Impacts of the use of WhatsApp for the development of oral production in English as L2

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the possible impact of the use of the WhatsApp application on the development of the oral production of learners in English Language (L2), in terms of fluency. To this end, forty-six volunteer students from the Informatics, Agroindustry and Agriculture courses of the Agricultural School of Jundiaí/UFRN participated in the research. The data were generated through the application of pre and post-tests, which were tabulated and subsequently submitted to tests of the statistical program RStudio, to analyze the development of the learners' oral production in relation to fluency. The results indicate that the use of WhatsApp as a tool to practice oral skills can have a positive impact on students' oral production, considering their fluency. We believe that this study is relevant, since the use of the WhatsApp tool is widely disseminated in the school community and guarantees democratic access to digital technologies, contributing to a more egalitarian society.