The particular dialect or language that a person chooses to use on any occasion is called a code 805 Copyright © 2024 The Author IDEAS is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 License Issued by English study program of IAIN Palopo IDEAS Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) Volume 12, Number 1, June 2024 pp. 805 - 815 EFL Students’ Perceptions on the Use of TikTok Videos in Increasing Speaking Skills Farhan Aulady1, Silih Warni2 Frhnldy12@gmail.com 1,2 Faculty of Teacher Training & Education, Universitas Muhammadiyah Prof. Dr. Hamka, Jakarta, Indonesia Received: 2024-05-10 Accepted: 2024-06-30 DOI: 10.24256/ideas. v12i1.5091 Abstract The research delves into a comprehensive exploration of students' perceptions concerning the efficacy of TikTok as a tool for improving their oral communication skills. Employing a rigorous quantitative methodology, the researcher meticulously selects three cohorts of tenth-grade students to serve as the study's sample population. The data collection process entails the systematic application of a Likert scale. Subsequently, the amassed data undergoes a meticulous analysis, conducted through sophisticated tabulation procedures within the Microsoft Excel platform. The results of this analysis yield compelling insights, revealing a substantive and statistically significant positive association between the utilization of TikTok and the enhancement of students' oral communication proficiencies. Moreover, the results shed light on an interesting aspect of students' views on TikTok; a significant number of people exhibit a highly optimistic perspective. Many student’s express enthusiasm for incorporating TikTok into their English language learning journey. This insight emphasizes how TikTok can create an interactive and captivating learning atmosphere, boosting the development of crucial speaking skills among school students. Keywords: Communication, Speaking Skills, TikTok http://u.lipi.go.id/1457703302 mailto:Frhnldy12@gmail.com Farhan Aulady1, Silih Warni2 EFL Students’ Perceptions on the Use of TikTok Videos in Increasing Speaking Skills 806 Introduction In learning English, four basic skills need to be mastered; listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Speaking is considered the most crucial and essential skill for achieving efficient communication out of the four language skills (Tran, 2022). According to Rao. P (2019) Merging speaking skills can improve proficiency in a foreign or second language. Speaking skills are very important because it is one of the most used skills in daily life. In addition, English is a Global language that is spoken all over the world (Sofyan, 2021). Nowadays, communication is carried out throughout the world among people through one common language which is English (Akhter et al., 2020). Thus, speaking has an important role in educational life for student communication. Basic English learners commonly encounter challenges in their language acquisition journey, including struggles in discerning the word class of identical vocabulary and difficulties in pronunciation stemming from the linguistic disparities between English and Indonesian (Sundari, 2018). This happens because when they are outside the school area, they also tend not to be interested in communicating using English. Referring to Gunawan Tambunsaribu (2021) The study found that 77% of students felt compelled during English lessons, 15% did not enjoy learning English, and 8% considered it unimportant. To overcome the students’ problems in speaking, there are some applications that we can use to improve speaking skills, such as TikTok (Ferstephanie & Lady Pratiwi, 2022). TikTok application is highly favored by teenagers and provide a wide array of content, spanning from entertainment to educational materials (Nurdiansyah, 2021). Therefore, TikTok as an entertainment app can make students more comfortable in learning English, especially for speaking skills. The efficacy and tranquility of learning English are greatly enhanced by the diverse features and content offered through social media platforms, rendering the process more practical and cost-effective (Malik et al., 2022). Furthermore, their listening and speaking skills demonstrated significant progress. One of the advantages TikTok provides is that there are pauses and replay (Hongsa et al., 2023). This advantage makes it easy for users to receive the content. The other major advantage of using TikTok is that content can be shared on other social media platforms (Hayes et al., 2020). Pratiwi's research (2021) revealed that participants showed a positive attitude towards using the TikTok application as an English learning method, both to improve reading and speaking skills. This study shows that TikTok provides a significant opportunity for students to improve their speaking skills more easily. Utilizing TikTok to enhance speaking skills not only contributes to the improvement of students' oral proficiency but also introduces an interactive element. According to Ferstephanie and Lady Pratiwi (2022), students can create IDEAS, Vol. 12, No. 1, June 2024 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 807 diverse English content by utilizing the various features available to make their videos engaging and interactive. Therefore, when employed appropriately, this application offers numerous benefits that cater to both teachers and students. Through TikTok, the learning environment becomes enjoyable, fostering discussions between teachers and students, particularly on subjects that resonate with the students (Herlisya, 2022). Several studies have found some of the effectiveness of using TikTok for education. According to Adnan et al., (2021), Students enjoyed using TikTok as an effective and modern educational tool, emphasizing its user-friendly nature. Another relevant study conducted by Abdul Aziz and Lee Mei (2022) TikTok is a valuable tool for fostering highly engaging learning experiences by incorporating multimedia elements and leveraging social networks. According to Pratiwi's (2021) research, participants exhibited a positive outlook toward employing the TikTok application as a method of English language learning, aiming to enhance literacy and speaking skills. It allows students to acquire English-speaking skills in a pleasurable educational setting. The studies mentioned above indicate a trend regarding the effectiveness of TikTok in improving speaking skills. However, the context of this study diverges due to variations in the sample. This research specifically focuses on applying TikTok to improve speaking skills among senior high school students. Based on personal observations at a state senior high school in Jakarta, many students faced similar challenges, with speaking as the main hurdle. They expressed that speaking in English was difficult, and their lack of confidence was evident in such situations. The researcher found that two difficulties were identified. First, limited vocabulary made some students unable to respond effectively during conversations. Secondly, students highlighted challenges in pronunciation, which made them prefer to speak in their native language. Their habit of using their mother tongue resulted in difficulties when trying to speak in English. This research is intended to examine if there is a positive impact of using TikTok videos to improve students' English-speaking skills. Investigating this research question provided an interesting opportunity to investigate the obstacles that students face when participating in oral activities. The researcher was excited to explore the potential challenges faced by students during verbal communication. However, the researcher strongly believes that student's proficiency in speaking can be improved by using effective media such as TikTok videos. This research aims to investigate students' perceptions of using TikTok videos to enhance their English-speaking skills. Farhan Aulady1, Silih Warni2 EFL Students’ Perceptions on the Use of TikTok Videos in Increasing Speaking Skills 808 Method In this study, the researcher employed a survey research design, a quantitative research approach where surveys are administered to either a sample or the entire population to depict the attitudes, opinions, behaviors, or characteristics of the studied population (Creswell, 2012). Quantitative research was used to investigate students' perceptions of using the TikTok app as a tool to improve English speaking skills. To measure the effectiveness of the TikTok app in enhancing students' speaking skills, the researcher provided 25 statements. The statements are about how enthusiastic they are about the TikTok app and its effectiveness in improving their speaking skills. The answers provided are a Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). The population of this study is all First-grade students at the school in the specified academic period. The sample consisted of 100 students. The aim is to ensure a balanced representation of both genders in the study. The researcher measures the validity of the instrument using Microsoft Excel. To calculate the instrument's validity, researchers measured validity using Microsoft Excel. Testing was carried out directly on the sample used in this study. The results of this validity test show that r observed > r-table (0.05) of all items. This means that each instrument used in this study is valid. The reliability test was also carried out on the instrument used and the results on Cronbach's alpha of (0.943), indicate good reliability. After collecting the required data, the researcher analyzed the data. The researcher used Microsoft Excel application to calculate the data with the formula. The researcher found the average on the Likert scale and then after getting the average, the researcher will read the results descriptively per statement. The average is calculated by the formula P = 𝐹 𝑁 x100% Results Description of the data This research explains that students give opinions through their perspectives on TikTok which has a good influence on improving their speaking skills. The following table shows the results of the participants’ responses dealing with questions about several researchers' statements. Table 1. Percentage of enthusiasm with TikTok Statement Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 1. Using the TikTok app is a fun way to fill my free time. 4,1% 14,4% 36,1% 45,4% IDEAS, Vol. 12, No. 1, June 2024 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 809 2. I find that using TikTok helps me release stress and feel more relaxed. 2,1% 25,8% 42,3% 29,9% 3. Using the TikTok app helps me find a variety of creative and educational content 5,2% 15,5% 45,4% 34,0% 4. I find it interesting when I come across content related to education. 1,0% 15,5% 49,5% 34,0% 5. Through TikTok, I was able to discover many interesting things that I never knew before. 5,2% 7,2% 39,2% 48,5% Table 1 shows that a significant portion of the student’s express comfort in using the TikTok application. This is evident in statement 1, where over half of the sample frequently utilizes TikTok during leisure time. Additionally, most students concur with the presented statements. Notably, only a small percentage, specifically 5.2%, strongly disagree with the statements provided. Table 2. Percentage of enthusiasm with TikTok English videos Statements Strongly disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 6. I found many useful tips and tricks for learning English through TikTok. 5,2% 21,6% 50,5% 22,7% 7. I feel like I can quickly understand the English content on TikTok. 5,2% 21,6% 43,3% 29,9% 8. I like watching English content on TikTok. 10,3% 15,5% 41,2% 33,0% 9. I enjoy trying to pronounce English words that I hear from TikTok 6,2% 15,5% 47,4% 30,9% 10. I like to follow TikTok accounts with English content 10,3% 42,3% 32,0% 15,5% 11. When TikTok content appears in English, I take a minute to watch the 8,2% 17,5% 51,5% 22,7% Farhan Aulady1, Silih Warni2 EFL Students’ Perceptions on the Use of TikTok Videos in Increasing Speaking Skills 810 content before moving on to other content. 12. I prefer to watch English content on TikTok than on other apps 13,4% 29,9% 45,4% 11,3% 13. Through TikTok, I can learn English in a way that is fun and doesn't feel like a burden. 8,2% 21,6% 48,5% 20,6% 14. English content on TikTok attracts my attention to learn more about English 8,2% 21,6% 48,5% 21,6% 15. I like to save English content on TikTok for my English learning. 7,2% 32,0% 42,3% 18,6% Table 2 above shows that the 5 statements about students' enthusiasm for TikTok content in English gave relatively agreeing answers. However, some students disagree with the statement above, as in statement 10 which shows that 42.3% of students prefer not to follow TikTok accounts that provide content in English. This indicates that students tend to prefer watching content on TikTok without necessarily following TikTok accounts. This relates to statement number 11 which shows the results of 51.5% agreeing that students like to spend time watching English content that appears on TikTok. Table 3. Percentage of the effectiveness of TikTok in improving speaking skills Statements Strongly disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 16. Interacting with various English content on TikTok has helped me hone my English-speaking skills. 4,1% 21,6% 53,4% 17,5% 17. Using TikTok has made me more confident in speaking English in front of others. 6,2% 36,1% 45,4% 12,4% 18. TikTok helps me improve my English grammar 6,2% 20,6% 55,7% 17,5% 19. I feel more fluent in communicating in English after using TikTok to 7,2% 37,1% 43,3% 12,4% IDEAS, Vol. 12, No. 1, June 2024 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 811 practice. 20. I learned a lot of new vocabulary through English content on TikTok 7,2% 13,4% 23,7% 55,7% 21. TikTok has helped me hone my English presentation skills. 5,2% 38,1% 46,4% 10,3% 22. TikTok makes learning English easier for me 5,2% 23,7% 52,6% 18,6% 23. TikTok indirectly helps me improve my English- speaking skills. 3,1% 19,6% 52,6% 24,7% 24. I feel more prepared when I have to speak in English in class due to frequent exposure to English content on TikTok. 7,2% 42,3% 36,1% 14,4% 25. TikTok can be said to be effective for use in English learning 7,2% 30,9% 47,4% 14,4% As shown in Table 3 above, the results obtained are good where almost all of the statements regarding the effectiveness of TikTok provide positive results. However, there are still aspects or statements above whose results are not good. As many as 42.3% of students still feel unprepared if they must speak in English in class. This is inversely proportional to statement 20, where 55.7% of students agree if they must present their presentation in front of the class. This indicates that students feel that their speaking skills have increased, it's just that at certain times students feel less confident when they must speak alone in class using English. Discussion The purpose of this study is to determine the perspective of students about the effect of using TikTok in improving speaking skills. based on the data obtained, students tend to give answers agreeing to the existing statements in the form of interest in using TikTok, enthusiasm for TikTok English content, and the effectiveness of using TikTok to improve speaking skills. From 25 statements given to high school students in East Jakarta, the results show that students are greatly helped by the exposure or use of TikTok with English content. Therefore, TikTok is very influential in improving students' speaking skills in the East Jakarta region. Farhan Aulady1, Silih Warni2 EFL Students’ Perceptions on the Use of TikTok Videos in Increasing Speaking Skills 812 The results indicate that utilizing TikTok has a beneficial effect on enhancing students' speaking skills. Several relevant studies show TikTok has a good impact on improving speaking skills. In other words, TikTok can be a way for students to learn more relaxed, especially in helping English communication (Ferstephanie & Lady Pratiwi, 2022). In addition, TikTok is good enough to be used for English learning media, especially in improving speaking skills. (Manggo et al., 2022). This research is also supported by the findings of Nety et al (2023) This reveals that students enjoy using TikTok and it has also become a habit to use social media. In other words, this means that TikTok has a great opportunity if it is used to improve students' speaking skills in the classroom because they enjoy using this app. In another study conducted by Rahmwati & Anwar (2022) It was discovered that TikTok video content could assist individuals in enhancing the quality of their vocabulary and enable them to grasp the correct word patterns for everyday use. Then, based on the researcher's result, students feel that if they learn English through TikTok they can understand faster. This is in line with the results found by Cahyono & Perdhani (2023) TikTok videos are usually short so they are easy to understand. Compared to watching long videos on YouTube or other platforms, TikTok is more convenient and easier to understand for students to improve their speaking skills. Therefore, with the results showing that TikTok is more popular with students than other platforms, it can be concluded that TikTok is very suitable for learning media if teachers carry out the application properly at school. The advantages of using TikTok are also very many. For example, when exposed to English content on TikTok, some students will accidentally follow the speech or sentences in the English TikTok content. As a result, they will develop the habit of indirectly absorbing new English vocabulary through videos on the TikTok platform. This is based on data obtained from research conducted by the researcher. 47.4% agreed they like to say or practice sentences or words heard from TikTok. Conclusion The study findings indicate that students positively perceive using TikTok as an application to improve their speaking skills. TikTok also has the potential to be used effectively in classroom learning. The research shows that TikTok has a significant impact on improving the speaking skills of students in the region of East Jakarta. However, the study has some limitations as it only involved three 10th- grade classes, and researchers believe that it cannot represent all students in Indonesia due to the varied opportunities of accessing TikTok in different regions. According to the data obtained from the research, students find TikTok interesting and fun due to the diverse content that does not bore them quickly. This also influences how often students are exposed to English content on TikTok. The IDEAS, Vol. 12, No. 1, June 2024 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 813 researchers advise students to use the TikTok application properly to maximize its benefits. Students should not only use TikTok for social media purposes but also for creativity and to increase their knowledge of English. With unlimited access to TikTok, students should make the most of it. In conclusion, TikTok has many benefits; students can improve their English- speaking skills without realizing it. The application helps them learn in a comfortable and fun way without any pressure. Other researchers can use this research as a reference, they should not only read it but also review it. References Alfatihah, A., Ismayanti, D., Syam, A. T., & Santaria, R. (2022). Teaching Speaking Skills through Project-Based Learning for the Eighth Graders of Junior High School. IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature, 10(1), 152-165. Adnan, N. 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