Grammatical consequences of the Digital on the Learning of English at Senegalese High School: The Case of WhatsApp

Abstract

The present work refers to the analysis of grammatical consequences of digital technology on the learning of English language in the Senegalese high schools. In other words, this article deals with the grammatical consequences of WhatsApp in the learning of English in a context dominated by the implementation, by the State of Senegal, of the "Digital Senegal" strategy and the concretization of certain programs in the building of an “inclusive digital society”, in order to promote a learning society. WhatsApp is a cross-platform instant messaging application that allows users to exchange text, image, video, and audio messages for free through phones. Thus, the work aims to analyze the grammatical consequences of this cross-platform application in the study of English as a foreign language. However, to collect data in order to have a corpus to treat and analyze, we have done some research, organized interviews with teachers and pupils at high school. We have also exchanged messages through WhatsApp with other pupils. This approach has helped us to point out that this method of communication has affected the learning of English at high school.