Copyright © 2024 by Author/s and Licensed by Kuey. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice 2024, 30(5), 3110-3119 ISSN: 2148-2403 https://kuey.net/ Research Article Using Social Networking Tools for Teaching the English Directive Speech Act of Command to Undergraduate Arab EFL Learners Meshari Ali Alsairi 1 *, Adel Mohammed Qadha 2 , Fatema Modaf Alharthy 3 , Saad Sharaf Alshahrani 4 1 *Department of English Language and Literature, College of Arts and Letters, University of Bisha, P.O Box 551, Bisha, Saudi Arabia, Email: malsairi@ub.edu.sa 2 Department of English, College of Education, Zabid, Hodeida University, Hodeida, Yemen, Email: aadel75q@gmail.com 3 Department of English Language and Literature, College of Arts and Letters, University of Bisha, P.O Box 551, Bisha, Saudi Arabia, Email: fharthey@ub.edu.sa 4 Department of English Language and Literature, College of Arts and Letters, University of Bisha, P.O Box 551, Bisha, Saudi Arabia, Email: sshsaad@ub.edu.sa *Corresponding Author: Meshari Ali Alsairi *Department of English Language and Literature, College of Arts and Letters, University of Bisha, P.O Box 551, Bisha, Saudi Arabia, Email: malsairi@ub.edu.sa Citation: Meshari Ali Alsairi et al. (2024), Using Social Networking Tools for Teaching the English Directive Speech Act of Command to Undergraduate Arab EFL Learners, Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 30(5), 3110-3119 Doi: 10.53555/kuey.v30i5.2531 ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT This study investigates the effectiveness of using social networking tools for teaching the speech act of command to undergraduate Arab EFL learners. Employing an experimental pre-test post-test design, the research involved 40 students distributed across four groups: two experimental groups utilizing social networking tools for direct and indirect command instruction, and two control groups receiving traditional teaching methods. Over a three-week period, the speech act of command was taught to the four groups either through WhatsApp groups or conventional classroom instruction. A discourse completion task was used to assess participants' pragmatic competence before and after the intervention. Results of ANOVA tests showed a significant difference in post-test scores, with the experimental groups outperforming the control groups. Remarkably, among the experimental groups, those exposed to indirect command instruction exhibited the highest mean score. This suggests that social networking tools can positively impact learning outcomes for teaching speech acts like command. The study highlights the value of incorporating innovative technological approaches that align with the evolving communicative needs and preferences of contemporary learners. Keywords: Speech acts, Command, Social networking tools, Discourse completion tasks, Pragmatics, EFL learners. Introduction Giving someone instructions or commands to do something is known as a spoken act of command (Searle, 1969). A common and significant speech act in daily interactions and interpersonal communication is the command. Researchers are starting to look into how social media and networking tools, which have become increasingly popular in education, might be used to teach pragmatic competence—the ability to apply various speech acts correctly and successfully in social situations. Given its critical significance in social interaction and communication, teaching the speech act of command is a fundamental component of language learning. Commands are an essential component of everyday language use because they are used to tell or lead others to do particular tasks. For kids' language development and successful interpersonal interactions, it is crucial to teach them how to utilize orders appropriately and politely in a variety of situations. This paper will examine how the speech act of command is taught in language learning, emphasizing the value of the speech act, practical teaching methods, and potential difficulties that educators may encounter. We will also talk about how people interpret and use commands, and how teaching commands to students from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds will be affected by this. Nobody doubts the importance of teaching the speech act of command. A variety of scenarios call for the use of commands, from providing instructions to making requests or orders. They are a necessary component of daily communication, and for students to successfully navigate social situations, they must learn how to utilize them responsibly. Furthermore,