The Mediating Effect of English Usage on Facebook on the Relationship between Shyness and English as a Foreign Language Achievement in University Students

This study is concerned with the mediating effect that English usage on Facebook may have on the relationship between shyness and English as a foreign language (EFL) achievement in university students. Using a three-dimensional construct, this study aims to disclose relationships between shyness and EFL achievement in the dynamics of using English on Facebook. An underlying objective is to take a step leading to the theoretical foundation of EFL achievement. In essence, this study attempts to clarify the nature of the relationship between shyness and EFL achievement through the intervention of English usage on Facebook. Four hypotheses are proposed: Hypothesis 1: Shyness will be negatively related to university students’ EFL achievement. Hypothesis 2: Shyness will have a positive relationship with English usage on Facebook. Hypothesis 3: English usage on Facebook will be positively related to university students’ EFL achievement. Hypothesis 4: English usage on Facebook will mediate the relationship between shyness and university students’ EFL achievement. To test the above-mentioned hypotheses as well as to achieve the objectives of this research, this study will employ a non-experimental design that involves the collection of quantitative data. This cross-sectional study will use the survey method to collect information from university students enrolled in general English courses. Three instruments will be used to measure the key variables. They include the English Usage on Facebook Inventory for Language Learning (EUFILL), which is a self-developed questionnaire measuring the degree of students’ English usage on Facebook, and the Revised Cheek-Buss Shyness scale (RCBS) by Cheek (1983). Students EFL achievement will be determined by the upper-intermediate level of the General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) scores. There has been a paucity of available knowledge regarding how Taiwan’s university students’ English usage on Facebook may mediate the relationship between shyness and EFL achievement. In consideration of this paucity of research, this study is expected to increase the fund of information relative to the EFL learning of this segment of population. It is also hoped that the findings of this study can have important implications for researchers, educational psychologists, students themselves, and educational policy makers to make pedagogical decisions over time.

Project ID:PE10408-0659
External Project ID:MOST104-2410-H182-012