Innovation in Language Learning

This research study explores the impact of the use of social networking sites, especially Facebook as the most common in Iraq, on the type of language used in every day talk  and the spread of innovative words  among Iraqi students at universities. Therefore, the purpose of the research is to describe  the nature of the changes caused by technology, the type of language used and the reasons behind its appearance. The technological revolution has led to radical changes and major societal transformations that included the lives of individuals and business organizations ,as well as governments. By the beginning of the  21st century, this revolution  produced the so-called "social networking sites", such as, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Telegram and many others. The descriptive approach was used to achieve the objectives of this qualitative investigation  since it is one of the most used methods in the field of social and human sciences. The data was collected from 100 students  using  social networking sites and study at college of Arts, university of Thiqar, south of Iraq. Using questionnaires, other research tools, to collect data as all were specifically designed for the purposes of this study and based on the nature of the research questions. The research findings suggest that most of the college students use these words in social networking sites and in their daily lives. There is a strong relationship between this new kind of language use in the community and  the political and economic, religious and social atmosphere in the country . Therefore, results imply that the language used in social networking sites is a reflection of the individual's educational background and cultural environment. This research study is important because it sheds the light on the possibility of harnessing the sites and Facebook "in particular" to create a generation conscious and aware of the requirements of life and the development of ideas among college students. 

Keywords: Social Networking, innovative words, college students, qualitative investigating, Language use, cultural environment. 

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