SOCIAL NETWORKING AND ITS EFFECTS ON ENGINEERING STUDENTS: A STUDY IN THE LANGUAGE CLASS
SOCIAL NETWORKING AND ITS EFFECTS ON ENGINEERING STUDENTS: A STUDY IN THE LANGUAGE CLASS

Summary/Abstract: For digital natives, who form the majority of our students nowadays, social networking feels as natural as breathing. Technology encourages on-line communication to the detriment of face-to-face interaction, and that is easily noticed in the case of engineering students. Still, in the language class, our activities tend to promote real-life simulations and role play, in an attempt to help first- or second--year engineering students get familiar with their future working environment. The language curriculum revolves around the possible requirements of Polytechnic students’ prospective careers. This necessity for both social adjustment and linguistic accuracy is reflected by activities that combine team work and individual performance and lead to students’ becoming accomplished professionals. That is why this paper studies the effect of social networking on first-year Poly students, as I have noticed them in the language class. I will start my analysis by giving an overview of the most relevant social networks favored by my students, and then I will mention some of the reasons why virtual interaction is on top of their list. My paper will also venture to question the benefits that this type of social activity may bring to any person, with a special emphasis on engineering students, who are the object of my study. There are certain points that need clarification when one deals with people who are both digital natives and engineering students. We have to establish how many (and which) of students’ social activities in real life have been replaced by virtual socializing, and to what extent that has had consequences on students’ learning performance. Based on that, we can choose to include in the language curriculum activities that help our engineering students compensate for the lack of real human interaction. The paper does not dare end with any definite conclusions, but it draws one’s attention to the necessity of striking a balance between real friends and communication and its virtual counterparts.

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