






































citation


AsiaCALL Online Journal Received: 01/07/2022 

ISSN 1936-9859; https://asiacall.info/acoj Revision: 30/07/2022 

Vol. 13, No.4, 2022  Accepted: 31/07/2022 

pp. 7-31  Online: 09/08/2022 

 

CITATION | Truong, N. K. V., & Le, Q. T. (2022). Utilizing YouTube to Enhance English Speaking Skill: EFL 

Tertiary Students’ Practices and Perceptions. AsiaCALL Online Journal, 13(4), 7-31. DOI: 

https://doi.org/10.54855/acoj.221342 

Utilizing YouTube to Enhance English Speaking Skill: EFL Tertiary Students’ 

Practices and Perceptions 

Van Ngoc Khanh Truong1, Thao Quang Le1* 

1 Faculty of Foreign Languages, Van Lang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 
*Correspondence: Thao Quang Le, Van Lang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Email: 

thao.lq@vlu.edu.vn 
*      https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5083-5730 

       https://doi.org/10.54855/acoj.221342 

Abstract 

In the 4.0 era, social media are becoming increasingly popular worldwide. For better learning, 

one way is to utilize these platforms, one of which is YouTube. This study aims to investigate 

the practices and perceptions of EFL university students who use the YouTube platform to boost 

their English-speaking skills. The study included a total of 106 EFL university students from 

various classes in different academic school years. The research used a questionnaire and a semi-

structured interview as instruments to collect quantitative and qualitative data and determine the 

level of perceptions and practices. The findings reveal that EFL tertiary students can improve 

their English speaking skills when learning with the YouTube platform. The results also show 

that students recognized YouTube as a helpful tool in the learning process when they needed to 

practice and improve their speaking skills. Based on the study's findings, the researchers suggest 

that EFL students use the YouTube platform to improve their speaking skills. Following this, 

there are some recommendations for further research into YouTube platform utilization. 

Keywords: English speaking skill, YouTube, EFL tertiary students, perceptions, practices 

  

1. Introduction 

Speaking is a significant skill in communication, which English learners must master. This is 

because the speaking process utilizes verbal and nonverbal signals in which there is a 

combination of information organization and sharing (Chaney & Burk, 1998). There are many 

methods for learning to speak and many applications or tools that enhance speaking skills. One 

way is using videos, which proves to significantly affect students’ sense and what they think 

(Berk, 2009). One of the sources for good videos which are used to improve speaking skills is 

YouTube. It is the most popular online video uploader that can be used for language learning. 

It is used in blended learning to replace the teacher's spoken input and make the class more 

engaged (Ataei & Puteh, 2012). Via this media, videos could be used to teach speaking skills 

where students may view the graphics while listening to the discourse. YouTube platform is 

regarded as an innovative way for visually or physically impaired students to learn (Burke & 

Snyder, 2008). Furthermore, the YouTube platform encourages students to have a positive 

learning attitude in the classroom, mainly in speaking skills. For education, to apply English as 

a lingua franca, ESL and EFL learners would be proficient and fluent in four skills: listening, 

speaking, reading, and writing. Among these skills, speaking is an essential skill that the speaker 

https://doi.org/10.54855/acoj.221342
mailto:thao.lq@vlu.edu.vn
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5083-5730
https://doi.org/10.54855/acoj.221342


https://asiacall.info/acoj Truong, N. K. V., & Le, Q. T. Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

can communicate with others orally. According to Burns and Joyce (1997), speaking is a 

collaborative process of building meaning that includes producing, receiving and processing 

information. J. Hadfield and C. Hadfield (2013) said that speaking acts as a connection between 

the classroom environment and the world outside for students. Making a connection between 

teachers and students is needed to prepare many opportunities with speaking activities to 

practice their communicative ability in class. To many countries in Asia, especially in Vietnam, 

English is a foreign language for learners to study, communicate and research, etc. However, 

students must face many difficulties when studying and practicing their speaking skills. Some 

issues students frequently encounter are being worried about making mistakes in a foreign 

language, being inhibited from expressing their ideas, feeling shy, lacking topical knowledge, 

and being concerned about receiving feedback during speaking activities. Jannah and Fitriati 

(2016) stated that students’ lack of self-confidence may lead to students thinking that they 

cannot be good at English speaking. Moreover, Rivers (1968) stated learners would be inhibited 

in their ideas when the teacher has chosen a topic that is not suitable to express. According to 

Nunan (1999), the cause of learners' lack of motivation is uninspired teaching traditional 

methodology, which lacks the purpose of learning outcome and the practical relevance of the 

material. In order to achieve the goal of enhancing speaking ability, instructors can be involved 

in modern teaching methodology by using YouTube, which provides video clips or music 

videos with English subtitles. This helps students with their learning motivation (Huy, Baker & 

Tran, 2021). Indeed, speaking is an essential skill and a fantastic significant way to interact with 

people and express their ideas in their daily lives. In addition, the number of levels using social 

media, specifically the YouTube platform, to practice a speaking skill is utilized popularly. 

There have been a lot of studies dealing with the benefits of using YouTube in improving 

students’ speaking skills in general; however, little has been done into EFL university students’ 

perceptions and practices towards the utilization. Therefore, this study has been established to 

survey the practices and perceptions of EFL tertiary students in utilizing the YouTube platform 

to enhance their speaking skills. 

 

2. Literature review 

2.1. YouTube 

YouTube platform (or YouTube) can provide many kinds of videos and other content, namely 

video blogging, short original videos, and educational videos (Jalaluddin, 2016). Anyone can 

find out all the videos with the wide range of content available on YouTube. It also enables 

people to upload a little video about expressing their personal experiences on certain topics or 

fields, even allowing them to share a lot of recorded presenting videos like a recorded lesson 

for learners to watch and consult. YouTube is a resource with videos in all fields of knowledge 

that are easily accessible (Kabooha & Elyas, 2015). YouTube allows EFL students to try and 

access a native language in a natural context (Nurkholida, 2016). That may be the best option 

for English learners who want to learn English as a foreign language. Teachers can use YouTube 

videos to assess students’ listening and speaking abilities by allowing them to watch and listen 

(Watkins & Wilkins, 2011). To clarify, teachers may design questions based on the videos and 

test students’ understanding through these videos with listening exercises and speaking 



ACOJ- ISSN 1936-9859 AsiaCALL Online Journal  Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

9 

activities. Many kinds of videos are uploaded on YouTube, and it also has many languages and 

the language which is used popularly as a global phenomenon is the English language. The use 

of YouTube increases students’ motivation to study English (Styati, 2016). More importantly, 

the researcher discovered that YouTube was an authentic material for teaching the four skills of 

English. YouTube is a video platform that provides its users crucial freedoms in expressing 

themselves and sharing information. The use of YouTube videos may assist students in 

improving their speaking skills in preparation for uploading video assignments (Saiful, 2019).  

2.2. Speaking skills 

Speaking is an important skill to communicate in a language that must be mastered by learners 

studying English. It is the process of organizing and sharing information using verbal and 

nonverbal symbols (Chaney & Burk, 1998). That means this is a skill needed in anyone's 

interactions and expressions with others to convey the ideas, information, and story, and to 

negotiate so the listener can hear and reach an approval. In that, speaking skill is also defined 

variously. Skill develops through practice and experience, and it is consistently acquired 

through experience and continuous training (Romiszowski, 2016). Djoub (2017) stated that the 

term skill means the ability to complete a task with predictable results in each quantity of time, 

energy, or both. Furthermore, skills have usually involved the activity of different 

environmental reinforcements and situations in evaluating the level of skill being demonstrated 

and applied. While from a more general perspective, students should perform various types of 

tasks and practice their abilities. That means each individual has obtained skills acquired 

through practice and by applying their own declarative knowledge. Speakers who want to speak 

proficiently and fluently are involved in the six aspects of speaking ability: comprehension, 

vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency, grammar, and intonation (Penny, 2006). First, 

comprehension is necessary for speakers who want to understand the meaning of a conversation 

in learning speaking skills. When speakers would like to convey a message, they have got to 

use their resources and abilities, regardless of grammar mistakes and any other errors (Gower, 

Philips & Walters, 2005). It means that speakers can talk to their ability and that understanding 

the meaning is more important than the use of grammar. Second, vocabulary is a crucial aspect 

of learning the English language. If speakers limited their use of vocabulary, they would lack 

understanding. Someone who lacks a sufficient vocabulary will not communicate effectively in 

both oral and written forms (Widari, 2017). Third, pronunciation is good and can be helpful in 

regular communication and expressive nature. Pronunciation is the method by which students 

produce the utterance of words clearly when speaking (Kline, 2001). When it comes to fluency, 

it is defined as the ability to communicate in a communicative, fluent, and accurate manner. 

Fluency typically refers to expressing oral language freely and without interruption (Brown, 

2001). In the aspect of grammar rules, when students are learning English speaking skills, the 

instructors teach them how to speak correctly and understand the theory of how to produce an 

English sentence correctly according to grammatical rules (Penny, 2006). Last but not least, 

intonation in the speaking skill is also significant because it is necessary to intonate in order to 

clarify a sentence delivered in English. In general, rising intonation and falling intonation are 

the two types of intonation in an English sentence. Both intonations must be trained adequately 

in elementary students before they can be used in speaking skills (Penny, 2006). 



https://asiacall.info/acoj Truong, N. K. V., & Le, Q. T. Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

2.3. The benefits of YouTube in the learning process 

As one of the well-known learning platforms, YouTube has some benefits for students to 

improve their speaking skills (Kurniawan, 2019) and even helps with four skills of English, 

including speaking, writing, reading, and listening (Van, Dang, D. Pham, Vo & V. Pham, 2021). 

By uploading the speaking video, learners can get some feedback from other users on YouTube. 

Wu, Hou, Zhu, Zhang and Peha (2001) investigated the powerful use of videos on the Internet 

and suggested several instructions and methods emphasizing the effectiveness of utilizing 

videos in education. So, it is a kind of learning style that helps students improve speaking 

performance by using videos. 

According to Cakir (2006), the video content is interesting and motivating for language 

instructors because it creates a natural, contextualized, and the authentic teaching-learning 

environment. Nasution (2019) regarded YouTube as a valuable educational resource for 

language teachers. It is a highly effective medium for developing language skills through 

vocabulary development and presenting topics for debate and dialogue that represent all 

varieties of English used in the EFL classroom. Therefore, YouTube videos can be provided for 

instructors to provide a variety of video clips that aid in teaching a foreign language. 

Anggraeni (2012) and Pratiwi (2011) confirmed that using videos supports students in 

organizing their thoughts, selecting appropriate words, constructing coherent sentences, and 

utilizing proper writing mechanics (including punctuation and spelling). Many suggestions for 

improving the learning process inside the class, such as websites, blogs, video-sharing websites, 

iTunes, and Vimeo, YouTube, appear to be the most widely used and have become extremely 

popular, particularly among young adults (Alimemaj, 2010). Moreover, Silviyanti (2014) 

affirmed that utilizing YouTube in the EFL classroom may be convincing, promotive, and 

advantageous, with students showing up energetic and eager to watch various videos, then 

practicing pronunciation and giving a speech like native speakers. As these studies 

demonstrated the benefits of using YouTube in searching for new knowledge, it also made 

students more eager to learn. Overall, YouTube benefits students’ language learning (Huy, 

Baker & Tran, 2021) 

2.4. The effectiveness of YouTube in learning speaking skills 

Using YouTube to improve speaking skills has been frequently practiced by students (Su, Cao, 

Le, L. Nguyen & T. Nguyen, 2021). The use of YouTube has had a positive impact on students’ 

motivation. As Berk (2009) stated, videos can significantly impact their minds and senses. He 

also suggested that video clips be used through multimedia presentations in order to improve 

learning in higher education institutions. Berk's research also claimed that YouTube videos 

could assist different learning styles, such as visual, verbal, emotional, and musical intelligence, 

in addition to attracting students’ attention. Watching videos also allows the brain to actively 

respond to both sides of the brain, which helps to increase and improve students’ understanding. 

Higher activation levels were found in brain regions associated with social memories and 

cognition, as well as imitation (Sherman, Payton, Hernandez, Greenfield & Dapretto, 2016). 

Qomar (2016) examined the use of YouTube to improve students’ speaking performance, and 

it was discovered that it could improve students’ speaking ability. The study found that students 



ACOJ- ISSN 1936-9859 AsiaCALL Online Journal  Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

11 

use the proper intonation and stress when they utter sentences, as well as correct grammatical 

structures and correct and appropriate vocabulary. The students could also start to speak without 

any hesitation, unwanted interruptions, or word repetition. The use of YouTube for learning 

may open a new opportunity for a more interactive and productive educational environment 

(Alkathiri, 2019). Similarly, Wagner (2007) suggested utilizing videos to teach speaking skills 

in the class because videos could help students remember information, improve their 

pronunciation, comprehend what is being said via graphics and illustrations, and speak fluently 

and flexibly. All these researchers reported and gave the role of the YouTube platform, which 

is a tool for learning and practicing a foreign language, especially in speaking skills. Through 

the YouTube platform, learners could learn how to master speaking skills and practice using 

videos effectively. 

YouTube was also used as a tool to support collaborative learning (Roodt & De Villiers, 2011). 

More specifically, Tan and Pearce (2012) agreed that using YouTube videos enabled students 

to explain key concepts in a sociology class. The researchers also confirmed that using YouTube 

videos was a helpful way to supplement their learning.  

Kurniawan (2019) showed that students refer to YouTube as a useful tool for enhancing their 

speaking skills. On the same note, research findings by Meinawati, Harmoko and Ramah (2020) 

affirmed that students who watched YouTube videos spoke more smoothly and confidently. 

YouTube videos, according to Bueno Alastuey (2011), played an essential role in enabling 

learners to speak and communicate with their teachers and classmates, as well as understand 

their surroundings. According to Watkins and Wilkins (2011), YouTube is an effective teaching 

tool that enhances learning both inside and outside the classroom. It offers a multimedia 

platform for promoting all language learning skills, particularly listening and speaking, and 

enhancing students’ vocabulary in diverse aspects and cultural backgrounds. In conclusion, 

content on YouTube improves students’ speaking skills in three areas: fluency, accuracy, and 

overall performance (Jati, Saukah & Suryati, 2019). 

2.5. Factors to a good speaking skill 

Boonkit (2010) noted that boosting confidence in giving a speech to an audience was primarily 

considered a factor that improved speaking performance. The tasks designed in the course that 

focused on speaking for exceptional communication in a variety of situations also assisted 

students in preparing for speaking, and once each speaking task was well-prepared, this 

preparation became an effective strategy to reduce shyness and thus maximize speaking 

confidence. The finding also showed that topic selection freedom encouraged participants to 

feel at ease, persuaded them to speak English, and boosted EFL learners’ speaking ability.  

According to Prieto Castillo (2007), interacting with others, learning from others, and selecting 

topics based on the learners’ interests can all help to boost speaking skills. The development of 

EFL/ESL learners’ English skills was recommended to include promoting speaking confidence 

as well as appropriate task design (Bailey, 2005; Nunan, 2006; Patil, 2008; Trent, 2009). Doff 

(1998) asserted that learners would not better their speaking ability if they did not also improve 

their listening ability. Noon-ura (2008) has the same finding when he states speaking, and 

listening skills are frequently connected. So as to have an effective dialogue, learners must 



https://asiacall.info/acoj Truong, N. K. V., & Le, Q. T. Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

comprehend what is said to them. When students speak, Shumi (1997) claims that the other 

students respond through the process of listening. Speakers could perform both the roles of 

listeners and speakers. It can be concluded that students cannot respond if they do not 

understand what is being said to them. Therefore, speaking is linked to listening, with learners 

engaging in media-based listening and attempting to speak in real-life situations. 

Many students expect their teachers to provide them with the necessary feedback on their 

speaking abilities. According to Harmer (1991), instructors’ attitudes toward their students’ 

performance are influenced by the stages of the lesson, the tasks, and the types of errors they 

make. Harmer also went on to explain that if instructors correct their students’ mistakes directly, 

the conversation's smoothness and the speaking activity's goal will be affected. Baker and 

Westrup (2003) declared that if students are constantly corrected, they will become demotivated 

and fearful of speaking. Instructors should always positively correct their students’ mistakes 

and provide them with more help and persuasion during the speaking process. Based on 

motivational orientations, Dincer and Yesilyurt (2013) revealed that teachers had negative 

attitudes toward speaking instruction, even though they believed it was critical to speaking 

ability. They concluded that despite having various motivational orientations toward speaking 

English, the teachers felt unskilled in oral communication. Their study pointed out that learners’ 

self-perceptions of their speaking ability were negative, and they described themselves as 

inefficient English speakers.  

EFL students should be familiar with words and sentences. EFL learners’ speaking ability is 

influenced by linguistic components such as lexical resources, phonology, syntax, and 

semantics, as well as psychosocial characteristics like motivation and character traits 

(Mahripah, 2014). The students should know how words are broken down into different sounds 

and how sentences are stressed in different ways. Grammatical competence can surely help 

speakers incorrectly apply and perceive the structure of the English language, leading to 

development in fluency (Latha & Ramesh, 2012). 

2.6. Research Questions  

As mentioned above, the main purpose of the study is to examine how EFL tertiary students 

practice and perceive the utilization of the YouTube platform in improving their speaking skills. 

To achieve this purpose, the research has posed two questions: 

Research question 1: What are EFL university students' practices in using YouTube to improve 

their speaking skills? 

Research question 2: What are EFL university students' perceptions of using the YouTube 

platform to enhance their speaking skills? 

 

3. Methods 

3.1 Pedagogical Setting & Participants 

This study was carried out at the Faculty of Foreign Languages of a university in Ho Chi Minh 

City, Vietnam. The paper included 106 university students from various classes who are 

learning English as a foreign language. They were selected for the fact that they best reflected 



ACOJ- ISSN 1936-9859 AsiaCALL Online Journal  Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

13 

the nature of the study, and the authors are working or studying in this faculty, so it would be 

convenient to conduct the survey and the interview. It can be seen from the table that there are 

67,9% of females, 31,1% of males, and 0,9% of participants preferred not to say about their 

gender participating in this survey (see table 1). Moreover, the researchers interviewed six 

students who were randomly selected from the group of survey respondents. There are two 

students who are males and four students who are females to participate in the interview.  

Table 1 

Demographic Information of the Sample (Gender) (N=106) 

No Gender Frequency Percent 

1 Female 72 67,9% 

2 Male 33 31,1% 

3 Prefer not to say 1 0,9% 

There are no big differences in the number of students in different academic school years. A big 

proportion of students participating in the survey are in their third year, followed by seniors. A 

similar percentage of students are in their first and second years. (Figure 1) 

 

Figure 1. Demographic information of the sample (academic school year) (N=106) 

 

As for students' self-rate of speaking ability, most of them are in the level from 5 to 7 out of 10. 

Some students scored themselves poorly, and just a small number of students rated themselves 

advanced speakers (at 9 or 10). (Figure 2) 

20%

19%

33%

28%
Freshman

Sophomore

Junior

Senior



https://asiacall.info/acoj Truong, N. K. V., & Le, Q. T. Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

 

Figure 2. Self-rate of students about the speaking skill 

3.2 Design of the Study 

This research was conducted using quantitative and qualitative methods. For the quantitative 

method, a questionnaire was used as an instrument to collect quantitative data. The authors 

came up with a questionnaire to survey how EFL university students perceive the use of 

YouTube. All the items in the questionnaire were originally developed. To create the 

questionnaire, the authors reviewed articles about the benefits/effectiveness of using YouTube 

in improving speaking skills and what makes a good speaking skill. The questionnaire also got 

some constructive feedback from two other colleagues in the field before being finalized by the 

researchers. All the items in the questionnaire were put into SPSS 25.0 for analysis to determine 

their reliability. There are three parts to the questionnaire. The first part has three items asking 

about participants' gender, academic school year, and their self-rate of speaking competence. 

Part two focuses on students' practices with five items. Part three is about students' perceptions 

with ten items which are grouped into three categories: students' feelings, students' speaking 

skill enhancement, and students' learning process and understanding. This part employs the 

five-point Likert scale to discover how much they agree with each statement (5: strongly agree; 

4: agree; 3: neutral; 2: disagree; 1: strongly disagree). A semi-structured interview was 

employed to collect qualitative data for the qualitative method. There are five open-ended 

questions to investigate students' practices and perceptions deeply. The results from the 

interview will be used as supporting arguments for the questionnaire results, so they will be 

embedded in answer to the research questions in the findings/results section. 

3.3 Data collection & analysis 

Due to the complexity of the Covid-19 pandemic and social distancing, the survey was 

published by Google form to the private groups in order for students to access the link of the 

questionnaire survey easily and safely. The private groups consist of students and staff from the 

faculty and are administered by the staff. The researchers would like to obtain 30 responses for 

piloting in 7 days. After that, the researchers decided to stop getting responses and started 

importing the answering data of part 3 (students’ perceptions) to analyze the reliability. The 

data was examined using advanced calculation techniques called Cronbach's Alpha with the 

calculation tool named Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 25 (SPSS 25). The figures 

can be seen in table 2. 



ACOJ- ISSN 1936-9859 AsiaCALL Online Journal  Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

15 

Table 2 

The Cronbach’s Alpha for Each Category of the Questionnaire – Part 3 (30 Responses) 

No. Categories  Cronbach's 

Alpha 
No of Items 

1 Feelings  .747 4 

2 Speaking skill enhancing    .564 3 

3 Learning process and understanding  .654 3 

The Cronbach's Alpha for the first and third categories is acceptable. There is one problem with 

the second category, for the Cronbach's Alpha of Reliability Statistics is 0.564 (the number of 

Cronbach's Alpha is at least 0.6 to be accepted) (Table 3). Taking a closer look, the authors 

found that the statement "I can improve my speaking skill through watching videos on 

YouTube," with the number of Corrected item-total Correlation of Speaking three just 0.280 

(the recommended figure is at least 0.3). If this was corrected, the Cronbach's Alpha for 

category two could be improved. The researchers changed statement number 3 into “I can 

improve my speaking skill through watching English videos of my beloved speaker on 

YouTube”. This is more specific, and students would be aware of what they were going to select. 

Table 3  

Item-Total Statistics (30 Responses) 

No  

Item 

Scale 

Variance if 

Item Deleted 

Corrected 

Item-Total 

Correlation 

Cronbach's 

Alpha if Item 

Deleted 

1 I can mimic any accent of native 

speakers naturally. 

1.568 .485 .296 

2 I can learn to speak English in front of 

the public. 

1.926 .415 .437 

3 I can improve my speaking skill 

through watching videos on YouTube. 

 

1.444 .280 .678 

 

After testing the reliability of 30 responses and changing the statement, the survey was 

published by Google form to the private groups having students of all academic years (including 

freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors) on Facebook (a social media network) and MS 

Teams (an online learning platform) again. The researchers got 106 responses from the students 

in two months when the link was closed to continue importing the data for analysis. The 

reliability coefficient of the questionnaire used in this study ranged from .709 to .765, indicating 



https://asiacall.info/acoj Truong, N. K. V., & Le, Q. T. Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

that the data collection instrument is highly reliable (See table 4). 

Table 4 

Cronbach’s Alpha for Each Category of the Questionnaire (106 Responses) 

No  Categories Cronbach’s Alpha 

1 Feelings  .716 

2 Speaking skill enhancing  .709 

3 Learning process and 

understanding 

.765 

Furthermore, the researchers randomly chose 6 participants from 106 respondents who gave 

their opinions in the interview sections. Because some participants who joined the interview 

sections had their personal business and some schedule conflicts, they were interviewed 

individually at their convenient times. All participants were added to the group of the interview 

by the researchers on Ms. Teams. In addition, to efficiently conduct the finding results during 

the interview, the researchers recorded the meeting to review with the participants' permission. 

The researchers declared to the interviewees that all the answers were anonymous and explained 

clearly that the data only served the purpose of the study. After the interview, the researchers 

listened to the recording again, entered the data into Microsoft Excel, and started to synthesize 

and compare the responses among participants. The following parts will not use the real names 

of the participants. Instead, this paper will code the participants with the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 

and 6 (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, and P6).  

The procedure of data collection and analysis can be summarized as follows. 

Weeks 1,2,3,4  Reviewing factors to a good speaking skills and benefits of using YouTube for 

English speaking skills and starting to construct the items in the questionnaire. 

Week 5 Completing the questionnaire and sending it to two other colleagues for modifications  

Week 6 Sending the first version of the questionnaire to students for piloting  

Week 7 Analyzing the reliability of the questions (part 3) and modifying one item 

(abovementioned), using SPSS 25 

Week 7 Sending the final version of the questionnaire to the participants on Facebook groups 

and MS Teams groups, using google form 

Weeks 7-14 Waiting for responses 

Week 15 Getting 106 responses and starting to analyze the Cronbach’s Alpha as well as some 

descriptive statistics, using SPSS 25 

Week 16 Sending invitations to participants for interviews and conducting the interviews 

Week 17 Analyzing the results of the interview, synthesizing and comparing the response 

content from interviewees 



ACOJ- ISSN 1936-9859 AsiaCALL Online Journal  Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

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Week 18 Finding the connections between the survey results and the answers from the 

interviews and analyzing 

 

4. Results/Findings and discussion 

4.1. Results/ Findings 

4.1.1. EFL university students’ practices in using YouTube to improve their speaking skill 

As for students’ habits in using YouTube to enhance their learning, the study discovered that 

almost all students choose this network. Nearly half of the students surveyed use YouTube very 

often. Only one student never uses YouTube for his or her learning purposes. (Figure 3) 

 

Figure 3. Students’ frequency of using YouTube platform for learning purposes 

When it comes to what percentage of students who prefer to learn the speaking skill on a regular 

basis via YouTube, the finding found that a vast majority of students utilized it. Only a few 

students rarely or never use this social media to serve the purpose of enhancing their speaking 

skills. (Figure 4) 

 

Figure 4. Students' frequency of using the YouTube platform to enhance their speaking skill 

Taking a closer look at why students used YouTube for practicing speaking skills, nearly all 

students admit that they utilize YouTube to improve their speaking fluency, to have more 

11%

33%

47%

8% 1%

Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never

6%

33%

52%

7% 2%

Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never



https://asiacall.info/acoj Truong, N. K. V., & Le, Q. T. Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

knowledge of lexis and grammatical structures and to sharpen their reflexes in listening 

comprehension. This shows the necessary aspects to learn for speaking skill enhancement. 

(Figure 5) 

 

Figure 5. The purposes of using YouTube to improve speaking skill 

Figure 6 shows more specific aspects of learning when they watch videos on YouTube to 

enhance their speaking skill. Almost all students choose to learn pronunciation and intonation, 

while only a tiny fraction choose to learn other aspects related to linguistics. It was discovered 

that the number of people choosing pronunciation and intonation outnumbers other aspects. 

Speakers who want to communicate with foreigners and ensure they understand the information 

must improve their ability to pronounce words clearly and to smoothly intonate sentences. 

Following pronunciation and intonation, students want to study vocabulary, collocation, and 

grammar. 

1

1

1

75

70

60

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Not to use YouTube

To watch the instructor

To learn the other methodology

To sharpen reflexes in listening comprehension.

To have more knowledge of vocabulary and grammar.

To improve speaking fluency.



ACOJ- ISSN 1936-9859 AsiaCALL Online Journal  Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

19 

 

Figure 6. What students learn from YouTube to improve their speaking skill 

Figure 7 shows which purpose the students think YouTube best serves to improve speaking 

skills. The figure for pronunciation and intonation is the highest from the pie chart. Following 

that is the reflex of communication. The third best service is perseverance during the practice 

process.  

 

Figure 7. The purposes YouTube best serves to enhance speaking skill 

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Not to use YouTube

Other language

Semantic, Pragmatic, English culture

Pronunciation and intonation

Collocations

Grammar

Vocabulary

11%

42%

8%

21%

16%
1%

1%

Fluency

Pronunciation and
intonation

Knowledge of vocabulary
and grammar

Reflexes on communication

Perserverance during
practice process.

Reflexes on communication,
knowledge of vocabulary
and grammar.
Not to use YouTube



https://asiacall.info/acoj Truong, N. K. V., & Le, Q. T. Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

Overall, most EFL university students surveyed use YouTube very often as their tool to serve 

their learning in general and to enhance their speaking ability in particular. The purposes of 

using this social media are also varied, the most popular of which range from increasing 

knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, improving reflexes on listening comprehension to 

boosting fluency. More specifically, some of the aspects that students can learn the most from 

this platform include pronunciation, intonation, lexis, collocation, and grammar. Among these, 

they believe that YouTube can help them improve pronunciation and intonation most, followed 

by reflexes in communication and determination in the learning process. Moreover, all 

participants in the interview used YouTube to enhance mainly speaking and listening skills. 

They all state that they use YouTube on a regular basis in order to improve different aspects 

which are useful for their speaking practice, including pronunciation, intonation, grammar, and 

vocabulary. Therefore, besides speaking, listening is also a skill that can be practiced through 

YouTube as P1 says, "I think YouTube can help us practice listening skills also, and this is really 

necessary if we want to boost our speaking skills. Through YouTube, I can really improve both 

my listening and speaking skills". 

4.1.2. EFL university students’ perceptions towards using YouTube platform to enhance their 

speaking skill 

Table 5 

The Feelings of Students Using YouTube Platform 

No Item N Minimum Maximum Mean 

1 I am able to be self-controlled when 

presenting in English. 

106 1.00 5.00 3.2642 

2 I feel interested in practicing speaking 

via YouTube. 

106 1.00 5.00 3.6321 

3 I feel more confident giving any idea in 

English in the classroom. 

106 1.00 5.00 3.3491 

4 I can be confident speaking English 

when I don’t mind using the wrong 

grammatical structures. 

106 1.00 5.00 3.5283 

 Valid N (listwise) 106    

Four items in table 5 illustrate students’ feelings using YouTube flatform when practicing 

speaking skills. All these four mean scores range from 3.26 to 3.63, which shows students' 

agreement. The results show students take an interest in practicing speaking via YouTube, and 

they can be more confident without worrying about making mistakes in grammatical structures. 

For the other two statements, which are about the ability to be self-controlled and boost 

confidence in giving ideas in English, students seem to agree slightly, but there is still a sense 

of positive feelings. 



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21 

The interview results have shown that all the participants feel interested when using YouTube 

because they can watch movies and cartoons in English and listen to music to relax and learn a 

language. Besides, they can find many sources of audio and short tips videos on YouTube, such 

as VOA speaking, IELTS public speaking, and Ted-talk, where they practice their 

pronunciation, intonation, and accent like a foreigner. YouTube can be helpful for listening 

repetition, so they can mimic the voice and improve their fluency when speaking English 

naturally. The data shown in table 5 indicate some sense of moderate agreement, and the 

responses of interviewees can explain this. Participants talk about their psychology when they 

present in the class. P1 says that the factor which impacts speakers’ lack of self-control is 

forgetting the word they want to say. It means students cannot control themselves well due to 

the fact that they don’t remember what is said next in their presentation. P2 states that the 

mentality is too unstable to remember the information transferred to listeners. As the aspect 

other participants mentioned, preparation is the main factor in a successful presentation. 

Therefore, it can be seen the factors that impact speakers are preparation, such as the primary 

information to present, the suitable vocabulary, good performance and skill, and an unstable 

mentality that affects the performance for presentation in English.   

Table 6 

Speaking Skill Enhancement of Students Using YouTube Platform 

No  

Item  N 

Minimu

m Maximum Mean 

1 I can mimic any accent of native 

speakers naturally. 

106 1.00 5.00 3.1038 

2 I can learn to speak English in front 

of the public. 

106 1.00 5.00 3.3585 

3 I can improve my speaking skill 

through watching English videos of 

my beloved speaker on YouTube.  

106 1.00 5.00 3.8868 

 Valid N (listwise) 106    

Table 6 illustrates students' perceptions when using YouTube to boost their speaking skill. As 

can be seen from the table, participants who use the YouTube platform to practice their speaking 

skills can improve themselves through watching videos of their beloved speakers. For the other 

two statements, the mean score is not very high, which shows moderate agreement. In the 

interview section, participants admit YouTube can provide knowledge such as vocabulary, 

intonation, pronunciation, phrases or structures for presentation, and use of grammar. 

Eventually, participants can learn how to communicate and to gesture. With the audio voice-

over and the short videos, learners can practice their voice and fluency to mimic a native speaker 

using the YouTube platform. Ultimately, participants can study how to speak reflexively like a 

native speaker, acquire the sample sentence related to the phrase, and the short paragraph to 

communicate with foreigners more naturally. Significantly, all participants can learn how to 



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develop the skill and vocabulary for presentation in the class. Through YouTube, P4 can 

improve their speaking skill to practice pronunciation and improve their communication ability. 

Besides, P5 also mentions being able to enhance confidence during the speaking process. 

Therefore, YouTube is indeed a valuable platform for learners who require to improve their 

knowledge such as vocabulary, phrases for communication, and tips to develop their 

performance in presentative or public speaking. YouTube is essential for learners to improve 

their skills effectively during the pandemic when they must learn at home.  

Table 7 

 Learning Process and Understanding of Students Using YouTube Platform 

No  

Item  N 

Minimu

m 

Maximu

m Mean 

1 I can easily study a lot of new 

vocabulary which will support 

my speaking skill. 

106 2.00 5.00 3.6981 

2 I can understand the information 

in English that one wants to 

present. 

106 2.00 5.00 3.6321 

3 I am proactive in spending time 

practicing speaking via 

YouTube. 

106 1.00 5.00 3.5849 

 Valid N (listwise) 106    

Table 7 demonstrates students' learning process and understanding when using the YouTube 

platform to learn and improve speaking performance. The mean scores show agreement among 

students. They agree that they can learn vocabulary which will support their speaking skill, 

understand more about English in presentation and spend more time practicing proactively. In 

the interview, students' understanding, knowledge, and proactiveness can be attributed to many 

factors. P1 uses the YouTube platform to listen to music and watch movies in English, through 

which he can learn about the pronunciation and intonation of speech. P2 and P4 can easily 

review the video to understand the information and content provided in English. They claim 

that the English video can easily be learned by using a tool such as a subtitle. P2 also declares 

that he can learn the pronunciation and improve speaking intonation. P3 states that she can learn 

how to pronounce and communicate logically and naturally. Especially, P5 can watch many tips 

about how to speak English that has not been translated before. P6 can learn how to mimic 

fluency like a foreigner. Besides, interviewees also recommend some good English channels 

such as BBC News, BBC Learning English, Langmaster, VOA, English with Lucy, Rachel 

English, IELTS Face-Off, English Speeches, National Geographic, English Marie, and Ted 

Talk. These channels on YouTube can provide learners with sample sentences on random topics, 

share knowledge about the vocabulary, idioms, and slang words, and instruct learners on how 

to express the content and how to look for a good performance on the stage.  



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23 

Overall, nearly all students have a positive attitude towards the use of YouTube to enhance their 

speaking skills. Although there is some moderate agreement in the survey, the results from the 

interview section confirm the benefits the platform gives to EFL university students in 

enhancing their speaking skills. More specifically, students can be self-controlled in their 

speaking performance, more interested, and more confident in expressing ideas without 

worrying about making mistakes. They are also able to mimic the native speakers to sound more 

natural in speech and learn from them how to speak publicly well, which is thanks to watching 

English videos of their beloved speakers. Besides, YouTube can help them easily increase 

lexical resources to understand better and become more active in their learning. P2, P3, and P4 

have the same idea that YouTube is a good source to offer different types of knowledge, 

including grammar, vocabulary, and tips on how to pronounce and intonate well. P1, P5, and 

P6 added learners could use different abovementioned channels to implement English learning, 

especially speaking. They all have a great experience when using YouTube for their speaking 

practice, and all agree that pronunciation, intonation, vocabulary, and reflexes are some aspects 

that can be practiced most effectively through this media. 

4.2. Discussion 

Students using YouTube can improve their intuitive listening skills and learn a lot of vocabulary 

and grammar knowledge. That shows the YouTube platform can provide a lot of helpful 

knowledge for learners who need to practice their skills, not only speaking skills but also 

listening comprehension skills. A high number of students choose to practice pronunciation and 

intonation via YouTube, which shows that learners need to practice pronunciation and 

intonation to speak naturally. Besides, vocabulary and collocations are also dominant choices 

in the obtained survey results. EFL university students want to be able to convey content to 

listeners understandably, and they certainly need to cultivate English vocabulary. Thus, the 

speakers can feel confident in communicating the information or presenting content to the 

audience in public efficiently. 

The results show that EFL students commonly practice pronunciation and reflexes when 

speaking. This is because YouTube has a repetition mode to listen to the content of a video and 

easily understand the content when the subtitle mode is turned on. When students try to watch 

videos, their brain activity helps increase students understanding and memory. This opinion 

best fits other researchers’ including Berk (2009), Bueno Alastuey (2011), Sherman et al. 

(2016), and Wagner (2007). It shows that learners can easily practice pronunciation, imitate the 

way native speakers speak, and practice speaking speed and reflexes in communication. As a 

result, they can improve their speaking ability, which was also found by Kurniawan (2019) and 

Qomar (2016). This means students can speak more smoothly and flexibly, as Meinawati et al. 

(2020) and Wagner (2007) have concluded. 

When it comes to the students’ feelings after using the YouTube platform, positive ones can be 

found. On YouTube, there are videos on how to construct a method for learning a foreign 

language that is comfortable and confident in providing ideas instead of being anxious when 

speaking incorrect grammar. Therefore, students feel more confident when learning English on 

YouTube. This is in line with Meinawati et al. (2020). The fact that YouTube could help learners 

improve their speaking skills parallels what Kurniawan (2019) claimed, which is that the 



https://asiacall.info/acoj Truong, N. K. V., & Le, Q. T. Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

YouTube platform is an effective tool that can support students improve their speaking skills. 

Wagner (2007) recommended using the videos to help students remember the information, 

improve pronunciation, understand what is being said, and even speak fluently. While watching 

videos, EFL students can learn much knowledge from vocabulary, grammar, as well as 

presentation skills. Besides, EFL students can learn by imitating the voice of native speakers to 

make it sound like a native speaker. At the same time, EFL students can learn how to speak in 

public most naturally. The researchers realize that YouTube is a helpful platform for language 

learners, especially for speaking skills. 

Moreover, EFL university students can acquire knowledge related to speaking skills. YouTube 

can provide helpful knowledge that is new vocabulary, which is what Bueno Alastuey (2011) 

agrees on. Specifically, students can provide engaging learning channels such as BBC News, 

BBC Learning English, Langmaster, VOA, English with Lucy, Rachel English, IETLS Face-

Off, English Speeches, National Geographic, English Marie, and Ted Talk. They can improve 

more when they understand what they want to say when they convey it to others, even when 

presenting in front of the class.  

The use of YouTube can help students positively impact students’ learning outcomes and 

satisfaction, which Orús et al. (2016) would agree on. Furthermore, at the same time, students 

can be more active when practicing YouTube with speaking skills because they can study 

anytime. However, their speaking skills will improve significantly if they are patient and have 

an effective learning schedule and motivation.  

In conclusion, YouTube supplements students’ learning (Roodt & De Villiers, 2011; Tan & 

Pearce, 2012) and improves their overall performance in speaking (Jati, Saukah & Suryati, 

2019). 

 

5. Conclusion 

EFL tertiary students can practice speaking on YouTube to improve their performance. They 

can explore many sources for practicing speaking on YouTube. Most of the time, vocabulary 

and grammar are the primary sources from which new words can be easily found and learned. 

EFL learners must continue to study vocabulary and grammar to communicate with others 

effectively. Pronunciation is also an essential skill for students to learn, and they can practice it 

by listening to what the foreigner says and then naturally trying to mimic the voice and sound. 

Furthermore, the reflex on communication is the most preferred in the questionnaire, which 

allows students to practice reflexes such as foreigner communication via YouTube. Moreover, 

almost all students are interested in using YouTube for learning. EFL university learners can 

gain experience by watching movies, listening to music in English, finding a suitable source to 

practice fluency and control the speed of speaking like a native speaker, understanding 

information when a partner speaks in English, and relying on it through YouTube. Thus, 

YouTube is indeed a good tool in the learning process for those who aspire to improve their 

speaking skill and improve their performance. 

This research has some contributions concerning the effectiveness of using YouTube to enhance 

EFL tertiary students’ speaking skill, but it still faces certain limitations. These limitations also 



ACOJ- ISSN 1936-9859 AsiaCALL Online Journal  Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

25 

somehow affect the results and significance of the study. These limitations include the sample 

of the study and the speaking level of the participants being studied. Firstly, this study surveyed 

EFL university students at a Faculty of Foreign Languages from a university and it seems not 

to extend the survey to other faculties and universities. Secondly, the results obtained for 

students’ ability are only quite average, from 5 to 7 points when they are self-rated, which may 

keep students using YouTube to practice speaking skills unsatisfactory. There are two possible 

suggestions for future research on the same topic based on current discoveries and potential 

limitations. With the limitations mentioned above, the future research paper will spread among 

many students at different faculties and universities. With the speaking level of students using 

YouTube to improve their speaking skills, it is expected to increase in size and a correlation 

between speaking students’ level and effectiveness of using YouTube can be investigated.   

 

Acknowledgment  

We would like to express our gratitude to all the respondents and interviewees who partook in 

our survey. We also would like to send our sincere thanks to Van Lang University at 69/68 Dang 

Thuy Tram Street, Ward 13, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam where our 

research was funded. The last special thanks would go to two of our colleagues that provided 

us with some constructive feedback on our questionnaire. 

 

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APPENDIX 

Appendix A – Questionnaire 

PART 1: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION 

1. Your gender 

-   Male 

-   Female 

- Prefer not to say 

2. You are a… 

-   Freshman 

-   Sophomore 

-   Junior 

-   Senior 

3. How would you rate your speaking skill? (1-10 scale) 

PART 2: STUDENTS’ PRACTICES: 

1. How often do you use the YouTube platform for learning purposes? 

-   Always 

-   Usually 

-   Sometimes 

-   Rarely 

-   Never 

2. How often do you use the YouTube platform for enhancing your speaking skill?   

-   Always 

-   Usually 

-   Sometimes 

-   Rarely 

-   Never 

3. Why do you use the YouTube platform for learning speaking skill? 

-   To improve speaking fluency 

-   To have more knowledge of vocabulary and grammar 

-   To sharpen reflexes in listening comprehension 



https://asiacall.info/acoj Truong, N. K. V., & Le, Q. T. Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

-  Others (please specify):  

4. Which knowledge do you often learn from YouTube to practice speaking skill? 

-   Vocabulary 

-   Grammar 

- Collocations 

- Pronunciation and intonation 

-  Others (please specify):  

5. Which aspect do you think YouTube best serves to enhance speaking skills? 

• Fluency 

• Pronunciation and intonation  

• Knowledge of vocabulary and grammar 

• Reflexes on communication 

• Perseverance during practice process 

•  Others (please specify):  

PART 3: STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS 

The following statements are about your perceptions toward using YouTube for 

enhancing speaking skill. Please read each one and click on the bullet to show how 

much you agree or disagree with each statement. 

Strongly disagree (1)/ Disagree (2)/ Neutral (3)/ Agree (4)/ Strongly agree (5)  

No Item  1 2 3 4 5 

Student’s feelings       

1 I am able to be self-controlled when presenting in 

English. 

     

2 I feel interested in practicing speaking via YouTube.      

3 I feel more confident giving any idea in English in 

the classroom. 

     

4 I can be confident speaking English when I don’t 

mind using the wrong grammatical structures. 

     

Speaking skill enhancing      

1 I can mimic any accent of native speakers naturally.      

2 I can learn to speak English in front of the public.      

3 I can improve my speaking skill through watching 

English videos of my beloved speaker on YouTube  

     

Learning process and understanding      

1 I can easily study a lot of new vocabulary which will 

support my speaking skill. 

     

2 I can understand the information in English that one 

wants to present. 

     

3 I am proactive in spending time practicing speaking 

via YouTube. 

     

Appendix B – Interview Questions 

1.   Do you often use YouTube for learning purposes? Do you use YouTube to improve your 

speaking skill? 

2. Tell me your experience in using YouTube to improve speaking skill. 

3. In your opinion, is YouTube a good source to offer knowledge for developing English 



ACOJ- ISSN 1936-9859 AsiaCALL Online Journal  Vol. 13; No. 4; 2022 

31 

speaking skills? What knowledge does it offer? 

4. In your opinion, for which purpose is YouTube used to practice speaking skills effectively? 

5. Can you recommend any good English learning websites or channels? What are those? Is it 

possible to practice speaking via those? 

 

Biodata 

Thao Quang Le holds a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from Curtin University. He has 

ten years of English-teaching experience. He is now a lecturer in the Faculty of Foreign 

Languages, Van Lang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He has been giving classes on 

four English language skills and teaching courses in such English linguistic components as 

phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax. Conducting studies into L1 instructions in L2 

classrooms and on language assessment is his particular interest. 

Van Ngoc Khanh Truong is an undergraduate at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Van Lang University, Ho 

Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. She is majoring in English teaching. She is interested in conducting research related 

to utilizing social media to enhance her English skills. 


