The usefulness of TikTok voice-over challenges as ESL speaking activities : A case study on Malaysian undergraduates

Chuah, Kee Man and Ch'ng, Looi Chin (2023) The usefulness of TikTok voice-over challenges as ESL speaking activities : A case study on Malaysian undergraduates. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 20 (1). pp. 37-49. ISSN 0219-9874

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Abstract

TikTok is a popular video-sharing social media platform that encourages its users to upload bite-sized content for entertainment purposes. In recent years, the platform is filled with videos meant for micro-learning, ranging from tutorials to meaningful challenges. Among those videos are voice-over challenges where users need to virtually duet with another user and perform a voice-over based on given texts. This article reports a case study that aimed to identify the usefulness of TikTok voice-over challenges in helping English as a Second Language (ESL) students to learn speaking skills. The study included 60 undergraduates who participated in twelve voice-over challenges within two months. Upon completing the challenges, they had to fill in an online questionnaire that gathered their views on the usefulness of the tasks and the problems they faced. The results revealed that students regarded the TikTok challenges as useful since they could improve their pronunciation and intonation, partake in turn-taking as well as motivate them to speak English more frequently. Several notable problems with its implementation are also shared in this article. Despite the small sample size, this study has shown promising outcomes on the use of TikTok voice-over challenges as speaking tasks for ESL learners.

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