Students' Perception of The Use of Social Media as A Medium of Learning English: A Study of Digital Ethnography
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32806/islamentary.v4i2.2371Keywords:
Digital Ethnography, English As A Foreign Language, Learning Media, Social Media, Student Perception.Abstract
Using of social media as an English language learning medium among university students continues to grow alongside the acceleration of digital transformation in higher education, yet in-depth studies grounded in students' perspectives through an ethnographic approach remain scarce. This study aims to explore university students' perceptions of social media use as an English language learning medium through a digital ethnography approach. A qualitative method with a digital ethnography design was employed, with data collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews involving 12 purposively selected students and analyzed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. The findings reveal that students predominantly perceive social media as an effective, flexible, and motivating learning medium, particularly for developing listening, vocabulary, and speaking skills. YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram emerged as the most frequently utilized platforms for informal English learning. Key challenges identified include non-educational content distraction, insufficient pedagogical guidance from instructors, and the risk of acquiring unstructured informal language registers. These findings reinforce the argument that social media holds genuine pedagogical potential that students have been tapping into spontaneously without adequate instructional frameworks. Practically, this study contributes to EFL instructors and curriculum designers in integrating social media systematically into English language learning that is more adaptive, contextual, and sustainably impactful.
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