Innovation in Language Learning

This paper examines students’ views on the impact of the integration of WhatsApp in their English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course at university level.  ESP is an approach to language teaching in which “all decisions as to content and method are based on the learners’ reasons for learning” (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987, p.19). ESP courses are, in fact, tailored to the professional needs of the students.  WhatsApp is a cross-platform mobile messaging application which requires nothing but an internet connection.  Its users can create groups and exchange unlimited text messages, images, videos and audio media messages at no cost.  WhatsApp has been gaining significant ground since its launch in 2009.  Nevertheless, when it comes to the teaching of ESP at tertiary education, the potential of this Web 2.0 tool is yet to be explored in greater depth.

Some research has been conducted in the general education or English Language Teaching (ELT) contexts.  In the field of education, a study by Yeboah and Ewur (2014) suggests that WhatsApp is a necessary evil for students in tertiary institutions in Ghana. The impact of this social network on the performance of tertiary students is shown to be both positive and negative.  Another study by Bouhnik and Deshen (2014) classifies advantages of WhatsApp in educational and academic and its challenges in technical, educational and academic.  Meanwhile, in the discipline of English Language Teaching (ELT), a number of researchers have investigated potential benefits of ‘mobile learning’ (m-learning).  Some of the studies have shown that the use of smartphones improves students’ listening and speaking skills  (Kukulska-Hulme and Shield, 2007), while other studies  support that the capability for reading comprehension can be enhanced via utilization of text messages (Motallebzadeh and Ganjali, 2011). It thus becomes apparent that the use of WhatsApp has not yet been researched thoroughly in ESP tertiary education settings.

The purpose of the current study is to identify students’ perspectives on the potential benefits and challenges of WhatsApp as an educational application incorporated in university ESP teaching and learning.  The study was conducted on first and second-year students enrolled in the ‘English for Civil and Geomatics Engineers’ and ‘English for Business Communication’ courses of the Cyprus University of Technology.  Data were collected through both a structured questionnaire and a focus group discussion.  Key findings focus on the aspects in which the application is perceived as beneficial while at the same time its limitations and challenges are identified.