The Effect of TikTok Exposure on the English Language Comprehension of International Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

With numerous types of research on the effectiveness of YouTube as an instructional tool in teaching English language learners, there is a need to study the efficacy of using TikTok as a new supplemental educational platform for students. As the platform has steadily seen an increase in the number of users, particularly among Gen Z and Generation Alpha, TikTok can be used as an alternative online learning tool for English language learners. The researcher used a quasi-experimental research with 14 high school students of Makati Hope Christian School who were enrolled in the Intensive Academic Program, the school’s program for English as Second Language students, and subjected the respondents to an eight- week experiment using TikTok as supplemental class material. These students were divided into an Uncontrolled Group, Control Group A, who were exposed to a single content creator, and Control Group B, who were exposed to multiple content creators. All three groups answered a pretest prior to the eight- week TikTok intervention. After the implementation and exposure of the students to TikTok video content, a posttest was conducted. The study proves that higher exposure to TikTok with English language content videos leads to a higher proficiency level and that higher exposure to TikTok with English language content videos from multiple creators leads to a higher English language proficiency compared to students who are exposed to a single TikTok video creator only. Keywords : Communication Technology, English as a Second Language, English Proficiency, Language Learners, TikTok