From Social Media English to Academic English Analysis of Surface Errors in Undergraduate ESL Students’ Writing

The study investigated the effects of university students' social media linguistic practices on their academic communication. Specifically, it was concerned with their ability to recognize and keep to the formal informal styles of communication effortlessly. Questionnaires, containing natural sample social media chats and containing varied informal features authored by university students, were used as the main data collection instruments. Findings revealed that most of the respondents are unable to transition between the formal – informal divide successfully. Among the micro level writing errors investigated, punctuation errors were seen to be pervasive, and followed, in the order, by contracted forms, capitalisation, word choice and spelling. The study recommends that equal emphasis be placed on the teaching of lower order academic writing concerns by relevant academic departments or centres. Joyce S. A. Anku | Abraham Kwadwo Okrah "From Social Media English to Academic English: Analysis of Surface Errors in Undergraduate ESL Students' Writing" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-5 | Issue-1 , December 2020, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd38169.pdf Paper URL : https://www.ijtsrd.com/humanities-and-the-arts/english/38169/from-social-media-english-to-academic-english-analysis-of-surface-errors-in-undergraduate-esl-students'-writing/joyce-s-a-anku