NETIZENS' STRATEGIES IN LEARNING VOCABULARIES FROM THE CONTEXT OF PREFERRED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

Full text

International Journal of Arts, Sciences and Education ISSN: 2799 - 1091
Volume 3 Issue 1 | March 2022 Page No. 1-10
[215]
https://ijase.org
NETIZENS' STRATEGIES IN LEARNING VOCABULARIES FROM THE
CONTEXT OF PREFERRED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS
ANNALYN JAWILI-DECENA, Ph. D.
Marinduque State College, Philippines
SUSAN RAMILO-BUTAC, Ph.D.
San Beda University, Manila Philippines
ABSTRACT
People of different ages may acquire new words from various online sources each day in this
digital age. Since Facebook seems to be the most widely-used social media platform, the
researchers investigated netizens' preferred social media posts and their strategies in learning new
vocabulary. This Quantitative Descriptive Survey research was participated in by two hundred
thirty (230) netizens composed of one-hundred twenty-eight (128) students, sixty-tw0 (62) public
school teachers, nine (9) government employees (outside teaching), nine (9) private school
teachers, nine (9) unemployed individuals, five (5) employed in a private sector, five (5) self-
employed, two (2) housewives(homemakers), and one (1) OFW. The study used a closed-ended
researcher-made survey questionnaire that contained questions about their most preferred social
media posts and their strategies to learn new words. It used frequency and percentage in dealing
with numeric data; this study found that netizens prefer to read posts of professionals, like teachers
and celebrities. They prefer to read status/posts in English and learn new English words. The
strategies they apply involve copying (writing) the status on their notes, emphasizing the new
word/s learned. The respondents also memorize the new words learned (Bottom-Up), share status
using the new vocabulary in their context/s (Top-Down), join in the conversation on Facebook or
face-to-face with friends and colleagues using the new words learned (Interactive). The study
concluded that even professionals and adults are interested in learning new words each day. The
researchers encourage teachers to use online platforms like Facebook to introduce new
vocabulary/words. Posting educational messages would help promote new vocabulary learning.
As much as possible, their status should be in the target language.
Keywords: bottom-up, interactive, social media platform, top-down, vocabulary learning
Introduction
Communication is one of the soft skills to be developed among learners. Also,
communication skills are innate to a person. Aside from emotional and interpersonal skills,
communication skills are inherent and not teachable (Contessa, 2022). However, it requires other
skills, including vocabulary knowledge, to make it effective. Vocabulary is an integral aspect of
literacy teaching and refers to the knowledge of words, including their structure, use, meanings,
and links to other words (Victoria, 2021). Proficient speakers are confident of their structure and
have a rich vocabulary readily available when they speak. Several lessons in the curriculum across
levels focus on grammar and structure but little on vocabulary learning. Some students were unable

International Journal of Arts, Sciences and Education ISSN: 2799 - 1091
Volume 3 Issue 1 | March 2022 Page No. 1-10
[216]
https://ijase.org
to develop their strategies in learning vocabulary, which is why they find it difficult to express
themselves and their ideas in situations that require them to. Considering these scenarios, it is not
about their lack of confidence but because they lack the vocabulary to support their ideas,
especially when required to speak English. The words needed in communication are a piece of
basic knowledge. The more relevant words the language learners know, the better for them.
Vocabulary, as well as grammar and pronunciation for all language learners, is one of the elements
of language considered necessary for language mastery.
Ghalebi et al. (2020) posit that vocabulary learning strategies can be considered part of
general learning strategies in second language acquisition. Vocabulary learning strategies are part
of language learning strategies, which are part of general learning strategies. In the context of this
statement, vocabulary is a language itself. The definition of vocabulary learning strategies comes
from language learning strategies. Vocabulary learning strategies are actions students choose to
help them understand and remember vocabulary items obtained through language learning
experiences (Susanto, Halim, & Nuwrun, 2019). This idea correlates with Oxford and Crookall
(n.d) claim that vocabulary is not explicitly taught in most language classes, and students are
expected to "pick up" vocabulary on their own without any guidance. Courses on reading, writing,
speaking, listening, grammar, and culture are standard in L2 programs, but few vocabulary courses
exist. Many instances of so-called vocabulary instruction involve merely giving students lists of
words to memorize or providing limited practice opportunities, with no further assistance to the
often- overwhelmed learner. Learners' independent learning of new vocabularies is associated with
the idea that people start learning new vocabulary words from subscriptions to "word of the day"
feeds from different web platforms Bangayan- Manera (2020).. These digital platforms could be
social networking sites, websites, apps, email, and the like.
This study did not limit its investigation on the vocabulary learning strategies applied by
students but those engaged in learning new words from social media posts, particularly from
Facebook. Likewise, it did not limit the learning of new words in English but also in Tagalog,
Filipino, and other languages preferred by the respondents. The authors claim that there is no
particular stage when vocabulary learning should stop; vocabulary learning should continue as
long as new words come out.
Methodology
This study is quantitative in nature. Particularly, the Descriptive Survey design tried to find
out the strategies applied by netizens in learning new vocabulary through preferred social media
posts. The said research design specifically dwelled on the profile of the participants as to status,
age, and sex; on their preferred social media posts; on the language, they prefer to learn new
vocabulary and their strategies in learning new vocabulary. The words/vocabularies learned by the
respondents from their preferred social media posts were not studied and specified in this research.
In gathering pertinent data, the researchers used an online survey questionnaire. The survey
questionnaire underwent Content and Expert Validity before floating it to the target participants.
The researchers sent it to the netizens through a google form, but before they answered, the
researchers explained and assured them of the confidentiality of the process. They were not,
however, forced to answer the questionnaire. The said questionnaire was composed of three (3)
parts. The first part deals with the profile of the participants; the second part is about the preferred

International Journal of Arts, Sciences and Education ISSN: 2799 - 1091
Volume 3 Issue 1 | March 2022 Page No. 1-10
[217]
https://ijase.org
social media status/post. At the same time, the third includes the strategies applied by three
netizens in learning new words in English and words in the locality that are not yet familiar to
them. The researchers employed the frequency and percentage to get this study's numeric data in
statistical tools. For conclusive results, two hundred thirty (230) netizens in different statuses
participated in this research, but most were students. Since this study employed Convenience
Sampling, the gathered findings are only limited to the sample of the target population.
Results and Discussion
The following are the yielded results of the study.
1. Profile of the respondents
1.1 Sex of the respondents
Figure 1.1 Sex of the respondents: It could be noted from the figure that more females
at 150 (67%) participated in this study than males at 79 (33%). However, one (1) did not disclose
his/her sex.
Social media comes in many interrelated forms such as blogs, forums, podcasts, photo
sharing, social bookmarking, widgets, video, to name a few. Although social media is often
associated with young people Bangayan-Manera, Vecaldo & Saquing (2020), it has attracted both
men and women from different ages, educational levels, cultures, amongst others, from all over
the world. Gender norms may influence the preference for a particular use of social media Bujala
(2012) suggests that men are likely to have more time for social networks because of gender
expectations and roles. In other words, the societal expectations and norms tend to favor men over
Sex of the Respondents
Male Female Prefer not to say

International Journal of Arts, Sciences and Education ISSN: 2799 - 1091
Volume 3 Issue 1 | March 2022 Page No. 1-10
[218]
https://ijase.org
women who are expected to take care of the private sphere while men take care of the public
sphere, which the social network incorporates. Bangayan-Manera (2019) aver those societal
expectations favor men. However, they argued that more women are using social media than men.
Further, Antonio (2021) suggest that women outnumbered men for most social networking sites
except for LinkedIn. A 2009 Pew Internet Research report showed that women outnumbered men
on social media platforms (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010 in Idemudia et al., 2017).
1.2 Age of the respondents
Figure 2. Age of the respondents
Figure 2 suggests that the two-hundred thirty (230) netizens who participated in this research
came from different age groups, but the majority (44%) belong to the 20 and below age range.
These findings state that most of them were approximately 18-21 years old, followed by 21-30
years old. It could also be noted from the data that the least number of participants are in their early
50's to old age.
1.3 Status of the respondents
Age of the respondents
51-60 41-50 31-40 21-30 20 and below

International Journal of Arts, Sciences and Education ISSN: 2799 - 1091
Volume 3 Issue 1 | March 2022 Page No. 1-10
[219]
https://ijase.org
Figure 3. Status of respondents
It could be noted from Figure 3 that most of those who participated in this study were students
(55.7%), followed by public school teachers (26.9%). There were other government employees
(3.9%), private school teachers (3.9%), private employees (2%) and some unemployed netizens
(3.9%), self-employed (2%), housewives (2%), and an OFW (0.43%) who responded to the online
survey questionnaire sent by the researchers. This finding further suggests that both students and
teachers are eager to learn new vocabulary. Vocabulary learning is an essential component of their
day-to-day routine as teachers to be able to have something new to introduce to their learners. On
the other hand, students are also encouraged to learn new words to be added to their word bank to
be more competent and proficient, especially in English. If students develop their vocabulary as
autonomous learners, they must learn strategies. Interest in such learning strategies has continued
to grow for decades, ever since communicative language teaching (CLT) began gaining popularity
in the 1970s and 1980s. Historically, learners were assumed to pick up vocabulary incidentally
due to input exposure rather than necessarily, through explicit instruction Ventura-Cauilan (2022).
Although some teachers may think that vocabulary learning is easy, learning new vocabulary items
has always been challenging. Students who do not have sufficient vocabularies or word-learning
strategies continue to struggle throughout their educational careers, which leads to a cycle of
frustration and continued failure Clemente ( 2019). Furthermore, the vocabulary level of an
individual is viewed as a means of unlocking or closing access to information and often illustrates
whether a person is considered educated Eijansantos, Alieto, Emmanuel., Pasoc, & Bangayan-
Manera (2021).
2. Preferred Facebook posts where netizens learn new vocabulary
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Status of Resspondents

International Journal of Arts, Sciences and Education ISSN: 2799 - 1091
Volume 3 Issue 1 | March 2022 Page No. 1-10
[220]
https://ijase.org
Figure 4. Preferred Facebook posts
The figure displays the preferred Facebook posts of the 230 netizens who participated in
this study. The data suggest that, although they read posts about politics, entertainment, religion,
and jokes, still the majority of them prefer posts about educational issues or topics and current
events.
3. Preferred Language used by netizens in learning new vocabulary
Figure 5. Preferred language by the respondents
PREFERRED FACEBOOK POSTS
44%
39%
5%
11% 1%
Preferred Language
English
Filipino
Local Language/s
Mixed codes
Foreign languages aside from
English

International Journal of Arts, Sciences and Education ISSN: 2799 - 1091
Volume 3 Issue 1 | March 2022 Page No. 1-10
[221]
https://ijase.org
Figure 5 shows data on the preferred language by the netizens where they could learn new
vocabulary from Facebook posts. As shown, most of the respondents (44%) prefer to read and
learn new vocabulary in the English language, and a significant number (39%) prefer to read and
learn new words in Filipino. Some want to read and learn in mixed codes, local languages, and
foreign languages. Since most of the participants are students and teachers, they need to learn new
vocabulary as part of their roles continuously. Teachers need to have something new each day to
be shared with their learners, while students should learn new words to have enough vocabulary
in their word bank, which they could readily retrieve when situations require them.
4. Influencers in learning new vocabulary
When asked about whose posts they acquire more vocabulary, their responses were ranked
as follows: 1. Teachers; 2. Celebrities (vloggers and media influencers); 3. Friends and colleagues;
4. Family member/s; 5. Religious workers; and 6. Politicians
The finding of the study correlates with the claim of Chan et al. (2019) that teachers are
the key social agents or influencers for learners’ commitment towards Language education and
even in learning other things or subjects.
5. Strategies (self-initiated) applied by netizens in learning vocabulary from Facebook
posts
Based on the analysis of participants' responses on the strategies they applied, the
researchers categorized them as Bottom-Up, Top-Down, and Interactive. As to Bottom-Up, the
respondents extract and write new words from the posts, capture screen, write the whole text, and
then underline or highlight the new words learned. Then, they often look for the meaning in the
dictionary if they do not have a chance to ask the owner of what the word/s mean/s. When it comes
to the Top-Down strategies, they start to share or post status using the new vocabulary in their
contexts. Concerning Interactive strategies, the respondents said they could already exchange ideas
online or through the comment or chat sections/boxes or face-to-face interaction with friends and
peers using the new words learned. The respondents agreed that there is always a new word for
them to add to their word bank through reading Facebook posts, and they find it very helpful,
especially those in the English language.
Conclusion
With all the results and findings presented, the study found out that netizens not only use
Facebook posts for pleasure or information. Similarly, they learn new words from others' posts.
Thus, the respondents employ vocabulary learning through their chosen social media posts. The
researchers concluded that learning vocabulary is not limited to a specific age group or status with
the respondents from different age groups and statuses. Anyone willing to learn new words can
apply the best possible strategy or strategies they think could help them succeed in this activity.
Recommendations

International Journal of Arts, Sciences and Education ISSN: 2799 - 1091
Volume 3 Issue 1 | March 2022 Page No. 1-10
[222]
https://ijase.org
Based on the findings and formulated conclusion, the researchers propose the
following recommendations:
1. Since teachers and celebrities are the ones who influence the netizens in learning new words,
they are encouraged to share various Facebook posts which feature much new vocabulary for
readers to learn and use in their contexts;
2. Netizens are encouraged to learn new words from what they read on Facebook posts. Aside
from being critical to what information they get; they also should continuously learn new
vocabulary that appears on others' status;
3. Teachers and students should continuously read and acquire new words from Facebook posts as
a requirement of their roles and dialogues and communication with other people around them;
4. Future studies may be conducted to validate the present study's findings further.
5. Since findings are limited to the sample of respondents, future researchers may consider a
larger study scale.

International Journal of Arts, Sciences and Education ISSN: 2799 - 1091
Volume 3 Issue 1 | March 2022 Page No. 1-10
[223]
https://ijase.org
References
Antonio, A. (2021). Syntactical Scrutiny: Inaccuracies in the Lesson Planning of Non- Language
Pre Service Teachers. International Journal of Arts, Sciences and Education. 2(1), 199-210.
Afzal, N. (2019). A study on vocabulary-learning problems encountered by BA English Majors
at the University Level of Education. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume
10.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335996440_A_Study_on_VocabularyLearni
ng_Problems_Encountered_by_BA_English_Majors_at_the_University_Level_of_Educa
tion
Bangayan-Manera, A. (2019). Textual Analysis of School Graffiti. The Asian EFL Journal. 21
(2.3), 273-285.
Bangayan-Manera, A, Vecaldo, R. & Saquing J. (2020). Cultural Structuring of Urok Practices:
An Intercultural Communication of Bago Tribe in Kalinga, Philippines. International Journal of
Psychosocial Rehabilitation.24 (6), 13193-13217
Bangayan- Manera, A. (2020). Writing Without Permission: A Case study on Skinner's Analogy
through Vandalism. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation. 24 (08), 571-578
Chan, D. KC et al. (2019). Social influences of teachers, classmates, and parents on children's
commitment to Physical Education and Language Education. International Archives of
Public Health and Community Medicine, Volume 3 Issue 2.
https://clinmedjournals.org/articles/iaphcm/international-archives-of-public-health-and-
community-medicine-iaphcm-3-028.php?jid=iaphcm
Clemente B. G ( 2019). Philippine Literature as a Vehicle to Strengthen Values Education. The
Asian EFL Journal. 24(4), 443-468
Contessa, C. (2022). The communication soft skills you need at work (How to use
them). https://www.careercontessa.com/advice/soft-skills-
definition/#:~:text=What%20Are%20Communication%20Soft%20Skills,work%20with%
20others%20on%20projects.&text=Verbal%20and%20written%20communication%20co
me%20into%20play%20every%20day%20at%20the%20workplace
Eijansantos, A. M., Alieto, E. O., Emmanuel, M. S., Pasoc, M. G. O., & Bangayan-Manera, A.
(2021). Interspeaker variation in the negated perfective aspect of Zamboanga
Chavacano. Linguistics and Culture Review, 5(S3), 287-309.
https://doi.org/10.21744/lingcure.v5nS3.1528
El-Fiki, H. (2012). Teaching English as a foreign language and using English as a medium of
instruction in Egypt. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Teaching-English-as-a-
Foreign-Languate-and-Using-as-El-Fiki/2da82b17ec2b1cf9110b70594b88358da1265434
)

International Journal of Arts, Sciences and Education ISSN: 2799 - 1091
Volume 3 Issue 1 | March 2022 Page No. 1-10
[224]
https://ijase.org
Ghalebi, R. et al. ( 2020). Vocabulary learning strategies: A comparative study of EFL
learners. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311908.2020.1824306
Idemudia, E.C., Raisinghani, M. S., Adeola, O., Achebo, N. (n.d.) The effects of gender on the
adoption of social media: An empirical
investigation. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319130496_The_Effects_of_Gen
der_On_Social_Media_Adoption_The_Effects_of_Gender_On_The_Adoption_of_Social
_Media_An_Empirical_Investigation
MasterClass. (2021). How to improve your Vocabulary: 7 ways to expand your
vocabulary. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-improve-your-vocabulary#7-
ways-to-improve-your-vocabulary
Maxom, M. (2009). Teaching English as a foreign language. England.
https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=APq-WBtTJIeEJEtGuK0vxcPR2U-
pUQpVHQ:1644038239472&q=Maxon,+M.+(2009).+Teaching+English+as+a+foreign+
language.+England&spell=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjHxora5-
f1AhWLBKYKHQrGBfEQBSgAegQIARAx&biw=1920&bih=880&dpr=1
Nemati, A. (2009). Memory vocabulary learning strategies and long-term retention. International
Journal of Vocational and Technical Education Vol.1 (2), pp. 014-
024. https://academicjournals.org/article/article1379328836_Nemati.pdf
O'Malley, J. M., & Chamot, A. U. (1990). Learning strategies in second language
acquisition. Cambridge University
Press. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/learning-strategies-in-second-language-
acquisition/FA9872A0F0155A215D5A33C0BEAC46AB
Ventura- Cauilan, M. ( 2022). Students’ Adaptability Challenges on Online Learning in A Public
University: Input for Academic Policy Modification
Victoria (2021). Literacy teaching toolkit:
Vocabulary. https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/disciplin
e/english/literacy/readingviewing/Pages/litfocusvocab.aspx#link33