Non-English Students’ Perceptions on The Use of Social Media for Learning English During Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study aims to determine the Non-English students’ perceptions on the use of social media for learning English during covid-19 pandemic. The researcher chose non-English students because the researcher wanted to know their perceptions when learning English through social media during covid-19 pandemic. Non English students are students who are not registered in the English department, and take English lesson as general compulsory subject. In this pandemic period, students spend more time using mobile phones, they are required to study independently. Students can use a platform that is easy to use anywhere and anytime. Therefore, the researcher conducted this study with the aim of knowing students' perceptions of the use of social media to learn English during the pandemic. In this study, the researcher used qualitative approach with a descriptive qualitative design. The participants of this research were 30 students of fourth semester students’ who have completed the English subject. The participants are 15 from Indonesian Language and Literature Education Department and 15 from Mathematic Education Department in University of Islam Malang. To know the non-English students’ perceptions on the use of social media for learning English during covid-19 pandemic, an online-based questionnaire and an online-based interview were used as the methods of collecting the data. The finding showed that non-English students had positive perceptions about social media. From the results of the questionnaire, non-English students they stated that YouTube is the most widely used social media for learning English, through YouTube they can improve their English skills. Besides YouTube, there are also social media that are commonly used to learn English, namely TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp as social media to learn English during the pandemic. They said that social media provides various sources for learning English, these students can use social media to study anywhere and anytime. This situation makes them relaxed and motivated to study English more actively. Non-English students also mentioned some of the challenges when using social media, namely network connection problems, misuse of social media, inappropriate content or advertisements that distract them from focusing on studying. In addition, this research was conducted online during pandemic. Therefore, it is suggested for future researchers to investigate students’ perception on the use of social media for learning English to conduct face-to-face research to get detailed results. Keywords: Non-English Stundents, Social Media, Learning English