Improving the Learning of Regular Verbs through TikTok among Primary School ESL Pupils

Abstract

In English as a second language (ESL) learning vocabulary items plays a vital role in all language skills (i.e. listening, speaking, reading, and writing). The importance of vocabulary items has been highlighted by experts at the University of Reading. Upper primary ESL learners are facing difficulties when it comes to vocabulary mastery. Therefore, this study aims to identify the effectiveness of TikTok in improving the use of vocabulary mainly focusing on regular verbs with a particular representation by a group of Year 5 pupils. This study was conducted using mixed method which is a combination of collecting qualitative and quantitative data. 45 Year 5 pupils were chosen using convenience sampling as the participants of this study. The participants sat for a pre-test and after intervening the lesson with TikTok those participants sat for post-test. The data was then triangulated by interviewing 10 pupils from the same group using semi-structured interview that was adapted by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). After analysing the data collected from both the instruments, the findings showed that pupils improved tremendously in constructing a sentence with regular verbs after teaching regular verbs using TikTok. The results further revealed that the pupils really enjoyed the lesson when TikTok was involved, found it effective and very easy to use in making their own verb videos, and most of them were keen in creating educational contents in future. This study concludes that TikTok is indeed an effective teaching tool, especially when it comes to teaching regular verbs and sentence construction.