Exploring the Use of TikTok Application in Enhancing the Skill of Pronunciation: A Case on Students’ Perception

Abstract

Over the past few years, technology has had a significant influence on the teaching and learning process. The appearance of several types of new technologies has benefitted some improvements in teaching language to students, of which one is a popular social media platform. This study focused on the exploration of the students’ perceptions towards the use of this platform for pronunciation improvement in language classes. A total of 32 students from Grade VIII SMP Cinta Rakyat 3 Pematangsiantar were selected to be the participants. Overall, the participating students were highly accepting of its use in teaching and learning, particularly for pronunciation skills. They had a positive perception of the platform as it was seen as an approachable and user-friendly tool that is effective in contributing to the students’ English language learning and in enhancing students’ pronunciation abilities. This study’s result will be able to be extended in future empirical research using TikTok in pronunciation since it was a theoretical investigation of TikTok only. Next, researchers should execute an empirical study to further investigate any possible impact of using TikTok on students’ speaking skills, including investigating productive skills in pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary, grammar, and discourse markers.