Exposure of Social Media and Its Effect on English Language Proficiency; Basis for Action Plan

: Social media profoundly affects contemporary communication, altering interpersonal relationships, information exchange, and the creation of digital identities. The study aims to determine exposure to social media and its effect on English language proficiency as the basis for an action plan. Using a descriptive correlation method, the respondents of this study are the grade 7 students of Mariveles National High School-(Cabcaben Annex) Alasasin. Data were collected using the adapted diagnostic test developed by Region III to measure the language proficiency of grade 7. Results revealed that grade 7 students are exposed to using Facebook; at the beginning level in English proficiency, the most mastered skills are those related to reading strategies, and the least developed skills are those about grammar. It is noted that most of the students, who were almost 50 to 70 percent of the examination takers, are at the beginning level, which denotes that there is still a need to improve the English language for grade 7 students. Lastly, the computed mean of Pearson r Value of the three sections is 0.27 with a positive low correlation. This means that increasing the hours of exposure to social media of Grade 7 students slightly increases their English language proficiency and vice versa. The recommendation of this study denotes that even social media has moderate implications for English language proficiency; teachers should monitor their students' use of social media. DepEd needs to set up free WiFi in every school so that our learners may use social media as a learning tool. Educators should give their students chances by setting aside time for social media use. Social media integration into their curriculum might also need to be considered.


INTRODUCTION
Social media profoundly affects contemporary communication, altering interpersonal relationships, information exchange, and the creation of digital identities.Dispersed worldwide, social media platforms serve as dynamic spaces where linguistic practices occur, impacting users' language proficiency in English and other languages.This study examines the connection between exposure to social media and proficiency in the English language in an attempt to comprehend the intricate mechanisms influencing linguistic habits in the digital age.
People's lives are regularly impacted by social media.Social media platforms have an impact on many aspects of modern life, such as communication, education, trade, and information exchange (Amin et al., 2020).Worldwide social media users are estimated to be 3.96 billion, according to Statista's most current estimates from 2020.Social media networking sites include microblogs like Twitter as well as websites and applications like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Snapchat.But these various settings have had an impact on people's emotional, intellectual, and social life.
Likewise, English language competency, on the other hand, describes a person's ability to speak, read, write, and comprehend the language.Before applying the abilities above to real-world scenarios, students must master them in mathematical, scientific, or English classrooms.Through the learners' formative and transitional years, skills such as critical thinking and understanding and basic language abilities like speaking, writing, listening, and reading must be developed as early as feasible.Students' communication abilities, as well as their social, professional, and academic functions, improved as a consequence.
Furthermore, Lev Vygotsky (1956) claimed that social contact may be used to teach language.Development was affected by social influences.In the era of globalization, everyone is connected and exposed to various social media platforms.Social media has expanded in the modern world, allowing users to participate in social networking via apps and websites.Social media is the new playground and affects the performance of English language learners.Abraham Maslow's Theory of Motivation maintains that social needs rank as people's third most essential needs after safety and physiological needs, which is closely linked to social media use in English classrooms (Karadkar, 2015).According to Domingo and Gargante (2016), social media is used by billions of students worldwide as their primary means of communication, friendship-building, meeting social needs, and language learning advancement.
According to Hashim et al. (2018), socializing tasks aid in acquiring English as a second language, according to Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory of Human Learning.Consequently, social media is suggested as the best tool for students to learn English.The messages, remarks, and information sharing amongst parents, teachers, and students contribute to the social process' ongoing worldwide evolution and growth.Social media platforms that offer an engaging, dynamic, confident, and cooperative learning environment benefit young students (Suana et al., 2019;Kaushik et al., 2018).Thurairaj et al. (2015) and Slim and Hafedh (2019) have indicated that social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are beneficial for language acquisition for students.Several research studies have demonstrated that social media enhances students' grammatical complexity, vocabulary acquisition, and learning related to specific language skills.While social media has a beneficial impact on language acquisition and competency, many scholars are more worried about the possible negative implications of these networking sites on the interlanguage of second-language learners, particularly about irregular spelling and grammatical rule breaches (Baldwin, 2012).According to Lin et al. (2016), online language usage is occasionally criticized for disturbing adjacency and being less accurate and consistent than language used in traditional contexts.Hernandez (2015) states that the Philippines has a 94% literacy rate and 74% proficient English speakers, ranking it among the world's largest English-speaking nations, according to the Board of Investments (BOI).Fortunately, the Philippines achieved that meaning, providing many employment opportunities locally and abroad.Most Filipinos are unquestionably literate in English, even at a basic level.As English is our second language and a learning aid, we tried to communicate and explain ourselves.

Studies conducted by
Teachers could include social media sites with authentic English usage examples while creating lesson plans.The administration must evaluate the correctness of the instructors' and students' strategies and tactics and the students' strengths and weaknesses in their pursuit of English language competency.Using the aforementioned social networking sites will improve students' English proficiency.The rise of social media might motivate Filipinos to become more fluent in English by providing a platform for social interaction.
The objectives of this study are to intensify English Language Proficiency in secondary school confined to the mastery of different language skills, to identify and ascertain the level of exposure to social media such as Facebook (FB), Twitter, and Instagram, and to determine its implication in using the English language functionally and communicatively.Speaking and writing in English is essential in academic and professional contexts, making it the most competitive edge.English-speaking citizens with varied backgrounds are now sought after by businesses marketing global social networking expertise to guarantee the success of international operations.

Statement of the Problem
This study aimed to determine Exposure to Social Media and Its Effect on English Language Proficiency, Basis for Action Plan.Specifically, this study sought to answer the following questions: 1.How may the exposure to Social Media be described in terms of: 1.1 Different social media platforms 1.2 Length of exposure to social media 2. What is the English Language Proficiency of Grade-VII students of MNHS-Cabcaben Annex-(Alasasin)? 3. What are the ten (10) most mastered learning objectives? 4. What are the ten (10) least attained learning objectives? 5. Is there a significant correlation between the exposure to social media of grade 7 students and their English Language Proficiency?6.What action plan can be proposed based on the result of this study?

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study used descriptive research and statistical data analysis using the collected numerical data.Likewise, Apuke, O. D. (2017), determining the current state of the research question is an essential stage in descriptive research.This analytical method collects information on the circumstances that existed at a particular time.A correlational approach was used to determine whether there was a significant association between the level of English language competency of grade 7 pupils and their exposure to social media, as per J.A correlational survey is defined by D. Chee.(2015) as a study that demonstrates how the variables are related.Additionally, it establishes the degree to which some aspects within a target group are interrelated.Moreover, it shows how much volatility is attributable to other variables.One uses a correlation metric to determine the direction and strength of a relationship.This study aims to assess the effect of social media exposure on English language competence and develop an action plan to help teachers and students improve student performance in English classes.The respondents of this study are the Junior High School Grade 7 students of Mariveles National High School-Cabcaben Annex-(Alas-Asin) for the School Year 2023-2024, composed of 100 students coming from 3 sections as per the record of the school's registrar.The method used to collect quantitative data from the respondents is complete or total enumeration.Since this technique used the entire population as the actual class size, every member is measured (Schoen et al., 2012).Three (3) phases of data collection were used in the study.The first step is the initial stage of securing a permit, consent, and so on; the second stage is the direct survey questionnaire, and the last stage is the verification.The collected data are processed using the relevant statistical methods.Tables are created by tabulating and organizing the data.By this, the correct scoring procedures are used.1.The frequency and Percentage, 2. The weighted mean is 3-the Spearman's Rho of ranking.Lastly, the questionnaire used to measure the language proficiency of grade 7 is the diagnostic test developed by Region III, which is composed of 100 items and based on the Essential Learning Competency.Likewise, all legality, such as asking for the permit by the SDO and securing consent from the parents or guardians of the students, was confirmed by the researchers before floating and conducting data collection for this investigation.

Table 1 Mean Computation on Exposure to Social Media
Table 1 shows the Mean Computation on Exposure to Social Media of grade 7 students.The data revealed that 90 percent of the Grade 7 students of Mariveles National High School Cabcaben-Annex (Alas-asin) were Always exposed on Facebook.They spend four hours a day navigating Facebook (FB). 4 percent of the respondents sometimes use Facebook, where they spend 3 to 2 hours a week, and ) no one who ever used FB, with a weighted mean of 25.00.

Table 2 The frequency and percentage distribution of Students according to the level of English Language
Proficiency.
Table 2 shows The frequency and percentage distribution of Students according to their level of English Language Proficiency.As can be seen, 100 percent of the Grade 7 students of MNHS-Cabcaben Annex (Alasasin) had poor English language proficiency.Meanwhile, the mean average of respondents' English proficiency failed to reach 1.59.This shows that Grade VII students need improvement in all English language skills.It also proved that there is a decline in English for many Filipino students nowadays.This analysis provides insights into the distribution of student mastery for the top ten learning objectives.
Looking at the results of the table, the most mastered learning competencies of Grade 7 students of Mariveles National High School -Cabcaben Annex (Alas-asin) were the use of listening strategies based on purpose, familiarity with the topic and levels of difficulty of short texts listened to.Meanwhile, respondents got the correct answer of 74, and its percentage of 74.It can be seen that the respondents were highly skilled at listening.Meanwhile, students needed to be more competent in viewing, learning competency, and Navigating a website using essential features, e.g., headings, links, etc.The respondents got the correct score of 50 with a percentage of 50.Overall, the overall MPS was 0.56, with a mean of 60.20.
The data revealed that the respondents had the most mastered learning objectives under the reading, which means they are familiar with the different reading strategies in English.However, it is noted that most of the students, who were almost 50 to 70 percent of the examination takers, are at the beginning level, which denotes that there is still a need to improve the English language for grade 7 students.
Derakshan and Hasanabbasi (2015) discovered that social media improved students' speech competency, vocabulary acquisition, and syntactic complexity, helping them become more socio-pragmatically competent.Additionally, social media helps pupils improve their language and communication abilities.Determine the worth of ideas mentioned in the text listened to Grammar 7 7% MPS 0.00 Mean 5.60 This analysis provides insights into the distribution of student less mastered learning objectives.Looking at the results of the table, the least learning competencies of Grade 7 students of Mariveles National High School -Cabcaben Annex (Alas-asin) were the Use of listening strategies based on purpose, familiarity with the topic and levels of difficulty of short texts listened to.Respondents got the lowest correct answer of 4, with a percentage of 4 for this item in the test questionnaire.This refers to media that is text-based web pages that use hyperlinks to connect pages on the Internet.It can be seen that the respondents needed better listening skills.On the other hand, respondents needed to be more competent in grammar skills, with the learning competency, Determining the worth of ideas mentioned in the text listened to.The respondents only got the correct score of 7 with a percentage of 7. Overall, the overall MPS failed to 0.00 with a mean of 5.60.
The data revealed that grade 7 students need urgent action and intervention to improve their English language proficiency.This is consistent with Valdez's (2009) study, which found that Filipino students need help with English grammar, especially regarding the indications provided in the particular subject-verb agreement and adjective issues.On the other hand, grammatical proficiency is related to one of the language acquisition abilities in the K--12 curriculum in the context mentioned above.There has been a noticeable decline in the primary and secondary school levels of students' application or usage of proper grammar in the English language.Because K-12 education follows a spiral development, learners must meet specific requirements early to be prepared for more complex grammar instruction at higher education levels.These requirements include mastery of the grammar skills.

Table 5 Significant correlation between the exposure to social media of grade 7 students and their English Language Proficiency
Based on the table, there is a positive negligible correlation between the total number of hours exposed to social media and the English Language Proficiency of the grade 7 -Iris students with a Pearson r value of 0.037, thus increasing the hours of exposure to social media of the Grade 7-iris makes their English Language Proficiency negligibly grow.On the other hand, there is a negative moderate correlation between the total number of hours of exposure to social media and the English Language Proficiency of the Grade 7-Lily students with a Pearson r value of -0.57.This means that increasing the hours of exposure to social media for grade 7-Lily decreases their English Language Proficiency, supported by Akram and Albalawi (2016), who found Facebook to be a harmful learning distraction.Lastly, in Grade 7 Dahlia students, there is a positive low correlation between the total number of hours exposed to social media and English Language Proficiency with a Pearson r value of 0.21, thus increasing the hours of exposure to social media of Grade 7-Dahlia students makes their English Language Proficiency slightly increase, which was supported by the studies conducted by Slim and Hafedh (2019), social media sites like Facebook and Twitter help students learn languages more effectively overall.Numerous research studies have indicated that social media use improves learners' grammatical complexity and their acquisition and learning of vocabulary about specific language abilities (Al Jahrami, 2019).
In summary, the computed mean of Pearson r Value of the three sections is 0.27 with a positive low correlation.This means that increasing the hours of exposure to social media of Grade 7 students slightly increases their English language proficiency and vice versa.
Numerous worldwide research endeavors scrutinized the influence of social media and its consequences on the English language acquisition of undergraduate students.

Conclusion
The present research investigates social media exposure and its effect on language proficiency, as revealed in the investigation.The grade 7 students were exposed to Facebook, moderately exposed to Instagram, and less exposed to Twitter.Furthermore, they are at the beginning level of proficiency in English, and no one is at the developing or advanced level.The most mastered skills of grade 7 are those related to reading strategies, such as using skinning, scanning, and identifying the genre and purpose of the text.On the contrary, the less mastered skills are those related to grammar and vocabulary.Likewise, it is noted that most of the students, who were almost 50 to 70 percent of the examination takers, are at the beginning level, which denotes that there is still a need to improve the English language for grade 7 students.Lastly, the computed mean of Pearson r Value of the three sections is 0.27 with a positive low correlation.This means that increasing the hours of exposure to social media of Grade 7 students slightly increases their English language proficiency and vice versa.

Recommendation
The study's conclusions may be used as critical indicators for timely educational reformations, for which several pedagogical consequences might be suggested.Initially, DepEd needs to set up free WiFi in every school so that our learners may use social media as a learning tool.Secondly, educators should give their students chances by setting aside time for social media use.Social media integration into their curriculum might accomplish this.Third, the language instructor should implement the DEAR program and encourage reading at four o'clock to enhance the students' reading abilities.Fourth, the school administration should provide instructors with Insets (IN-Service Training) or School-Based Training, focusing on techniques, tactics, and methodologies for teaching English.Fifth, Teachers should study books and other resources that might boost their confidence in English to improve their language skills.Sixth, to enhance their language proficiency and strengthen their least proficient language abilities, DepEd should offer training on contextualizing and localizing instructional materials (IMs).The school administration should provide school-based training on localizing and contextualizing language-learning resources.Seventh, educators should constantly assess which linguistic skills students have learned and which they still need to learn.This is their basis for the production of instructional materials.Even social media has moderate implications for English language proficiency; teachers should monitor their students' use of social media.Lastly, This study recommends "Contextualization of Instructional Materials and Its Relation to English Language Proficiency of Grade VII Students" as a future study.

PROPOSED ACTION PLAN Rationale
The emergence of social media platforms has changed the face of communication in recent years and opened up new channels for language expression and connection.Due to this phenomenon, researchers and educators are becoming more interested in comprehending how social media affects language competence.The growing number of people participating in online chats, sharing material, and navigating virtual communities raises concerns about how these virtual environments affect language learning, usage, and development.This research explores the intricate relationship between social media usage and language proficiency.Social media platforms provide users a unique environment characterized by informal communication, rapid information dissemination, and diverse linguistic expressions.As users navigate this digital realm, they encounter a rich tapestry of language styles, dialects, and communication norms, shaping their linguistic experiences in ways that traditional forms of communication might not.
Understanding social media's effects on language competency is essential for scholars, educators, and legislators as it becomes increasingly ingrained in daily life.This research hopes to add to the ongoing conversation on digital communication by illuminating how social media shapes language skills.This will help to inspire methods for promoting successful communication in the rapidly changing digital era.

Action Plan for Grade 7 Students S.Y. 2023-2024 Key Result Area
Student/Pupil Development Objective 1. Improve the level of academic performance of Grade 7 students in English subject 2. Improve the motivation of students to learn English subject 3. Provide students with activities that will help them develop their interest and appreciation of the English subject 4. Increase the student's achievement in the English Language 5. Encourage students to love readings Strategies/Activities 1. Conduct orientation about academic and motivational factors for the Grade 7 students.2. Assess/evaluate the academic performance of Grade 7 for the last quarter and their motivation to learn English 3. Monitor the performance of the students.4. Conduct webinars about the effect of social media on language proficiency for Grade 7 students 5. Conduct week-long English activities 6. Encourage students to participate in different activities such as reader's theater, speech choir, and declamation that will enhance their interest and effort to learn English 7. Conduct peer teaching, if necessary, particularly those having difficulties in the learning areas 8. Posting some trivia, word hunt, and rules in grammar on the bulletin board to make students familiarize themselves with the English language 9. Posting some reading materials on the bulletin board 10.Empowering reading areas in every classroom

Time Frame
Year-round Resources.

Expected Output
Report on the performance of Grade 7 students in the English subject (Roblyer et al., 2010)nt of the respondents were Always hours of Twitter, 22 percent were sometimes and less exposed to Twitter, and 62 percent were never told, with a weighted mean of 7.66.Lastly, 9 percent of the Grade 7 students always spend 4 hours a day and sometimes a week on Instagram; 35 percent of them are occasionally exposed to IG for two hours a week; 47 percent of the respondents were never exposed to Instagram, with a weighted mean of 17.66.Finally, among the social platforms used by the respondents, Facebook (FB) got the highest mean of 25.00, which means it is the most used social media platform among the three variables.The Instagram app exhibits a moderate usage level, with a mean of 17.66.Moreover, the lowest, on the other hand, with a mean of 7.66, was Twitter.More so, students spend almost 4 hours browsing and using social media such as Facebook every day.Social media use is becoming commonplace worldwide.There have been effects on millions of people's social, political, educational, and personal lives (Jahromi, 2020).Globally, 3 billion people use social media, according to Iwamoto and Chun (2020).Young people between 18 and 29 use social media most often, and 90% say they use it frequently(Bennett et al., 2019).This noteworthy figure is responsible for Facebook's capacity to enable users to interact with friends and share enormous volumes of data.Facebook may also help students and instructors connect, mingle, and get used to campus life.Users are also able to send and receive mail and instant messaging.(Roblyeret al., 2010)

Table 3 The frequency and percentage distribution of student respondents according to the ten (10) most mastered learning objectives
The data was validated by the PISA result of 2023, which revealed that the Philippines ranked low, placing 77th among 81 countries, in the recent results of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 and ranked sixth in the lowest rank in Reading with a score of 347.

Table 4 The frequency and percentage distribution of respondents according to the ten (10) least attained learning objectives.
There were beneficial effects on reading, writing, vocabulary acquisition, and improving communication skills (AlSaleem, 2018; Baytekin & Aubergil, 2021).Conversely, adverse effects were noted, including poor grammar, misspelled words, and a rise in meaningless material(Nanquil, 2021; Kitano et al., 2019).