Investigating the Impact of Social Networks on English Writing Anxiety of the Common First-Year Students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Twitter on English language writing apprehension of the Common First Year (CFY) students at Umm Al Qura University, Saudi Arabia. It also aimed at assessing the level and the type of English writing apprehension experienced by The CFY students. English writing has always been a problem among Saudi students. The study adopted the experimental method. The participants were divided into two groups with each 15. Cheng's (2004) instrument for Second Language Writing Apprehension Inventory (SLWAI) was applied for the study as a pre and post-test. The study took ten-week teaching and assessment for both groups. In the control group, the participants would hand over their writing assignments to the teacher. While in the experimental group, the participant would send writing assignments to the teacher's Twitter account. The data was analyzed using SPSS, means, and T-test. Findings revealed that most of the CFY students experienced high levels of EL writing apprehension. Results showed that Twitter had a positive impact on participants' writing fear in the experimental group. Moreover, cognitive anxiety was experienced by CFY participants. This study recommended Twitter as an assistant tool in English writing classes to provide EFL learners with the opportunity to practice more writing, which would help them in reducing their anxiety of EL writing.