User Generated Content and Language Learning on TikTok: A Focus on Learning English Speaking

Abstract

Speaking is one of the important skills that is essential for students to achieve expertise in English communication. Learning English speaking using mediums affects the development of students' speaking skills. Currently, social media has grabbed big attention from learners of all ages. TikTok is an Application of popular and interesting social media that can be used for learning and developing speaking. Media for learning and developing English speaking students. Several previous studies are more focused primarily concentrated on the favorable effects of TikTok on students' speaking proficiencies. Therefore, this study seeks to fill this void by investigating the difficulties and experiences encountered by students who utilize TikTok as an instructional tool to learn and improve English speaking abilities of senior high school students at a private school in Malang. This study used a qualitative approach, and a case study as the research design. For the research instrument, this study used unstructured interviews and link video TikTok as documentation to collect the data focusing on senior high school student's experience in using TikTok for English speaking learning, student's improvement in English speaking in all four components are grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, and fluency after making the video on TikTok, and challenges in creating English videos on TikTok application. The researcher used six thematic analysis procedures by Braun and Clarke (2006) to analyze the data. The six procedures are familiarization, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and composing the report. The findings showed that the senior high school student's experienced using TikTok for English speaking learning by making English videos on TikTok as part of class assignment for four weeks. Students feel good, happy and more confident in speaking English. It was also found that students had improved their English speaking skills after making videos on TikTok. There were two main factors: cognitive aspects and affective aspects. Cognitive aspects are knowledge and understanding of English language, and affective aspects are feelings and emotional elements that affect students' ability to speak English. Meanwhile the challenges that students face in creating English videos on TikTok are 2 types, namely internal challenges and external challenges. For internal challenges, their obstacles arise from feelings or skills related to speaking English, and external challenges are obstacles that arise from things around students such as unstable internet signals or problems with video cameras. Based on the findings, it is suggested that students should be able to increase their confidence and increase their knowledge related to English speaking skills in making videos. The lecturers are also recommended to the teachers have a very important role in increasing students' confidence level to be able to make videos TikTok to increase English speaking skills. Therefore, it is expected that teachers have a teaching style that is easy to understand so that the students can brave and increase their confidence level in speaking English.

Keywords: Language Learning, Speaking Skills, Social Media, Tiktok Application