AN INVESTIGATION OF TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON HOW ACCESS TO INTERNET

AFFECT STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH: A CASE OF SELECTED LILONGWE

CDSSs

By

PRISCA BWANALI

(BAE/DL/28/16)

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Bachelors’ Degree in
Education (Arts)

MZUZU UNIVERSITY

March, 2023
 DECLARATION

I, Prisca Bwanali, hereby declare that this is my original work and has never been presented to
any university for the award of a degree in education.

Signed: …………………………………….

Date: ……………………………………….

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 CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
We, the undersigned, certify that this dissertation is the result of the author’s own work, and that
to the best of our knowledge, it has not been submitted for any other academic qualification
within Mzuzu Universiy or elsewhere. The dissertation is acceptable in form and content, and
that satisfactory knowledge of the field covered by the dissertation was demonstrated by the
candidate through an oral examination held on _____________________________________.
Supervisor: __________________________________________________________
Signature: ___________________________
Date: ______________________________

Head of Department_____________________________________________________
Signature: ___________________________
Date: ______________________________

iii
 DEDICATION
To my parents and Mr and Mrs Mdziolera.

iv
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank GOD Almighty for being with my health and life the time I was conducting
this study. I also acknowledge the following people making it possible for me to fulfil my study:
my supervisor Dr Chimwemwe Kamanga, my parents, Mr and Mrs Mdziolera, my brothers;
Shadrack Bwanali and Christopher Bwanali, relatives and all friends who helped me financially
and all needs, and encouraged me all the times.

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 ABSTRACT

The study was conducted to investigate teachers’ perspectives on how access to internet affect
students’ performance in English which was a case of selected Lilongwe CDSSs. The study was
guided by three specific objectives; find out how students use internet, examine the perceived
effects of access to internet on English performance and evaluate possible ways on how students
can use internet to positively influence their English performance. The research used mixed
methods of collecting data in which a sample of 21 respondents were selected using convenience
sampling and purposive sampling techniques. Data was collected using questionnaires and
semi-structured interview guides; analysed using graphs and themes. The study found out that
the internet was mostly used by students even though it was being discouraged in most
secondary schools. It was also found out that the internet is beneficial to the
students in as far as improving their English language skills is concerned. However, the same
internet also proved to be a burden to the development of English language skills. Nevertheless,
the internet could be made fruitful to the students by orienting the students in how to use it and
monitoring its use in the students. The study recommends revisiting the policy that refutes the
students from using the internet in secondary schools considering that the world is changing
technologically

TABLE OF CONTENTS
vi
Contents
DECLARATION..........................................................................................................................................ii
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL..............................................................................................................iii
DEDICATION.............................................................................................................................................iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...........................................................................................................................v
ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................................vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS..........................................................................................................................vii
LIST OF FIGURES....................................................................................................................................ix
CHAPTER ONE..........................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION...................................................................1
1.0. Chapter Overview..........................................................................................................................1
1.1. Background Information................................................................................................................1
1.1.1. History of the evolution of Internet.......................................................................................1
1.1.2. The Malawian Context and the Uses of Internet...................................................................2
1.1.3. Malawian Education; English Language and Internet Usage................................................3
1.2. Problem Statement.........................................................................................................................6
1.3. Study Objectives............................................................................................................................7
1.3.1. Main Objectives.....................................................................................................................7
1.3.2. Specific Objectives................................................................................................................7
CHAPTER 2.................................................................................................................................................9
LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................................................................9
2.0. Chapter Overview..........................................................................................................................9
2.1. Literature review............................................................................................................................9
2.2. Theoretical Framework................................................................................................................12
CHAPTER 3...............................................................................................................................................14
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY...................................................................................14
3.0. Chapter Overview........................................................................................................................14
3.1. Research Design...........................................................................................................................14
3.2. Research Approach......................................................................................................................14
3.3. Sampling......................................................................................................................................15
3.3.1. Sampling Technique............................................................................................................15
3.3.2. Sample Area.........................................................................................................................15
3.3.3. Sample Population and Size.................................................................................................16
3.4. Data Collection Techniques.........................................................................................................16
3.5. Data Collection Instruments........................................................................................................16

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 3.6. Data Collection Procedure...........................................................................................................17
3.7. Ethical Considerations.................................................................................................................17
3.8. Chapter summary.........................................................................................................................17
CHAPTER 4...............................................................................................................................................18
FINDINGS..................................................................................................................................................18
4.0. Chapter Overview........................................................................................................................18
4.1. How students use internet............................................................................................................18
4.2. The effects of access to internet on English performance...........................................................20
4.2.1. Positive Impacts of the Access to Internet on English Performance...................................21
4.2.2. Negative Impacts of the Access to Internet on English Performance..................................24
4.3. Ways on how students can use internet to positively influence their English performance........25
4.4. Chapter summary.........................................................................................................................26
CHAPTER 5...............................................................................................................................................27
DISCUSSIONS...........................................................................................................................................27
5.0. Introduction..................................................................................................................................27
5.1. How students use internet............................................................................................................27
5.2. Effects of access to internet on English performance..................................................................28
5.3. Ways on how students can use internet to positively influence their English performance........31
5.4. Chapter summary.........................................................................................................................32
CHAPTER 6...............................................................................................................................................33
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.....................................................................................33
6.0. Introduction..................................................................................................................................33
6.1. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................33
6.2. Recommendations........................................................................................................................33
REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................................34
APPENDICES............................................................................................................................................38
Questionnaire...........................................................................................................................................38
Interview guide........................................................................................................................................40

LIST OF FIGURES

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Figure 1. Preferred mode of communication among students.......................................................18
Figure 2. Time students spend on the internet...............................................................................20

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1.0. Chapter Overview

This chapter gives an introduction to the study on the investigation of teacher’s perspectives on
how the access to internet affect students’ performance in selected Lilongwe CDSSs. The chapter
provides an overview of internet and its roles in the Malawian education system in general and
English in particular. It also explains the statement of the problem, the hypothesis, the purpose of
the research and the research objectives.

1.1. Background Information

According to Oxford Dictionary, internet is an international computer network connecting other

networks and computers from companies, universities and many more. It is a computer-mediated
technology that enable users to create, share and search for various content, information, ideas,
interests and various expressions through a vast of communities and platforms by using virtual
network (Murthy, 2013). From this definition, the core components of the internet are the
technology, communities and the platforms that enable people to connect with and update each
other in various ways. Internet is also defined as any form of online publication or presence that
allows communication, including, but not limited to social networks, blogs, websites, forums,
and wikis and it is made up of a larger number of independently operated networks.
(Balakrishnan & Lay, 2016). It could be concluded that internet is a channel through which
news, entertainment, education, data, or promotional messages are disseminated.

1.1.1. History of the evolution of Internet

Internet is a short form for an “interconnected network” (Vedantu, 2023). Based on this, the main
function of internet is to connect people worldwide.

Vedantu (2023) outlines a brief history of the evolution of internet as follows:

The internet was developed by Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf in the 1970s. They began to design
internet with a motivation from a research experiment called Advanced Research Projects
Agency Network (ARPANET). The project was initially supposed to be a communications
system for the Defence Team of the United States of America which was supposed to be a

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network that would also survive nuclear attack. Eventually, it is believed that following these
developments, internet started on 6 August, 1991 led by Tim Berners-Lee, a man who led the
development of the World Wide Web (www) the defining of HyperText Transfer Protocol
(HTTP) and HyperText Makeup Language (HTML) that is used to create web pages and
Universal Resource Locators (URL).

There has been a dramatic growth in the number of internet users since its inception. It started
with only connecting less than ten computers initially (Vedantu, 2023). Nevertheless, from the
time internet was made public in 1991, current global statistics indicate that as of January 2023,
5.16 billion people use internet around the world, a representation of 64.4% of the global
population, of which 570 million internet users are from Africa and 5.04 million internet users
are from Malawi (Statistica, 2023).

1.1.2. The Malawian Context and the Uses of Internet

In the context of Malawi, it has been noted that many people, about 5.04 million interact and
spend much of their time on the internet. Chawinga (2017) further reports that, out of these
Malawian internet users, 67% are youths who chat, share videos, pictures, voice-notes,
documents among others. This is a clear indication that Malawian students take a major role in
using the internet since the majority of Malawian youths are primary, secondary and tertiary
students.

These Malawian youths, among other users, use internet for so many purposes. In terms of the
uses of the internet across the globe and Malawi inclusive, Oberlo (2023) stipulates that by 2020,
the most top ranked use of internet was finding information. This is a function of internet in
which people search for information on various topics. As per statistics, 57.8% people worldwide
list finding information as a reason for going online (Oberlo, 2023).

Finding information as a use of internet is followed by communication. This is a point where

internet is used for staying in touch with friends and family (Oberlo, 2023). The number of
internet users have increased since the dawn of social media. 53.7% people use internet for the
sake of communication (Oberlo, 2023). Using social media, among others, people communicate
to their friends and family using text, picture, voice and video messages among others.

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Internet is also used for making oneself be updated with news and events (Oberlo, 2023).
Various TV and radio stations have opened webpages on the internet. 50.95% internet users go
online for the sake of viewing updates (Oberlo,2023). They repress the time they would listen to
or watch TV or radio shows by simply going online.

Another use of internet is entertainment. In this way, 49.75 and 43.2% of internet users use
internet for watching videos, TV shows or movies and accessing and listening to music
respectively (Oberlo, 2023). People around the world stream and download videos and music on
the internet for entertainment purposes.

Internet is also used for education and study-related purposes (Oberlo, 2023). Various people
study online courses. On the part of students, the majority of the information they try to find on
the internet concerns their academic life. This entails that students use internet for searching
information about their education.

Apart from the afore-mentioned uses, Oberlo (2023) explains that people also use internet for
researching how to do things, finding new ideas or inspirations, researching products or brands
and filling up spare time and general browsing.

From this, internet is useful a lot not to not only mere people but also students. Being the case,
Malawian youths who are also the majority of Malawian students are yet to benefit from the use
of the internet.

1.1.3. Malawian Education; English Language and Internet Usage

Malawi put English at the centre of its education. According to the developmental outcomes
stipulated in Malawi Institute of Education [MIE] (2013), Malawian students are termed to have
successfully attained Malawian education based on their ability to, among others, “communicate
competently, effectively, and relevantly in a variety of contexts, in an appropriate…international
language [English]” and also “use Information and Communication Technology [ICT]
responsibly and productively” (p. 7). These developmental outcomes show that after going
through Malawian education, students must use English properly and also use ICT, which
incorporates internet among others, productively. This is why Malawian education incorporates
English, Physics and Computer Studies to capture the aforementioned developmental outcomes.

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Focusing on English as a subject, MIE (2013) stipulates that English is a skills subject. This
entails that learning English is not centred on learning the content of the subject but rather on
mastering the skills that the language encompasses. These skills are called the core elements of
English and these core elements are; listening, speaking, reading, writing, critical thinking and
reasoning, structure and use of language and critical analysis and literary appreciation (MIE,
2013). Since English is a skills subject and that the focus is not on content but skills of the
language, the skills of English language, apart from the classroom, can also be learnt anywhere
including on the internet through its mere usage.

Through the exposure to lots of materials on the internet, for example, students learn lots of new
things instead of learning only vocabulary and grammatical rules. Online writing is an example
of a method that enhances one’s English writing skills (Jones, 2015). Social media, for instance,
allows its users to send and receive prompt messages and mail and is an efficient means of
information sharing, socialisation and adaptation to university life among students and
instructors at a low cost comparing to normal texts and calls (Roblyer et al., 2010; Yu et al.,
2010; Bowers-Campbell, 2008). While many teachers view social media as the bane of literacy
development, many others look at it as a tool to be used both in and out of the classroom to get
students engaged and improve their English skills (Schroeder & Greenbowe, 2009).

According to Jones (2015), internet technologies such as blogs and Twitter are no longer only
used for leisure rather, over the years, these technologies have also become platforms for
interacting and engaging with learners. In their recent study about the tweeting behaviour of
undergraduate students in some universities in Singapore, Menkhoff et al. (2014), find that
among other benefits, Twitter enables students to have a voice, to be more engaged and to
interact more freely with both their peers and the instructor via knowledge sharing and twitter
discussions. This means that students, who are expectantly captive in traditional approach to
English learning, are increasingly offered an opportunity to provide prompt feedback to
instructors, an element that Schroeder and Greenbowe (2009) and Jones (2015) report that leads
to the much-treasured student centred learning approach. In this way, internet helps students to
develop their confidence level by uploading statuses, voicing out opinions in English language
thereby enhancing writing and speaking skills of English.

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More importantly, unlike the traditional face-to-face medium of teaching which have some space
and time restrictions, with electronic media, the world becomes the classroom available 24/7 and
not confined to Mondays to Fridays (Dzvapatsva, Mitrovic, & Dietrich, 2014). This has been
evidenced in recent years where online learning has become a tradition due to COVID-19
pandemic. The notion of 24/7 in this context simply suggests that embracing internet enables
students and lecturers or teachers to interact outside the formal learning time with more
flexibility. It does not imply that learning is officially enforced to take place during the weekend
or at night. According to Campbell (2008), in the recent years, information technologies and
internet, in particular, have affected the life of Saudis, in general, and the language skills in
particular. It is due to their different forms which help people communicate in various ways such
as blogs, social networks (Facebook), microblogs (Twitter), wikis (Wikipedia), video podcasts,
and photo sharing (Instagram and Snapchat). Such applications as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,
and WhatsApp have massively boosted social interaction and information sharing within student
and teacher communities. Students may watch videos or listen to an audio and wish to share
what they have watched or listened through writing, recording an audio or video to their friends.
As they receive or check the information on the internet and in turn send their own messages,
they tend to perfect the four major skills of English language; listening, reading, writing and
speaking. Reading stories or updates on the internet does not only influence their reading skills
but also literary analysis. As such, indeed this technology enactment can be used for the
allocation of information, communication platform and boost language skills (Hashim et al.,
2018).

As noted earlier, young people are the most active users of internet especially Facebook,
Instagram, WhatsApp and Google platforms. However, based on the survey that was conducted
at Mzuzu University in 2017, internet items are mostly for fun rather than for academic purpose.
As what is being highlighted by Chepkemoi, Situma and Murunga (2018), internet items became
popular through the development of knowledge in the usage of information technology among
teenagers, especially secondary students. Thus, the use of internet items apart from educational
usage are also factors that help to influence their academic performance since assessments are
based on English usage and internet provides context for Language practice.

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Least should be forgotten that the nature of examinations in Malawi is that of writing, enhanced
by English subject learning. All the subjects offered in all the academic levels, examinations are
conducted through writing except that of French which is partly done orally. But as they go
along, the world needs the students’ use of the other skills in every field they will undertake.
This brings in a notion of how paramount the English skills are in as far as academic excellence
is concerned. In addition, English is a language of instruction as well as a subject in Malawi
(MIE, 2023). Academic achievements are determined by how one performs in English subject.
That is to say, even if one passes all the subjects except English, the student is deemed a failure.
This shows that how important the correct perfection of English skills is.

1.2. Problem Statement

As noted earlier, more than half of internet users, 58.4 percent, are those aged between 12 to 34
years old who get online for about five hours on average a day using a smart phone or personal
computer; and approximately they get online for two hours via a mobile device (The Jakarta
Post, 2015). Internet uses characters and symbols that are not used in academic writings. Twitter
and other social media have about 140-character limit, so even if one is not against the clock they
are quite literally forced to make the statement brief. Google and other platforms have the option
where one can search information by not typing the words but by saying them orally. WhatsApp
also incorporate voice messaging. You Tube, TickTok and other internet platforms incorporates
videos that people, students in particular, see and hear the language, at times English. This is an
indication that the internet provide a comprehensive context for the practice of the language
skills. In this, students are exposed to all the skills of English language. Consequently, many of
these are transferred to academic works and as well then consequently affects English language
skills development.

Studies show both positive and negative influence of social media on different English language
skills such as reading, listening, speaking as well as writing (Balakrishnan & Lay, 2016,
Chawinga, 2017, Alloway et al, 2018, Law et al, 2019). However, qualified English language
teachers should be aware of the internal processes that the students undergo for their English
language to be perfected since from the researcher’s experience, language teachers undergo
various linguistics courses, Psycholinguistics for example, that enable them understand the
processes of language development. In this way, these teachers could be in a right position to

6
explain the context that the internet provides to students in relation to English language
performance. Due to this status quo, this study sought to investigate teachers’ perspectives on
how access to internet affect students’ performance in English.

1.3. Study Objectives

1.3.1. Main Objectives

This study aimed at investigating the perspectives of teachers on how access to internet affect
students’ performance in English.

1.3.2. Specific Objectives

In order to achieve the main objective, the study had the following specific objectives:

i. Find out how students use internet.

ii. Examine the perceived effects of access to internet on English performance.
iii. Evaluate possible ways on how students can use internet to positively influence their
English performance.

1.4. Rationale of the Study

English is one of the most paramount important subjects among all the subjects in Malawi. For
this, it is locally known as the “key subject.” This is because it is one of the crucial litmus tests to
detect how someone has achieved at any academic level. Almost all national examinations,
whether at primary, secondary, or university level, are administered in English language. In
addition, English is the language of instruction from senior primary classes and at all academic
levels. This shows how important English is and how it may affect students academically at any
level. Internet usage affect English skills and consequently causes harm to the examination
outcomes. The outcome of this research will help different stakeholders to put into different
measures on how English skills should be protected and developed. Therefore, the understanding
of how internet can influence English skills is very important because it has a lot of implications
on students’ academic since every student in Malawi must have almost all English skills if they
are to excel academically.

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 1.5. Significance of the Study

The outcome of this study will help different stakeholders in different ways. Teachers will use
the results to identify ways in which they can assist learners deal with challenges that may affect
students’ English skills. The positive influences that internet may bring in will help teachers to
modify these and use them in the classroom situation. Learners will be aware of how internet can
influence their English skills and how best they can use it in order to avoid negative influence on
their academics. Parents should be able to monitor how their children are using internet so that
their English skills are not compromised to achieve academic excellence. The school authorities
should make informal decisions on how internet can be used to achieve academic performance
especially in English subject. The positive influence should be adopted and those that can affect
students’ performance through writing skills should be put to rest.

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 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0. Chapter Overview

This chapter presents various literatures related to the topic of study of this research
2.1. Literature review

A number of studies have discovered that internet impacts education and learning languages and
each study has its methods and conclusions. However, not all researchers agree on the positive or
the adverse effects of internet on the process of language learning leading to the performance of
the English language learner. Khan, Ayaz and Faheem (2016) studied the role of social media on
English language vocabulary at the university level. Using a questionnaire, they attempted to
discover what effects social media has on English language learning from the teachers'
perspective. The study's findings indicated that social media has a dominant role in the
vocabulary development of English for learners at all levels and stages. Khan et al. (2016),
argued that social media should be integrated into teaching and learning English at the university
level. They concluded that social media assists learners of the English language in various
angles.

The effects of social media on English language learning were also studied by Cabrera (2018).
The researcher studied ten high school students, language teachers and instructors qualitatively.
Moreover, to give an in-depth analysis, the researcher used Strengths-Weaknesses-
Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) matrix to determine the strengths and weaknesses. It was
concluded that social media has a positive impact on learning the English language because
many social media sites can be a helpful platform for giving up-to-date information that English
language native speakers input. Cabrera (2018), emphasises that social media platforms are vital
for language learners due to the abundance of authentic material learners can find on these
platforms.

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The effects of social media, especially WhatsApp, on essay writing was studied by Songxaba and
Sincuba (2019), at the university level. The researchers focused on orthographic mistakes in 180
narrative essays written by high school students. The findings showed that students used
abbreviations, unnecessarily shortened words, emoticons, and numbers instead of complete word
forms in their essays. Songxaba and Sincuba (2019), maintain that social media has a negative
effect on students' writings. Students copy the writing style of social media on their formal essay
writings, which is academically not acceptable. Yet, they argue that, by using error analysis,
teachers can help students to be aware of their mistakes and “make language teaching and
learning more effective and assist learners in producing better written essays” (p. 6). Based on
these findings, social media has adverse effects on student's academic writing skills.

In addition, Slim and Hafedh (2019), explored the impacts of internet, especially social media,
on English language learning by Saudi students studying business administration. Using semi
directive interviews and passive observations, the researchers studied 64 students on the effects
of Facebook on their business vocabulary. They found that internet, Facebook especially, has had
a positive impact on students, despite their limited achievement, and they had a positive attitude
towards using internet as a tool of teaching. On the same note, Al-Jarrah et al. (2019),
investigated the role of social media in improving English language skills by students at the
school level. They selected 132 secondary school students by random sampling and analysed the
collected data quantitatively. The researchers found that social media plays a vital role in
developing English language and can make learning new words and phrases much easier for
English language learners. Thus, they stated that social media could make language teaching and
learning to be more accessible (Al-Jarrah et al., 2019). Additionally, Poramathikul, Arwedo,
Abdulhakim, and Wattanaruwangkowit (2020), studied how students studying English language
use different internet platforms for different purposes. They found that YouTube is used for
various educational purposes and has contributed to developing the students' proficiency.

Nevertheless, not much is known about whether internet is more preferred by Kurd EFL learners
and how it affects the learners’ vocabulary choices and writings, especially after the COVID-19
lockdowns in Iraq. Most universities in the world and Iraq inclusive moved their classes online
due to lockdowns. Abdullah (2019), studied the effects of internet on Kurd EFL learners of the
English department at the undergraduate level of Salahaddin University. It was concluded that

10
learners' writing skills were not affected, whereas other skills such as listening, speaking skills,
and grammar were improved due to the use of internet. However, the researcher collected her
data in 2018, which was before the COVID-19 lockdown, and she recommends more research on
the effects of internet on students from various academic institutions. Many researchers and
reports confirmed that COVID-19 lockdowns have changed people's behaviour (Jia, 2021; Koh,
Pan, Shoesmith, James, Nor, Loo, 2020; Sathish, Manikandan, Silvia Priscila &
Mahaveerakannan, 2020).

To seek and share information, the present generation makes heavy use of network sites that
comprise a wide array of activities that involve socialising and networking
online via words, videos and many more. A great deal of literature highlights the influence of
internetworking technologies on students’ language proficiency (Kolek & Saunder, 2008;
Karpinski & Duberstein, 2009; Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010; Rouis, Limayem, & Salehi-
Sangari, 2011; Paul, Baker & Cochran, 2012; Michikyan Subrahmanyam, Dennis, 2015).

A lot of research has been carried out to determine the

nature of the impact on students’ language learning and in most cases the positive results
outweigh
the negative ones. Internet has undoubtedly become the central hub of people’s lives and
its usage by students is becoming an accepted fact for most. Internetworking technologies, as a
means of advanced technology, have exerted a substantial effect on English language learning.
The main reason for this is the worldwide proliferation of social networking applications
and the ease of access to the world wide net. According to Crystal (2001), one of the world’s
most eminent linguists, internetworking technologies drive teenagers to read because they remain
glued to screens. He points out that the use of language in text, voice or video messaging is
something positive rather than negative as it fosters language learning. In his book “Txtng: The
Gr8 Dbt8”, Crystal (2008), states that “those who text well almost invariably also have an
excellent command of their language. Those who write more text seemingly also both write
more, and better, Standard English” (p. 306). Therefore, the more they message in English, the
better their English skill becomes as well as their communicative competence and English
performance in general.

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In the same vein, Crystal (2001), argues that “Internet users are continually searching for
vocabulary to describe their experiences, to capture the character of the electronic world, and to
overcome the communicative limitations of its technology” (p. 67). Thanks to technology,
students can form an online English community that helps them to reduce the stress of using
English encountered within the class borders.

All in all, considering above literatures, studies on teachers’ perspectives on the effect of internet
of internet on students’ English performance in Lilongwe CDSSs have not yet been tackled. This
has, thus, created a gap in the body of knowledge on the arm of considering the access that most
students have on the internet. Therefore, it was the aim of this research to fill that gap and
thereby adding to the existing literature by exploring how access to the internet affect their
English performance.

2.2. Theoretical Framework

The research was pinned by Krashen’s (2009) input hypothesis theory. The input hypothesis puts

emphasis on Second Language Acquisition and not Second language learning. The input

hypothesis states that “we acquire language by understanding language that contain structure a

bit beyond our current level of competence…done with the help of context or extra-linguistic

information” (Krashen, 2019, p. 21). Krashen (2009) summarises the input hypothesis using the

following statements which were seen to be relevant to this research:

 Second language should be acquired, not learnt, to achieve fluency.

 We acquire second language by understanding language that contains structure a bit

beyond our level of current level of competence (i+1). In this case, (i) represents ones’

current competence whereas (1) stands for an additional vocabulary. Therefore, (i+1)

means competence beyond one’s own competence. The acquisition of competence

beyond ones’ level is done with the help of context or extra-linguistic information. These

language structures are called “input.”

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 The input beyond the learners’ level of competence is attained through communication.

When communication is successful, when the input is understood and there is enough of

it, i+1 will be provided automatically. That is, there is no need to be checking whether

the input is beyond the learners’ competence; as far as communication with the learner is

successful, input beyond their competence is automatically attained.

 Production ability emerges. It is not taught directly. In this, speaking fluency cannot be

taught directly. Rather it emerges over time on its own. Here according to this hypothesis,

the only way to teach speaking is simply to provide the comprehensible input. The

learners will speak on their own when they feel ready.

This hypothesis underlines the present investigation. The research questions on this paper

seek to investigate how access to internet affect students’ performance in English. All these

aspects demand the need to analyse the input internet give to students and what kind of

English performance the input will yield in these students.

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 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

3.0. Chapter Overview

The chapter specifies the design and methodology used in this study. It specifies the area where
the sample was studied. Thereafter, the chapter shows the sampling technique and size. It then
describes the instruments, methods on how the data was analysed and interpreted. It finishes by
showing the limitations of the study and the ethical issues that were considered.

3.1. Research Design

This study was descriptive and analytical in form of a case study. The examination of the data
was conducted within the context of its use, that is, within the situation in which the activity took
place. Variations in terms of intrinsic, instrumental and collective approaches to case studies
allow for both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data that hence the choice (Fraenkel &
Wallen, 2005). The detailed qualitative accounts often produced in case studies not only help to
explore or describe the data in real-life environment, but also help to explain the complexities of
real-life situations which may not be captured through experimental or survey research. Since in-
depth explanations of a social behaviour were sought after in addition to the mentioned qualities,
adoption of a case study was necessary. The purpose of a case study is to maximise
understanding of a phenomenon to provide greater insights into an issue. In most cases, a case
study selects a small geographical area as has been done with selected schools or a very limited
number of individuals as the subjects of study (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2005). Through case study
methods, a researcher was able to go beyond the quantitative statistical results and understand the
behavioural conditions through the respondents’ perspectives. By including both quantitative and
qualitative data, case study helps explain both the process and outcome of a phenomenon through
complete observation, reconstruction and analysis of the cases under investigation.

14
 3.2. Research Approach

This study took both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The kind of information that was
collected in the research needed mixed approaches. The mixed approach was desirable since it
combines both approaches and utilises the dimensions and the strength of each within a single
study (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2005). For example, teachers were asked to explain more on how
internet can influence English skills. More probing questions were asked to come
up with more information that can answer the objectives of the study. Students’ questionnaires
too
had questions that needed both short and those that required some explanations. This kind of data
was analysed through thematic analysis hence the use of qualitative was necessary. On the other
hand, some of the data collected needed the researcher to compare the opinions of the
respondents
numerically. In this case, quantitative approach was appropriate in as far as the achievement of
the
objectives was concerned. Therefore, the study used both qualitative and quantitative approaches
to come up with data needed that matched with the objectives of the study.

3.3. Sampling

This section outlines the details on sampling technique and sample size.

3.3.1. Sampling Technique

Two secondary schools were selected using convenient sampling which include one private
secondary school and one public secondary school. This was because the researcher did not want
to spend more resources to reach the study schools while the close ones had all the qualities of
respondents required for the study. The public secondary school was chosen because it had day
scholars and full boarders. This means that the day scholars had an access to smart phones when
they are off from school and those under boarding had an access to smart-phones when they go
home during holidays. The private school was chosen because the assumption that most students
that are enrolled into private schools are from well to do families. This means that having an
access to smart phones was not a problem and they had an access to internet. Students were
selected

15
purposively whereby only those who had knowledge of internet were selected (Jere, 2005). The
procedure for selecting students was done by the researcher with the help of language teachers.
The researcher went into the selected classes and asked those who had an access to smart phones
that support internet applications and frequently use them to raise up their hands. The ones
raised their hands were asked to follow the researcher where data was collected from them
without
being forced.

3.3.2. Sample Area

The study was conducted in Lilongwe district which is located in the

central region of Malawi.

3.3.3. Sample Population and Size

The research had twenty-one (21) respondents in total. The sample population comprised
seventeen students which include ten form fours, seven form twos and four language teachers.
On part of students, eight (four males and four females) were from public secondary school and
nine (all males since it was single sex school) were from private secondary school. This was so
because private secondary school had more students who had much knowledge of the use of
social media. Among the sampled language teachers, two (one male and one female) were from a
private secondary school while the other two (one male and one female) were from a public
secondary school. The choice was made to make sure that there was a balance between male and
female representation in the study. One teacher was for form two representing junior section and
the other one was form four teacher representing senior section at each school.

3.4. Data Collection Techniques

The study employed two techniques. The first one was face to face oral interviews with teachers.
This was done to make sure that enough information is collected through interaction and
physically observing their reaction on the phenomenon (Jere, 2005). Probe questions were used
in order to ask for more information on the phenomenon among teachers. Oral interviews were
very important because they helped the researcher to collect more information that was helpful in
achieving the objectives of the study. Apart from use of face to face interviews, the study also
used questionnaires on students. The use of questionnaires is an indirect method of research used

16
to gather a wide-range of information from a large population and in this regard, students
(Fraenkel & Wallen, 2005). The nature of data collected and the kind of respondents this
research had, justify the use of the above mentioned techniques.

3.5. Data Collection Instruments

The study used two instruments. The first instrument which was used was oral interview guides.
These were used to collect data from teachers. In addition to that, a notepad was also used. This
was used to record notes when probe and follow up questions were asked to get more
information
from teachers. Furthermore, the study employed questionnaires which were used to collect data
from students. The use of questionnaires is an indirect method of research used to gather a wide-
range of information from a large population in this regard, from students.

3.6. Data Collection Procedure

The researcher first met the head teacher and teachers of each schools where research was
conducted. The aim of the study was explained to them. All the participants too were briefed on
the same. This helped the respondents to understand the aim of the study and were free to
participate in the process. After that, process of data collection commenced. Lastly, all
participants were thanked for their participation.

3.7. Ethical Considerations

The research took into account the following ethical codes of conduct in research. The
permission
was asked before data was collected from them. Offering of gifts to respondents in order to
coerce them to take part in the research was not done. The respondents were not forced to
participate in
the research. Since the research involved both teachers and students, permission was granted
from the school heads and teachers. The researcher tried to create a good rapport with the
respondents and clearly explained the purpose of the study and how the data of the study would
be used before collecting data from them. The information collected was confidential and would
be
strictly used for academic purposes only.

17
 3.8. Chapter summary

The research used mixed method approach. The data was collected from two secondary schools
in Lilongwe district using face to face oral interviews and questionnaires. The study used two
instruments. The instruments used ware oral interview guides and questionnaires. Finally, all
ethics were considered in collecting data.

CHAPTER 4

FINDINGS

4.0. Chapter Overview

This chapter has findings. These findings involved 21 respondents as participants from 2 schools.
Among the respondents, 17 were students and 4 were language teachers.

Interview guides and questionnaires were the tools used to collect the data. The findings are
explained based on the core ideas in the objectives; how students use internet, the perceived
effects of access to internet on English performance and possible ways on how students can use
internet to positively influence their English performance.

4.1. How students use internet

Data collected under this objective showed that all the student respondents mostly use internet.
All the 17 students agreed that apart from using internet, they also use text messages form
communication. The figure below summarises this information.

18
 PREFFERED MODE OF COMMUNICATION AMONG
STUDENTS
18

16

14

12

10

0
Internet Letters Phone Calls Text Message

Figure 1. Preferred mode of communication among students

From the data collected and presented in the figure above, none of the student respondents used
letters or phone calls in communicating with other people. Internet and text messaging were what
were in their convenience when it came to their communication.

Students had different reasons, though related, to justify the use of text messaging and internet.
On the part of text messaging, the reason behind its use was that it was cheap. Most students
liked it because of the cheap services that the major service providers in Malawi, Airtel and
TNM, put in place. One of the students cited that “we [they] buy daily bundles at only K35,
K120 and K450 for 100 text messages 1 day, 700 text messages a week and 3000 text messages a
month respectively.”

On the part of why they use internet, many of the students spelt that it was because the internet is
cheaper to use. One of the students went further by citing that with internet, “it is possible to
connect with people from any network or even abroad at cheaper costs”. It was also discovered
that students use internet because it is interesting to them. What captures their attention is the
catchy graphics used on various web pages as many students said that “I like the beautiful way
of portraying information I find on the internet.” Another reason making students like using
internet more is the availability of a vast information to share and receive on the internet. On

19
this, one of the student observed that “Internet has wide concepts available making me to be
flexible in using it and having a willing of wanting to explore more.” All these showed that
internet was the ideal mode of communication that exist among students.

Since most students attach themselves to the use of internet, it was found out that they have
various ranges when it comes to the time they spend using the internet. The following figure
summarises the time that students spend using the internet.

TIME THAT STUDENTS SPEND ON THE INTERNET

10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1 - 3 hours 4 - 6 hours varies

Series 1

Figure 2. Time students spend on the internet

From what was found and presented on the graph above, 4 students spend 1 to 3 hours using the
internet. 3 students said that they spend at least 4 to 6 hours using the internet. Finally, 10
students gave out that the time they spend using the internet varies from time to time based on
the availability of time they have at the moment of using the internet.

Despite the fact that students expose themselves to the use of internet in various time frames,
schools do not allow the students to be in possession of mobile phones during learning hours. All
teachers agreed to this fact. One of the teachers, for example, stressed that as it stood, the only
information technologies allowed to be used at school were school computers only but without
internet connection. The teacher said that “No student is allowed to use mobile phones or
personal computers at school. Only school computers are used but aren’t connected to the
internet.” Another teacher added that not only the school refrains from allowing students to take
mobile or computer devices at school, the school also discourages the use of internet as a
teaching resource by teachers. The teacher said that “The school does not incorporate use of

20
internet as a teaching resource.” It was found out that this denial is only limited to classroom
use only, teachers were allowed to use internet when they are outside the classroom to search for
information to use when teaching.

4.2. The effects of access to internet on English performance

Under this objective, all students and teachers agreed to the idea that use of internet has some
impacts on the performance of English in students. Nevertheless, 3 students said that they had no
option on whether access to the internet can influence their performance in English or not. On
this, they indicated that they “Do not know what it takes to improve language performance.”

However, the rest of the students and teachers said that internet has an influence in English
performance. It has both positive and negative impacts.

4.2.1. Positive Impacts of the Access to Internet on English Performance

The findings on positive impacts were put in themes; speaking skill, listening skill, reading skill,
writing skill, literary analysis skill and effective communication skill.

Speaking Skill

An access to and the use of internet boost the speaking skills in students. Internet provides a
platform in which students can speak languages of their choice depending on the topic at hand.
One of the students said that in using the internet, “I mostly speak in English with a minimum
Chichewa.” Another student said that “The first thing that comes to my mind when I press the
record button on the internet is an English word.” Furthermore, another student said that “On
the internet, I met new friends from around the world when I log into my favourite platforms, we
call each other and the only language we use in chatting is English since they can’t understand
Chichewa and I can’t understand their local language.” All this shows that students speak a lot
of English when they are on the internet.

It was also found out that teachers also recommend access to internet in as far as boosting
speaking skill is concerned. One of the teachers cited that “We teach the students to be able to
speak properly to many people in various topics. One of the best ways of making them perfect
this skill is by making them speak a lot on their own will. Internet is the best platform for that
and they do speak.” Another teacher said that “Many students fail to speak English in face to

21
face conversation because they feel ashamed. Internet mostly provide an indirect way whereby
they cannot see directly, in the immediate environment, the one they are talking to. This makes
the students feel ok to speak comfortably. It would be easy to transfer this speaking to a real
environment.”

All in all, the frequent speaking that the students get immersed into when using the internet
makes them perfect their speaking skills.

Listening Skill

Internet encompasses the use of videos and audios to convey messages. These messages are
perceived by the receiver through the use of auditory organs, the ear. As one of the students put
it, internet provide a great platform for the learning of how some people say a word so that one
can learn saying that word in the same way; “I always log into Youtube and search English
native speakers’ conversations and it end up in me imitating their speaking styles.” Another
student adds on that “I mostly watch English lessons or tutorials in English language on the
internet.” In either way, the students did listen to the language on the internet for them to grasp
the content thereby improving their listening skills.

Apart from that, students also respond to most of the audio messages by recording an audio as
well. They also get involved in video conversations which mostly involve the use of English
language when speaking. One of the students said that “My friends do send me audio messages.
Most of these are the friends from outside the country. In several cases, I have been video calling
these friends of mine using Google Duo App. When talking to them, the language is English.”
According to the teachers, all these oral conversations on the internet positively influence
students’ listening skills if they are being done in English.

Reading Skill

It was found out that an access to internet directly make the students improve in their reading
skill. Most of the content on the internet is in written form. So for the students to capture what is
written on the internet they have to read. One of the students said that “My friends write me
messages that I have to read and respond.” Another student emphasised that “Most of the things

22
on the internet are in written form. So for someone to grasp what is there, that one has to read.”
Since the teachers agree to the fact that reading a lot enhances reading skills, it is definitely the
fact that as the students are reading a lot, they intend to boost their reading part.

Writing Skill

On writing skill, students asserted that most of the messages and communications on the internet
are done through writing. One of the students commented on this by saying that “I mostly write
in English and as such I feel that I improve my writing on the internet.” Teachers also noted that
students do improve their writing skills as they expose themselves on the internet because
“Internet gives a platform for the perfection of many skills of language including English. As
they write, they perfect the skill.”

Apart from that, as they use internet, the students at time may be exposed at various messages to
respond to at the same time. After observing this, one of the students said that in the scenarios
like this, internet has made them be “a very faster writer which even helps me [the students] to
finish writing examinations in time.” From this point of view, it was found out that internet dose
not only help improve writing skill in students but also help increase the speed at which the
students write.

Literary and Analytical Skills

The researcher found out that the internet exposes the students to materials that help their literary
analysis. Internet provides materials like short stories, plays, novels, poems and many more that
make the students to read and master some literary concepts. Many students tend to analyse these
literary pieces. One of the students said that “What makes me like internet more is the interesting
stories that I read on the internet. When I am reading these stories, I pay attention to the
structure of the plot so that I don’t miss the climax.” Elements of literature an also best be
appreciated on the internet; “after a lesson of ‘similes’ and ‘metaphors,’ I logged on the internet
and searched for poems with similes and metaphors. After being exposed to these poems, I no
longer have problems with these concepts” said one of the students.

Effective Communication

23
It was finally found out that all the perfections in the skills mentioned above directly lead to the
adoption of effective communication in the students. Moreover, one of the teachers noted that
“internet provides a free range communication which does not focus much on errors as it may
be the case with the formal classroom setting. This makes the students communicate more
effectively and comfortably.” That is, according to the ideas of the teacher, internet makes the
students perfect their communication skills since they become free to contribute to the topic they
are being exposed to.

3.1.1. Negative Impacts of the Access to Internet on English Performance

Apart from appreciating the positive sides that internet bring to the English performance of the
students, teachers did not overlook the negative sides of the access to internet. It was found that
access to technology in students have some devastating effects.

Despite of it being one of the best platforms that help the students improve their writing skills,
the question was on the quality of the writing that the students perfect. It was found out that the
kind of the writing skill that was being perfected by the internet was of low quality. One of the
teachers said that “most of the times, when using the internet, students write unacceptable short
forms of words. They tend to perfect in that.” It is evident that perfecting unconventional forms
of writing has devastating effects in ones writing in particular and academic life in general.

On the effects concerning academic life, one teacher added that these unconventional short forms
are at the peak when it comes to writing ‘note making’; “apart from words like ‘becoz’ instead
of ‘because’ being seen in their compositions, it goes beyond when they write unacceptable short
forms in their notes on note making. They use words like ‘lyk’ for ‘like’ which are not
acceptable.” Note making gives students a chance to use short forms for them to get more mark.
The problem comes in when they write unacceptable short forms of words making them produce
poorly written notes.

Apart from that, speaking skill is also negatively affected. Teachers noted some informal
languages in the speeches of the students who were mostly exposed to the internet. “There is an

24
increase employment of informal words in these students” one teacher said. Another teacher said
that “I observed that some of these students are becoming exposed to American English which is
not acceptable in our country’s education system. When taking to them, you can hear them using
words like ‘ain’t,’ ‘gonna’ and ‘wanna’ just to mention a few.” It was later observed that the
employment of these informal languages can make them not to be able to differentiate settings
that can require formal English and what settings may require informal English.

3.2. Ways on how students can use internet to positively influence their English
performance

Teachers suggested several ways that could make internet access by the students be positively
influencing their English performance. This was a measure that could make the negative effects
of an access to the internet make students to face be reduced to the minimum.

One of the ways that would make the students be using the internet in a way that would benefit
their English performance was orientation. Orientation, here, involved guiding the learners
through the proper usage of the internet. One of the teachers said that for the perfectness of the
use of internet, “students need to be coached on how they should use the internet.” The teachers
agreed that orientation would mean directing the students to be using the internet in an
academically sound way. The students needed to be reminded or get exposed to the negative
effects that interned could bring to their language performance beforehand so that they take a
caution in using the internet.

Teachers also advocated for the inclusion of parents in ensuring that the internet usage in
students is positively influencing the students’ English performance. As it has been stated by the
students; they “use internet when they have gone home from school” since the school does not
allow the students to be using mobile or computer devices within their premises. After noting
this, one of the teachers argued that “parents should be encouraged to monitor the students’ use
of internet.” In the view of this, when students are home, parents should control how the students
are using their internet devices to avoid the students into landing in affecting their English
performance negatively.

25
In aiming at making the students to use internet for the benefit of their performance of English, it
was found that there should be an inclusion of online learning sessions. In this way, students will
be forced to be using internet for academic purposes than using it in ways that could harm their
English performance. One of the teachers emphasised that “introducing online learning sessions
like online lessons, online group discussions and many more, students could be made busy using
internet for academic reasons thereby not be having enough to explore things that may harm
their language development.” This centres on the fact that sometimes students destroy their
language on the internet because they have nothing to do on the internet, making them busy with
academic issues on the same platform can solve the problem.

Lastly, others teacher suggested that securing some sites on the internet could make students be
exposed to issues that could not destroy their language performance. One of the teachers said that
“some of the students use public sites or computers. The sites should be closely monitored and
any sign of destruction of their language performance, those site should be made stay away from
the students by maybe putting a password unknown to the students.” It is possible also to put
minimum age limit for the access of some internet sites. Securing these sites could limit the
students the number of the sites they are to be circulating on and these sites could only be those
that do not destroy their English performance.

3.3. Chapter summary

The findings have indicated that students use internet which is prohibited in most of Malawian
schools. However, the findings have shown that internet contributes positively and negatively to
the academic performance more especially in English as a subject. Finally, ways of making
internet be more productive to the students were observed.

26
 CHAPTER 5

DISCUSSIONS

4.0. Introduction

This chapter presents the discussions of the findings. These discussions were presented based on
the core ideas in the objectives; how students use internet, the perceived effects of access to
internet on English performance and possible ways on how students can use internet to
positively influence their English performance.

4.1. How students use internet

With the advancement of technology, many people are being exposed to using the platforms of
internet for various reasons. Among the users, the youths are the ones that are becoming the most
active users of internet. Statistically, the International Communications Union (2023) confirms
that, universally, by the year 2022, 95% of internet users were aged between 12 and 24. This is
seemingly within the age range of Malawian secondary school students since index mundi (n.d)
quotes the UNESCO Institute for statistics that lower secondary school starting age in Malawi
was 12 years as of 2021. As such, it was definitely reasonable to record a 100% of the student
respondents agreeing that they have an access to internet.

Indeed, among the youths, internet is the most used mode of communication when it is compared
to the other means of communication. Many researchers also support this claim which tally with
the findings of this study. For instance, eztalks (2022) observes the fastness and cost
effectiveness of internet as a means of communication. Eztalks (2022) plainly puts it that through
internet communication, time and money are saved. This is because it is cheaper and quicker to

27
transfer information around. People are now able to communicate with anyone locally or
internationally through emails and social media just to mention a few. It is globally confirmed
that it is so cheap to send an email to another country than making a phone call. Despite that,
internet has now brought in place applications like Whatsapp and Google Duo that enable users
make local or international calls at relatively very cheaper prices as compared to ordinary phone
call costs. Being the case, as everyone goes for cheaper services for communication, the youths
including secondary school students do not want to be left behind, they too choose internet.

Having concluded that many secondary school students use internet for several reasons including
communication purposes, it is very clear that internet usage consumes a specific time of these
students. This is because digital communication basically involves almost one’s attention. For
instance a successful communication that is taking place through typing-reading method can
demand a specific time frame. It is thus very difficult to account for the time that everyone
spends on internet since the time can be determined by the aim that person has on the platforms
being used (Duarte, 2023). Nevertheless, according to available recent data, the average teen
spends 7 hours 22 minutes on internet each day of which 21% of the youths internet users are
termed as heavy users with over 14 hours of internet usage a day (Duarte, 2023).

Based on the findings, none of the respondents has reportedly agreed to be among the group of
heavy internet users. Most of the respondents were found to be in a group that did use internet
for hours below 7 a day. The bottom line could still be that Malawian students are among
frequent internet users considering the fact that, as observed, a day hardly passed without them
using the internet. This is also an indication that Malawian youths are advancing together with
the global trends and advancements observed in the way they have started side-lining the archaic
means of communication opting for the more recent ones.

From the way the world is advancing rapidly, it cannot be fruitful to limit the youths from using
the internet. From the findings, most Malawian schools prohibit the students from being found in
possession of mobile phones of computers within the school premises. As it has been found out,
the students have reported to be using the internet for some hours a day. This is despite the stated
fact that their respective schools prohibit the use of technology, mostly cell phones, within the
school premises as it is with the majority of Malawian schools. This significantly implies that no
matter the walls are to be built around the students avoiding them from using the internet, less

28
the reality of them being the highest users of internet could be altered (eztalks, 2022). The best
way is to identify the pros of internet usage that could embrace the demands of modern education
while on the other hand minimising the negative effects internet usage could bring to the
students. The following sections are discussing this matter in detail in relationship to the
findings of this study.

4.2. Effects of access to internet on English performance

The performance in English is basically measured in terms of the achievement of English

language skills if it is to be measured as a whole. That is, when a talk about performance in
English is initiated, the essence is to talk about degree of perfection of the English language
skills. This echoes the ideas stipulated in the Malawian Secondary School Curriculum for
English that English is a skills subject and not a content subject (MoEST, 2013).

Students’ involvement in using the internet means that they utilise some of their body parts.
These body parts include the hands for writing, mouth for speaking, ears for hearing, eyes for
seeing and most importantly the brain for the regulations of all that it takes to use the internet
usefully. These body parts are also the parts that are vibrant in determining the English language
skills in students. For instance, hands are for writing skill, mouth is for speaking skill and
reading skill, ears are for listening skill, eyes are for reading skill and the brain regulates all these
skills and helps in critical thinking. Therefore, students’ involvement in using the internet has
definitely an impact on these skills as it has been observed in the findings.

Once the student is on the internet, they are mostly likely to be involved in various
conversations. Social platforms, for example, have an element of making voice calls, video calls
or even sending voice notes. As the students engage themselves in such kind of conversations,
they are forced to speak and listen to what others are speaking so as they provide appropriate
feedback. Interestingly, the very first way that Erin came up with in “how to improve…spoken
English” was “speak, speak, speak” (Erin, 2023, para. 2). In other words, the English language
learner has to practice speaking the language a lot. According to this, internet has platforms that
stimulate the students to speak. In this way, internet enhances speaking skills in students. An
important issue now comes in when they are using English language in facilitating their
conversations. The findings have indicated that the students use a lot of English when internet
requires them to speak. Therefore, it is indeed the case that internet influences students’ speaking

29
skills to the maximum. Consequently, for speech, language users use the combination of
speaking skill as productive skill for listening and understanding skill which is a receptive skill
(Pinem & Yogyakarta, n.d). In this way, although speaking skill is employed in expressing ideas
and listening skill is involved in the comprehension of facts, speaking and listening skills must
be considered as activities that form the communication process, complete each other and cannot
be separated. This means that internet improves speaking skills while it has already improved
listening skills. This definitely conforms to what the teachers expressed that internet improves
speaking and listening skills.

The same way internet improves listening and speaking can also observed in the internet
improves other skills; reading, writing and literary analysis. The British Council (2020) writes
that the most powerful way to improve English language skills is to use them. Using them here
means that the language learner needs to expose oneself to the language. This exposure is in
form of being in an environment that will stimulate the use of the language skills. As it has been
found out, internet, for example, makes the students respond to the texts they have read through
writing. This is an indication that the internet stimulates the usage of these skills in the students.
In such a way, it is directly influencing the practice of these skills.

The direct benefit of the improvement of these language skills is that the students will be
developing meaningful conversations. As observed earlier, when all the skills are mastered
properly, the performance of students in English will be brilliant. This performance will be vast
starting from speaking to writing. As such, since internet ensures the practice of these skills, it
can be proper to say that it leads to the manifestation of effective communication in the students.

Nevertheless, it has also observed that internet can bleach the proper perfection of most of the
language skills. This could be evidenced in the productive skills; speaking and writing. This is
the case since internet could provide wrong input to the receptive skills; listening and reading.

Internet has created the need for a short-term dialect which is interchangeably called Textese,
Digi-talk, Text-speak, Tech-speak and Internet slang (Akbarov & Tankosić, 2016). In both,
private and public online interactions, Text speak is the main mode of public and private
communication of the net-generation. Text-speak reads like a short emission of trimmed content
with incomplete sentences, mis-spelled words and emojis (symbols that mostly convey a
feeling). Text speak is rooted in Standard language, but it emulates the colloquial spoken

30
language (French, 2018). Acronyms and simplistic spellings are used in Text-speak to facilitate
efficient typing on mobile devices. Essentially, to partake in brief interactions and show their
online presence, the net generation has modified Standard English words using abbreviations,
“brb” for “be right back”; omitted non-essential alphabets, “wud” for “would”; substituted
homo-phones, “gr8” for “great”; and de-emphasized appropriate punctuation and capitalization
causing structural adaptations to the English language. Moreover, Text-speak could also be
considered a manifestation of rebellion against language rules (Akbarov & Tankosić, 2016). The
word adaptations seen in Text-speak spill into daily English language use. Not surprisingly,
routinely using textual adaptations may give off an impression of normalcy and acceptance,
which makes it difficult to learn Standard English (Cingel & Sundar, 2012). Text-speak tramples
upon Standard English rules and presents a challenge to academicians. This is why teachers are
concerned that abbreviated content rampant with misspelled words and grammatically incorrect
sentences are creeping into student’s assignments, which blurs the distinction between formal
and informal writing. Results from a study also showed that there is an inverse relationship
between texting and professionally written communication and reading accuracy in a sample of
college students (Drouin, 2011). In this day and age, grammar and language are both collapsing;
internet users are increasingly turning away from reading and writing in Standard English.
Basically, conventional writing and speaking, that once required the proper use of Standard
grammatical rules, has apparently fallen into an abyss.

4.3. Ways on how students can use internet to positively influence their English
performance
Despite having negative aspects that affect language skills negatively in students, it has to be
made sure that the negative side is dissolved and that the positive impacts are boosted so that all
in all internet should benefit the students to the maximum.

As it has been noted, most schools in Malawi are of the view that students should not access the
modern day technologies while at school and the end result is that students use these
technologies including internet when they are at home. As such, the role of controlling the
students in how they use internet rests much in the hands of parents since they are the ones that
stay with them when they are at home. On the other hand, the students spend more time with
teachers at school than they are with their parents. Being the case, mere guidance from teachers
can still carry weight. In this way, the findings are sound in the way that teachers and parents
31
need to move together in ensuring that students are using internet in a way that will benefit their
English performance.

In either way, internet has a place in schools and can be introduced in a way that promotes
reading, writing, speaking and listening. However, restricted access to online information might
compel students to spend time practicing the language while avoiding other online distractions
that destructs the future of language performance (Murthy, 2013). This intervention allows
students to easily search for information they need online and click to learn more about the
concepts they do not understand including concepts related to their studies. In this sense, the
internet will allow students to effectively customise the contents of their learning as well as the
difficult level. If not monitored, students tend to use internet unknowingly being prone to
misinformation (NapoleonCat, 2021).

Orientation is truly another approach that could make the students use the internet to maximum
importance. There should be an involvement of computer programs that teach the right thing to
do on the internet. These programs have shown promise to many students (Nana, 2012). These
programs should be context specific, rely on appropriate software and should often involve both
teachers and administrators and parents. This will help the students learn how to use the internet
in the way that will benefit them.

Finally, it has to be noted that secondary school is a necessary step towards post-secondary
education and a carrier in policy. Being the case, the way of providing study material to
secondary schools students should likely be different from the way it was done in primary
schools (Murthy, 2013). This is in the consideration of the subject matter and that the students
are to the advancement of the modern world. English practicing platforms in fact could be much
useful to secondary school students with a base level of literacy for an advanced subject such as
English. The internet can be useful as a substitute for English books and is accessible, cost
effective and is up to date alternative for school operating in low resource settings. What all it
takes is that the sites that are not beneficial to the students should be secured and not put in
access to the students. This could likely mean that the students will be automatically controlled
in terms of what to access on the internet. This will definitely be useful when no one is available
to control the use of internet in the students.

4.4. Chapter summary

32
It has been established that students do use internet. However, the way it is
handled brings about some weaknesses that make its strengths be overlooked. The solutions to
these weaknesses have to be taken seriously so that the internet benefits more the students than it
harms them.

CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0. Introduction

This chapter presents the conclusion and recommendations of this study

5.1. Conclusion

Internet has connected the world irrespective of time and space. The same has influenced how
students write, read, speak, listen, think and more importantly, communicate with others. The
popularity of quick social interactions on social media has transformed the communication
strategies and gave birth to mostly non-standard dialects, which is the main mode of
communication of the net-generation. Students could not be blamed for writing in short-hand as
they have adapted their writing style to comply with the word count restrictions. The same
applies to the rest of the English language skills. The concern with the use and perfection of
these skills surfaces when the skills infiltrates academic world and affects students’ performance
in English language which may go positively and at the same time negatively.

5.2. Recommendations

Internet could have a great impact on students’ academic performance in English subject since it
provides an immediate platform for practicing the English language skills. As such, with further
technological advancements, students need to be monitored and controlled on their internet usage
so that they use it to the benefit of academic performance.

33
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37
 APPENDICES

Questionnaire

Dear Respondent,

Research Questionnaire

I am PRISCA BWANALI a student at Mzuzu University conducting a research entitled “An

Investigation of Teachers’ Perspectives on How Access to Internet Affect Students’
Performance in English: A Case of Selected Lilongwe CDSSs”. This research forms part of
the requirement for my bachelors’ qualification. I would appreciate if you would kindly take a
little of your time to complete a questionnaire that I will provide. Any information provided from
you is purely for academic purposes and all responses will be treated with utmost confidentiality.
Your response will be of utmost importance to this study and the information you provide will
help improve the conduct of Malawian Schools. Your cooperation is most valued and
appreciated.

I take this opportunity to thank you in advance for your quick return of your completed
questionnaire.

Are you willing to answer the questions?

38
 YES NO

Instructions:

a. Do not write your name or Identification number or anything that may identify you.
b. Tick (√) in a box against one or more options that apply

Table 1. The table below shows the age range, tick against appropriate box that represent your
age range.
Tick
Age range
here(√)
10 -14 Years
15 – 18 Years
19 + Years

1. Which one is your most preferred mode of communication among the following?
internet letters phone calls text messages

2. Why do you use that mode of communication chosen above?

39
 ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. How long on average do you spend on internet per day?
1-3 Hours 4-6 Hours 7 + Hours Varies
4. Do you think internet can improve your English?
Yes No
5. How?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for your cooperation

Interview guide

Dear Respondent,

Research Questionnaire

I am PRISCA BWANALI a student at Mzuzu University conducting a research entitled “An

Investigation of Teachers’ Perspectives on How Access to Internet Affect Students’
Performance in English: A Case of Selected Lilongwe CDSSs”. This research forms part of
the requirement for my bachelors’ qualification. I would appreciate if you would kindly take a
little of your time to complete a questionnaire that I will provide. Any information provided from
you is purely for academic purposes and all responses will be treated with utmost confidentiality.
Your response will be of utmost importance to this study and the information you provide will
help improve the conduct of Malawian Schools. Your cooperation is most valued and
appreciated.

I take this opportunity to thank you in advance for your quick return of your completed
questionnaire.

Are you willing to answer the questions?

YES NO

40
Instructions:

a. Do not write your name or Identification number or anything that may identify you.
b. Tick (√) in a box against one or more options that apply

The table below shows personal information of the range of years on how long the
respondents have been teaching language. Tick against appropriate box that represent your
working experience range.

I have been teaching language for:

41
0-5 Years

6-10
Years

10+
Years

1. Are students at your school allowed to use;

mobile phones school computers personal computers

2. Does your school incorporate use of internet as a teaching resource?

Yes No
3. What are the affects that you have noted that could be attributed to the students’ use of
internet?
i. Positive
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
ii. Negative
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4. What do you think can be done to ensure that internet is helping in developing students’
English skills?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

42
Thank you for your cooperation!

43