Abstract:
Teachers paired with technology provide students with high-quality education (Massi, 2001). It is in this view that this study investigated the perspectives on
usefulness of WhatsApp technology on Interaction in EFL classroom for input and output enhancement. It specifically explored students’ perspectives toward
the involvement of WhatsApp in learning and teaching activity, identified the contribution of WhatsApp on interaction between student-student, teacher student and student- course content and analysed the usefulness of WhatsApp on input and output enhancement. The study was conducted in Integrated
Polytechnic Regional College Huye (IPRC Huye). It involved 4 teachers and 56 students from different departments who attended EFL classroom. Mixed
method was used; instruments used to collect data were questionnaire and interview. Data were presented using figures and tabulation. Findings revealed that WhatsApp supports students’ self-confidence especially
when they are willing to express their views in EFL classroom. It enhances their confidence to write and read in English language; it underpins their
writing and reading skills through input and output enhancement. It enhances students’ confidence to communicate in English and exposes them to
environment where they express themselves freely in the target language. And it enhances students-student interaction, students-teacher interaction and
students- content interactions. It exposes students to teacher, classmates and course content anywhere and anytime.This study ends with recommendations to enable students to benefit greatly
from WhatsApp. IPRC Huye should provide free internet access and help students get phones or computers with high storage capacity. Students had to
take measures while using WhatsApp in EFL classroom such as muting phone notifications, reducing phones sounds and muting new status updates. As for
teachers of language, it is recommended that they should integrate WhatsApp in their teaching and learning activities for students to get familiar with it.
