Distinctive Features of English in Facebook Posts of Filipino Senior High School Students

Abstract

The unique characteristics of English as utilized by senior high school students in their Facebook posts were investigated in this study. The study used a corpus-based methodology, gathering and examining senior high school students' Facebook posts to identify emerging and common graphological features in terms of lexical and grammatical features. The lexical feature analysis of the dataset, which consists of 1,129 lexical items (390 nouns, 380 verbs, 174 adverbs, and 185 adjectives), shows a rich and balanced use of word classes that promote textual complexity and meaning creation. Adjectives and adverbs serve descriptive and modifying functions that enhance expressivity and specificity, while nouns and verbs dominate the lexical inventory due to their essential function in conveying concepts and actions. The examination of grammatical features, including 271 prepositions, 371 pronouns, 208 auxiliary verbs, 119 articles, and 142 conjunctions, amounting to 1,057 instances, revealed significant patterns that align with recent studies on English grammar usage and learner language. Pronouns, the most prevalent category, underscore their vital function in ensuring textual cohesion and referential clarity by substituting for nouns and avoiding repetition. Meanwhile, the notable frequency of prepositions and conjunctions reflects the intricate nature of syntactic relationships and the essential role these elements play in expressing spatial, temporal, and logical links between ideas, which are fundamental for creating grammatically sound and coherent texts. Findings revealed that the graphological substances in the Facebook posts of students include non-standard spelling by altering the conventional spelling of words, incorporating emojis, clippings and shortening of words, capitalization, using capitalization for emphasis, deviating from standard punctuation rules, blending of languages, omitted letters, and the use of lowercase instead of uppercase letters. The implications for English language teaching and learning in the Philippines, drawn from recent studies, span multiple dimensions including language teaching, learners, teachers, social media use, and the Filipino community as second language users.