Azam Noorani - English Department, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
Hadi Salehi - English Department, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran

WhatsApp is a mobile application for instant messaging and its unique feature is the ability to enhance communication, promote the social atmosphere, stimulate sharing among students, and act as a learning platform. The aim of this study was threefold: (i) to investigate the effects of using WhatsApp on the acquisition of compound nouns among Iranian EFL learners, (ii) to explore EFL learners’ attitudes toward using WhatsApp for learning compound nouns, (iii) to investigate if there were any significant differences between male and female EFL learners in mastering compound nouns via WhatsApp. To this end, 60 male and female EFL learners were selected from an English language institute in Isfahan, Iran. To homogenize the participants, Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) was administered and the participants were divided into two groups namely WhatsApp group and control group. At the beginning of the study, a compound noun pretest was given to the participants to assure that the participants did not have prior knowledge of the content of the materials to be taught before the treatment. Then, the WhatsApp group members learnt the compound nouns using WhatsApp and the control group members learnt the same materials using traditional method of learning. After 10 sessions, 30 minutes each, a posttest was administered to both groups. The results of Independent samples t-test showed the better performance of WhatsApp group over that of the control group. Moreover, a statistically significant difference was observed between male and female EFL learners (p<.05). In addition, an attitude questionnaire developed by Basöz (2016) was administered among the participants in the WhatsApp group, and the results showed that the participants had positive attitude toward using WhatsApp for learning compound nouns. The findings of this study may inspire teachers to use mobile applications and also course developers to modify and improve not only the curriculum, but also the methodology of teaching vocabulary

WhatsApp, Compound nouns, Social networking sites (SNSs)