A Lexico-Syntactic Analysis of the Impact of Computer Mediated Communication on the Academic Writing of Students of Tertiary Institutions in Kano State

Abstract

The unprecedented upsurge in ICT technology which uniquely characterised the 21st century is predominantly influential on the conventional traditional orthography. The development has precipitated the emergence of Computer Mediated Discourse (CMD). Conversely, it differs from the conventional orthography that is traditionally accepted in the context of academic writing. Indeed, language teachers complain of the indiscriminate transfer of the CMD features, lexical and syntactic features, into students’ academic writing. Some language teachers believe that this hinders students’ ability to deliver excellent and conventionally-based academic discourses. This study explores the lexico-syntactic impact of CMD features on the academic writing skills of the students of tertiary institutions in Kano State. The study examines how CMD associated lexical and syntactic features are transferred in the context of students’ academic writing. There were 230 participants (students of tertiary institutions in Kano State) in the study who were selected through Purposive Sampling Technique. Data for the study was collected through observatory technique; as samples of students academic writing were collected for observatory analysis. Verheijen (2016) and McCarthy & Jarvis (2010) Model of Lexico-syntactic Analysis was used in analysing collected samples of students’ academic writing. Findings of the study revealed that CMD lexico-syntactic features had minimal/insignificant impact on the academic writing proficiency of the students of tertiary institutions in Kano State.