NEW HORIZONS OF ENHANCING WRITING ABILITY AMONG UNDERGRADUATE ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (EFL) LEARNERS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA: A NARRATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Social media has permeated every aspect of our lives, and language educators are beginning to understand social media's potential to improve EFL writers' abilities. A narrative review was done to review and analyze the available literature in the study. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) requirements of the statement are followed in this narrative review (Moher et al., 2009). A thorough search of electronic databases, including Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, and Google Scholar, was done as part of the review process. The search was confined to works that were published between 2011 and 2022 in English. This narrative review seeks to examine the potential of different platforms of social media for developing the writing ability of undergraduate EFL learners. The review provides an overview of the body of research on the use of different applications of social media. for learning to write, including investigations into the potential advantages and drawbacks of different applications of social media, its impact among EFL learners' writing ability, and the variables influencing efficiency of different applications of social media in writing instruction. The effectiveness of social media for writing instruction may depend on several factors, including the type of social media platform used, the nature of the writing tasks, and the instructional design. Nonetheless, the findings suggest that social media can provide learners with authentic writing experiences, facilitate collaboration, feedback, and increase motivation and engagement. Overall, this review provides insights for instructors who are interested in integrating social media into their EFL writing instruction. It is recommended that technology-based methods should be employed in teaching writing skills to EFL learners.