The Students’ Perception towards TikTok as a Tool to Improve Speaking Abilities in EFL Context

Abstract

Since technology is developing so quickly these days, everything is reliant on it, which has an impact on all domains of live including education. TikTok is a popular educational media platform that many students use to learn English. Information regarding the efficacy and inefficacy of TikTok as an English language learning platform for EFL is provided in this article. Finding out how students perceive about utilizing TikTok as a learning tool to enhance their speaking abilities in EFL is the goal of this article. A qualitative approach with a narrative inquiry design is used in this study. Data was collected using semi-interview form. Five students from the Islamic College of DDI Pinrang were chosen to be participants. The result of this study showed both positive and negative perception of students towards using TikTok as a tool or medium for learning English, For positive perception, students generally perceive TikTok as an useful tool for improving their speaking abiliy, they find themselves enjoyable, motivated, convenient, and accessible. However,  by using TikTok in learning English can also be distracting since some of the contents may not be suitable for a classroom setting. Moreover, some students spend too much time on the application. Therefore, to maximize the benefits of TikTok for learning English, students need to be self-disciplined and manage their time effectively.