New Language Dimensions
Journal of Literature, Linguistics, and Language Teaching
Volume 5 (1) 2024
ISSN: 27468968
https://journal.unesa.ac.id/index.php/nld/index
The Effectiveness of TikTok as an Instructional Media on Students’
English Vocabulary Mastery
Ida I Dewa Agung Tirtayasa1*, I Gusti Ngurah Agung Wijaya Mahardika1,
Ni Wayan Satri Adnyani 1
1
Universitas Hindu Negeri I Gusti Bagus Sugriwa Denpasar, Denpasar, Indonesia
*
Corresponding Author: wijayamahardika@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Being the foundation block of a language, vocabulary mastery remains an interesting topic to
be studied. Constant advancement in technology and shifts in pedagogy have warranted
continuous updates in the understanding of vocabulary and vocabulary mastery. The present
study aims to investigate the effect of TikTok on students’ English vocabulary mastery. Using
a quasi-experimental research design the present study compared the vocabulary mastery of
two groups of students grouped into experimental and control groups with 34 students in each
group. The experimental group was taught using TikTok and the control group was taught
using conventional method. Multiple choice tests were used for pre-test and post-test. The
resulting mean scores of both groups were compared and analyzed using T-test. Based on the
statistical calculation with the significance level a = 0.05, it showed that t (66) = 3.749, p = <.
The findings of the research indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in
students’ English vocabulary mastery between students who were taught using TikTok and
students who were taught using conventional method. It implies that TikTok is effective to be
used as an instructional media to teach English vocabulary.
Keywords: vocabulary mastery, TikTok, instructional media, effectiveness
INTRODUCTION
Vocabulary is a crucial part in foreign language learning. Without having adequate vocabulary
mastery, English learners cannot comprehend written texts; nor can they convey
communication, express their ideas, thoughts, and emotions (Abrar et al., 2013; Heriyanto,
2015). Even though language learners have good command of grammar, it will be useless if
they still have very limited vocabulary knowledge, (Rohmatillah, 2014). Richards & Schmidt
stated that vocabulary is the foundation for how well learners can understand a language in
writing speaking, listening, and reading (Richards & Schmidt, 2010).
In fact, language learners consider that learning and mastering English vocabulary is
one of the complicated parts (Derakhshan & Khatir, 2015). Liu (2016) found out that the most
language learners perceive that the activity of vocabulary learning is not easy, and many of
them have trouble in memorizing large amounts of vocabulary or applying it appropriately
(Liu, 2016). Moreover, Yasin & Sitiha (2021) also discovered that some students were lazy to
memorize vocabularies because the students thought that memorizing vocabulary was a
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New Language Dimensions
Journal of Literature, Linguistics, and Language Teaching
Volume 5 (1) 2024
ISSN: 27468968
https://journal.unesa.ac.id/index.php/nld/index
challenging and boring activity, since it was just conducted in a monotone way (Yasin & La
Sitiha, 2021). Rahman & Angraeni (2020) detected that in Indonesia, the chance of failing in
mastering and understanding the vocabulary was higher, it is also faced by non-English
speaking countries because the students who learn vocabularies only take place during the
English lessons. The results were proved that learners have a very limited time to obtain and to
practice the new terms vocabulary that they have learnt in the meaningful context (Rahman &
Angraeni, 2020). Furthermore, based on the researcher preliminary study conducted in MIPA
6 and MIPA 7 classes, the researcher found that students’ English vocabulary mastery in said
two classes were still low. It is known after the researcher gave the students test to do speaking
and writing, the researcher found that students still get petrified in speaking and produce limited
sentences in writing. It is also supported by the result of the interview with some students that
they felt difficult to learn and memorize new English vocabulary. Besides, the teacher who
teach English in those two classes also confirmed that the students in MIPA 6 and MIPA 7 are
truly lack of English vocabulary. Thus, this condition is rather impossible to eliminate and
ignored, yet modifying or discovering teaching techniques and media is very necessary which
may assist students in mastering the English vocabulary (Suherdi, 2009). Naz (2018) believes
that media plays a substantial role during the activity of teaching and learning process. He
further explained that the instructional-aids is able to assist teachers to deliver the knowledge
in a prepossessing way and giving diversity of environment and atmosphere in classroom, and
make teaching learning process to be more effective and attractive (Naz, 2018). Therefore, the
teachers should be able to discover and use attractive media which can be utilized to assist the
students in memorizing English vocabulary.
It is known that several media such as visual aids, printed media, and audio media can
be utilized effectively as an instructional media by the teachers to teach the vocabulary.
However, it is undeniable that the use of monotonous media and ways may cause the students
to be bored and no longer interested in the process of learning activity. As stated by Yasin &
Sitiha (2021), the students will feel bored and lazy to learn since the students are taught in
monotonous ways by the teacher. Thus, it is important to find out another effective media which
can be utilized by the teacher to help students to be interested and motivated in learning English
vocabulary (Yasin & La Sitiha, 2021).
There are abundant of media that can be operated by the teachers in learning English
vocabulary. Due to advancement of technology, the social media recently has been considered
as an effective tool to supplement the teaching activity (Heriyanto, 2015). As explained by
Richards & Schmidt (2013) who say that several studies have shown evidences of social media
has become a favorable learning media for learning the language skills such as speaking,
listening, reading, and writing, especially for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or English
as a Second Language (ESL) (Richards & Schmidt, 2013). Thus, utilizing the contents in social
media application can be considered such a good innovation to maximize the utilization of
technology in learning foreign language.
The most frequently used social media application is TikTok (Jaffar et al., 2019).
TikTok is an application network on a video platform that has numerous music support which
may enable its users to perform their performance or videos with dance, freestyle, and much
more that encourages the creativity of its users (Khlaif, 2021). It was introduced by Zhang
Yiming in 2016 and owned by Byte Dance. This application used to be named Douyin which
was very popular in China. Due to its popularity, Douyin has expanded to various countries
with a new name, namely TikTok. In 2017 TikTok also came to Indonesia (Pratiwi et al 2021).
Just like in other countries, this social media application also attracts a lot of attention from
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New Language Dimensions
Journal of Literature, Linguistics, and Language Teaching
Volume 5 (1) 2024
ISSN: 27468968
https://journal.unesa.ac.id/index.php/nld/index
various groups to create creative videos and contents (Khlaif, 2021). Based on statistics,
TikTok ranked seventh from top 10 applications by all the times downloaded worldwide from
2019 and ranked second for applications downloaded worldwide in Google play store and
Apple store in 2019 (Huining, 2020).
The familiarity of TikTok, has triggered several researchers to conduct research toward
the utilization of English contents in TikTok in learning English. They discovered that TikTok
was able to support the students in learning English speaking, pronunciation, writing skills and
vocabulary (Pratiwi et.al., 2021; Hadi & Indriani, 2021; Nabilah et al., 2021; Salsabia et al.,
2021; Rahmawati & Anwar, 2022; Sinta et al., 2022; Fahdin, 2020). A research that was
conducted by Salsabia et al (2021), find out that TikTok could make students entertained and
not easily felt bored during learning and teaching activity, it could improve students' English
speaking competency as well. Hadi & Indriani (2021) in their stated that using the contents of
TikTok as a media for students’ speaking was able to increase students’ self-confidence to
speak English and could add new experiences for students in expressing and delivery their
ideas, thoughts and emotions for free on TikTok. Pratiwi (2021) discovered that TikTok
application was able to improve students’ pronunciation and it could be used as a media for
learning English pronunciation. Fahdin (2020) explained that students’ perception toward the
use of TikTok was positive. He further found out that short videos on TikTok that containing
English material and contents could help them to expand and develop their English
vocabularies (Fahdin, 2020). It is also supported by Rahmawati & Anwar, 2022; Sinta et al.
(2022) which find out that TikTok could give positive impact and it was very helpful for the
students to use in memorizing adjective vocabulary. Moreover, Hadi & Indriani (2021)
discovered that the contents in TikTok application was able to make teacher and students easier
to get information, students also interested and enjoyed to learn because they have new
experiences in learning English in an unconventional way. It means the English short video
contents in TikTok application as an instructional media can provide opportunity for students
to expand their vocabulary mastery.
TikTok's unique features significantly contribute to enhancing students' vocabulary
mastery by providing an engaging and interactive learning environment. One of the primary
features is the platform's short-form video content, which keeps students engaged with concise
and visually appealing material. This format aligns with modern students' preferences for
quick, digestible content, facilitating easier retention and recall of new vocabulary (Rahman,
2021). Additionally, TikTok's algorithm, which curates content based on users' interests and
previous interactions, ensures that students are frequently exposed to relevant vocabulary in
contexts that interest them, thereby reinforcing learning (Rama et al., 2023). The interactive
nature of TikTok, allowing users to create, share, and comment on videos, also plays a crucial
role. This interactivity not only motivates students to use new words in their own content but
also provides opportunities for peer learning through comments and collaborations (Herlisya
& Wiratno, 2022). Furthermore, the platform's use of subtitles and captions helps students to
see the spelling and usage of words in context, which enhances their understanding and
retention of new vocabulary (Rama et al., 2023). Overall, these features make TikTok a
powerful tool for vocabulary enhancement, combining entertainment with educational value.
However, from the previous researches, it was found that there is still limited research
which specifically investigate about is there any statistically significant difference in students’
English vocabulary mastery between students who are taught using TikTok and students who
are taught using conventional method. Thus, it is necessary to mention that the research which
aimed to investigate the difference in students’ English vocabulary mastery between students
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New Language Dimensions
Journal of Literature, Linguistics, and Language Teaching
Volume 5 (1) 2024
ISSN: 27468968
https://journal.unesa.ac.id/index.php/nld/index
who are taught using TikTok and students who are taught using conventional method is
imminent.
METHOD
The method used in this research was quasi-experimental research design. This method was
used which aimed to investigate the statistically significant difference between students’
vocabulary mastery who was taught using TikTok and students who were taught using
conventional method. This research investigated two variables from two group of samples, the
variables were TikTok as independent variable and vocabulary mastery as dependent variable.
The population of this research were tenth grade students majoring in science at SMA
Negeri 1 Bangli. The samples were selected using purposive sampling technique. The samples
were the classes of MIPA 6 as the experimental group who was taught using TikTok; and MIPA
7 as the control group who was taught using conventional method. These classes were selected
based on the results of their previous English exams which showed that both classes have
similar English competence.
The instruments used in this research was multiple choice vocabulary test which
consisted of 20 questions with 5 options of a, b, c, d and e. The test was used for measuring
students’ vocabulary mastery, and how many words they could before and after treatment given
to the experimental and controlled groups. This study was held in six meeting in each groups:
one pre-test meeting, four treatment meetings, and finally one post-test meeting. This was done
to control the extraneous variable that might influence the subject. The topics for each meeting
were taken from English syllabus of tenth grade students. The data was collected through pre-
test, treatment using TikTok in experimental group and using conventional method in control
group and post-test. The data were analyzed using independent sample T-test to know the result
of statistical difference between students’ vocabulary mastery who was taught using TikTok
and conventional method.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
After the researcher conducted the research, the researcher found the result as described
in the following table:
Table 1. Experimental Group Participants’ Scores
Test N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
Post Test 34 70 95 81.03 6.603
Descriptive statistics were calculated for both the pretest and posttest results of both the
control and experimental groups. For the experimental group’ posttest, the mean score was
𝑀=81.03 (SD = 6.603). The median score was 𝑀𝑑𝑛=80.00 with a range of 70 to 96.
34
New Language Dimensions
Journal of Literature, Linguistics, and Language Teaching
Volume 5 (1) 2024
ISSN: 27468968
https://journal.unesa.ac.id/index.php/nld/index
Table 2. Control Group Participants’ Scores
Test N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
Post Test 34 50 90 73.97 8.771
Meanwhile, as presented in table 2, For the control group’ posttest, the mean score was
𝑀=73.97 (SD = 8.771). The median score was 𝑀𝑑𝑛=75.00 with a range of 50 to 90.
Before continuing to inferential analysis, a Saphiro-Wilk test was conducted to assess the
normality of the posttest of the experimental and control groups data. The results indicated that
both posttest of the experimental group and posttest of the control group data were normally
distributed, with W (34) = .939, p = .057 for experimental group’s posttest; and W (34) = .952,
p = .143 for control group’s posttest as presented in Table 4.
Table 4. The Result of Independent Sample T-test
Shapiro-Wilk
Statistic df Sig.
Students' Result PostTest Experimental .939 34 .057
PostTest Control .952 34 .143
After fulfilling the normality assumption, a Levene’s test was conducted to assess the
homogeneity of variances for the scores across three groups. The test was not significant, 𝐹
(66) = 1.684, 𝑝=.199, indicating that the assumption of homogeneity of variance was not
violated. Thus, the homogeneity assumption was fulfilled.
Table 5. The Result of Independent Sample T-test
Test of Homogeneity of Variance
Levene
df1 df2 Sig.
Statistic
Based on Mean 1.684 1 66 .199
Based on Median 1.461 1 66 .231
Students' Based on Median and
1.461 1 60.273 .231
score with adjusted df
Based on trimmed
1.538 1 66 .219
mean
Since all the statistical assumptions have been fulfilled, the researcher decided to
continue comparing the means of the experimental and control groups using parametric test of
T-test. The results of the T-test are presented in table 6.
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New Language Dimensions
Journal of Literature, Linguistics, and Language Teaching
Volume 5 (1) 2024
ISSN: 27468968
https://journal.unesa.ac.id/index.php/nld/index
Table 6. The Result of Independent Sample T-test
Independent Samples Test
Levene's
Test for
Equality of
Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95%
Confidence
Sig. Interval of the
(2- Mean Std. Error Difference
F Sig. t df tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper
Students' Equal variances 1.684 .199 3.749 66 .000 7.059 1.883 3.299 10.818
Score assumed
Equal variances not 3.749 61.312 .000 7.059 1.883 3.294 10.824
assumed
Based on the statistical calculation of independent T-test from post-test of the participants
on the table above, it indicated that there was significant difference between the mean score
from the experimental group who was taught using TikTok (M = 81.03, SD = 6.603) and control
group who was taught using conventional method (M = 73.97, SD = 8.771).
The results of the independent sample T-test, t (66) = 3.749, p = <.001 means that the
null hypothesis was rejected and the alternative hypothesis was accepted. This suggests that
there is statistically significant difference of students’ English vocabulary mastery between
students who were taught using TikTok and students who were taught using conventional
method at tenth grade students of SMA Negeri 1 Bangli.
The primary objective of this study was to compare the vocabulary mastery of students
taught using TikTok with those taught using conventional methods. The findings revealed a
statistically significant difference in vocabulary mastery between the experimental group,
which utilized TikTok, and the control group, which employed traditional teaching methods.
Specifically, the students in the TikTok group demonstrated significantly higher vocabulary
scores compared to their peers in the conventional group.
The results of the independent samples t-test indicated that the use of TikTok as a
teaching media positively impacted students' vocabulary acquisition. The significant difference
in mean scores suggests that the interactive and engaging nature of TikTok videos may enhance
vocabulary learning more effectively than conventional methods.
These findings align with those of Herlisya and Wiratno (2022), who reported
improvements in language skills through the use of TikTok. Similarly, Rama et al. (2023) found
that TikTok significantly aids in vocabulary development due to its diverse and engaging
content. However, our study expands on this by providing empirical evidence of the efficacy
of TikTok in a controlled experimental setting, thus adding to the robustness of the existing
literature.
Furthermore, we observed that participants in the experimental group genuinely enjoyed
learning English through TikTok videos. They did not become easily bored during the learning
process, especially when duet videos were played on TikTok. The participants appeared
enthusiastic about engaging with the duet videos. These findings are supported by Fahdin
(2020), who discovered that short TikTok videos containing English material help students
improve their English vocabulary. In his study, students provided positive feedback, noting
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New Language Dimensions
Journal of Literature, Linguistics, and Language Teaching
Volume 5 (1) 2024
ISSN: 27468968
https://journal.unesa.ac.id/index.php/nld/index
that the English content in the videos was easy to understand and helped them retain various
vocabulary words, such as verbs, nouns, and other topics (Fahdin, 2020).
Additionally, our results are consistent with those of Rahmawati and Anwar (2022), who
found that students had positive attitudes toward learning English through TikTok. Their study
indicated a 95% improvement rate, suggesting that TikTok is an effective tool for vocabulary
learning. Furthermore, we observed that using TikTok duet videos in teaching vocabulary not
only made the lessons enjoyable but also helped participants easily memorize vocabulary, as
the videos often included music. This finding aligns with the research by Sinta et al. (2022),
who found that students reported that TikTok duet videos helped them easily memorize
vocabulary and understand both the meaning and pronunciation. Students also expressed
enjoyment in learning through these videos (Sinta et al., 2022).
The implications of this study are significant for educational practices and policy-
making. First, the results suggest that integrating social media platforms like TikTok into the
curriculum can enhance vocabulary acquisition among students. Educators can leverage the
engaging and relatable content on TikTok to make learning more appealing and effective. This
could be particularly beneficial in motivating students who are less engaged with traditional
learning methods.
Moreover, the study highlights the potential for technology to transform educational
practices. As digital literacy becomes increasingly important, incorporating technology into
teaching not only improves learning outcomes but also prepares students for a tech-centric
world. Policymakers should consider supporting the integration of such innovative tools in
educational frameworks to foster an adaptive and modern learning environment.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, our research indicates that TikTok can be effectively used in teaching English
vocabulary. It facilitates easier memorization of vocabulary, keeps students engaged and
prevents boredom, and enhances their overall enjoyment of the lessons. Therefore, it is evident
that there are significant differences in vocabulary mastery between students taught using
TikTok and those who are not.
Despite the promising findings, this study has several limitations. The sample size was
relatively small, which may affect the generalizability of the results. Additionally, the study
was conducted over a short period, limiting our understanding of the long-term effects of using
TikTok for vocabulary learning. Future research should address these limitations by including
larger, more diverse samples and extending the duration of the study to examine the long-term
impacts. Additionally, exploring the effectiveness of TikTok in enhancing other language
skills, such as grammar and pronunciation, would provide a more comprehensive
understanding of its educational potential.
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