Ríos-Hernández, José

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The rise of messaging Apps and their influence on language learning
(2020-05-27) Ríos-Hernández, José; Rivera, Rosita L.; College of Arts and Sciences - Art; Soto-Santiago, Sandra L.; Acosta-Lugo, Maribel; Department of English; Resto-Irizarry, Pedro J.
Mobile text messaging and its effect on language use has been a well-studied field in past years. However, not until recently have mobile messaging apps and their influence on language learning been researched. Nowadays, these apps extend language way beyond SMS from the early trend. They include voice clips, images with captions and emoticons amongst other media sharing. Moreover, these apps are popular among college students as they find many academic benefits in them. Hence, in this study a class WhatsApp chat was created as part of a Basic English course at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. Its purpose was analyzing benefits in the area of second language learning though investment, and motivation, as well as benefits in other academic areas. This thesis is aimed at helping other educators explore the possibility of integrating messaging apps like WhatsApp as part of the curriculum. The results provide evidence that language learning can be a social and cultural process that can be positively engaged through messaging apps.