaborating with others | Addicting other than content because of lack of control |
| Improving LSRW | Eye problems and Sleeplessness |
| Saving the Time | Distraction of Learning |
| Getting adequate information | Relying on Social Media or Network for all contact |
Table1:-Advantages and disadvantages of social media or networking
Social media or Network Wikipedia, Flicker, LinkedIn, Integra, Snap chat, Tumbler, Face book, Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp Channels for language learning develop communication and language skills. Social media consist of interactive forms of media that allow users to interact with and publish to each other, generally by means of the internet. Daily observations and recent scholarly traditions suggest that a certain amount of learning takes place beyond the confines of the individual mind. Research has shown that language acquisition and learning is socially constructed and interactive in nature. According to the theory of language socialization, language learning is interwoven with cultural interaction and “mediated by linguistic and other symbolic activity”. From this perspective, the use of technologies that facilitate communication and connection, particularly social media applications and programs, makes a lot of sense. Language learners are able to enhance their language skills due to the different avenues in which new social media have created. Social media provides the learner with the possibility of participating in actual, real-time, relevant conversations taking place online, and practicing the target language with or without the help of an experienced teacher by his or her side
Many a number of YouTube Channels are providing audio and video lessons to the viewers in many modules by watching and understanding lessons we can gain knowledge popular YouTube channels are Let’s talk, ESL/ELL, British Council Learn English, Rachel’s English, English Lessons4u and ESL Basics.
Well Known Websites for Language learning are LiveMocha.com is a complete social network at its core. The site boasts over 6 million users and was named as one of Time magazine’s top 50 websites of 2010. Bussuu is a language community that functions like a cool interactive game. It offers free interactive lessons, exams, text and video chat, writing exercises, reading comprehension tests and many other features. Italki.com, pronounced I-talk-I, offers an enormous community of speakers of over 100 languages from over 200 countries. Palabea offers community based language learning with virtual classrooms. Lang-8 offers language students the ability to connect with native language speakers from 180 different countries. VoxSwap this site is another social network that connects people for the purpose of learning a new language. My Happy Planet offers a great way to find new friends across the globe to chat with.
Apps they teach or provide lessons, rules of Grammar, role-plays, situations mock interviews and Group Discussions after learning we need to implement in our daily use, without using regional language if we practice will get good result and there are some Software like Versant and so on help us to cut MTI and helps to know the accurate pronunciation, they give many exercises to practice Listening and Speaking with this we can reach the corporate expectations because “Listening and Speaking are foundation a Language”. Reading carefully text in Social Media or Network helps us to improve our pronunciation, if we confront new words, not aware of pronunciation, we can use Online Dictionary or Google Phonetic Transcription and to know the meaning we can use Google translator and such a way we can acquire any Language and we can become proficient. Rankin, Morrison, Mckenzie, McNeal, Gooch and Shute found that English as a second Language (ESL) students were able to acquire more language skills through the social communication that they had with the native speakers of English. Apart from this we can also improve Language and Vocabulary through Video games.
But how can we improve our Non Verbal Communication with Social Media or Network? Answer is visualizing it really helps us to store the image in our memory when we watch anything on desktop or mobile screen a Researcher or a Job Aspirant can easily the do’s and don’ts of NVC how to use gestures, postures? How to make an eye contact? Grooming or dress sense and what are the things that we have to carry? to act according to the situation through Social Media or Network we can easily learn and execute it. Now a day Virtual Classes are playing vital role in Class rooms. Social Media or Network guides us to know about VISA Interview, before we visit foreign. For Researchers, Scholars and Students Social Media or Network became primary source to learn, acquire and boost our self-confidence and gives us readiness to face anyone.
Conclusion:
As a Teacher or Learner we have to guide others to enhance their abilities not by intimidating by persuading such situations to fulfill Albert Mehrabian theory which is 3 v’s in Communication, and NLP plays major role to help or perceive information while surfing Social Media or Network, to eradicate unemployment everyone should be skillful. We can acquire skills by doing practice and utilizing resources.
Future Scope:
Enhancing English Language and Communication Skills through Social Media or Network there is a scope to include NLP because while surfing we can compare whether our thoughts Matching, whether Image Mirroring right, and our tone and voice Pacing accordingly. There is a possible way to bring drastic change in Cognitive level and Level of Perception. In addition to this there are many a number of resources which helps to acquire English Language and Communication Skills easy way that we have to sort-out and bring awareness in aspirants.
References:
[1] http://www.adweek.com/digital/7-social-language-learning/amp/
[2]https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/social-media-students-communication-skills
[3]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Media_Language_Learning
[4] Qahraman Abdullah Hameed, Does Social Network Improve Social Communication? http://www.hrpub.org
[5] Communication Skills Second Addition by Leena Sen- New Delhi, 2009.
[6]http://www.academiapps.com/advantages-social-media-education/- Advantages of using social media for education.
