It Takes Two to Tango: Using TikTok Duet Challenge to Improve Conversation Skills

Authors

  • Ling Sue Zhen
  • Fatin Najiha Zainuddin
  • Masturah Aimuni Mohd Zin
  • Melor Md Yunus

Keywords:

Tiktok, Social Media, Learning Tool, Conversation Skill

Abstract

The short-video platform, TikTok is a popular social media platform in which it has exceeded Facebook as the most downloaded application internationally. It is worthy of comparison to other social media platforms such as Twitter, Twitch, Instagram and many more. Despite the fact that many relevant studies indicated the positive effects of employing social media in language learning and teaching, only an insubstantial amount of research was focused on the exploitation of TikTok for educational purposes in terms of language skills. On top of that, this also seems relatively appropriate to tackle the underlying issue of pupils losing the opportunity to engage in peer-to-peer conversations especially during English as a Second Language (ESL) lessons due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Hence, the researchers aimed to determine how Duet Challenge on TikTok could improve ESL learners' conversation skills. This study utilised a quasi-experimental research method to develop a learning activity through the manipulation of the Duet Challenge on TikTok and the data was gathered through pre-test and post-test. A total number of 30 primary school students in three different states participated in this study. The findings disclosed that there was an improvement in the pupils’ conversation skills after participating in the Duet Challenge. Further research is encouraged to validate the findings of this study by involving more participants as well as actively incorporating the TikTok application in ESL learning. It is also hoped that this research will inspire teachers to explore the benefits of social media in the teaching and learning of English.

Downloads

Published

2022-01-06