ABSTRACT

This study examined the influence of social media language on secondary school students’ performance in English Language in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study investigated its effect on students’ proficiency, reading comprehension, communication skills, and grammar and syntax. The study was anchored on Sociocultural Theory, Language Socialization Theory, Media Dependency Theory, and Social Learning Theory, which collectively explain how digital interaction and observational learning shape language development. A correlational research design was adopted. The population comprised 68,523 Senior Secondary Two (SS2) students in public secondary schools, from which a sample of 400 respondents was selected using Taro Yamane’s formula and a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected using a researcher-developed instrument (LSMELLQ), validated by experts and yielding a reliability coefficient of 0.79. Data were analyzed using simple linear regression at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that social media language significantly influences students’ English language proficiency, reading comprehension, and grammar and syntax, but does not significantly influence communication skills. The study concludes that excessive exposure to informal digital language may weaken grammatical accuracy and deep reading habits while leaving communicative adaptability relatively intact. It is recommended that digital literacy and language register awareness be integrated into English language instruction to balance informal and formal language use.