The Use of YouTube in Enhancing English Proficiency Skill Among MSU BTESL

Students

2.1 Introduction

Students now have additional options to use online materials in conventional

classrooms thanks to the sole purpose of technological innovation. It adds excitement as well

as purpose, both not only to learning, but to teaching as well. There are massive amounts of

audible materials that are accessible online that may be used in a diverse range of methods in

English classrooms if students and teachers have proper access to the internet. It can be said

that one of the best strategies for succeeding in English lessons, is to use of the website,

YouTube. It may be applied in ESL classes not only for the purpose of improving speaking,

listening, vocabulary, pronunciation skills, but other abilities as well. A tool along the lines

of YouTube may be highly helpful for language learning both in as well as out of the

classroom (Lee, 2020).

Videos, film trailers, television snippets, music videos and other types of materials,

including brief original films, blogging videos, as well as instructional educational videos, are

all shared through this well-known website. When it comes to YouTube, it was founded

back in February of 2005 by Jawed Karim, Steve Chen and Chad Hurley. The website is

called YouTube because "You" may submit your own videos there, and "Tube" because that

was how people used to refer to televisions back in the day as they ran on Cathode Ray Tube

Technology. Users have the not only have the capability to upload videos of their own and

watch videos uploaded by others, but also get to comment, share, rate and save videos on the

website. Both registered as well as non-registered users have the capability to submit videos

to their channels. The website has a wide variety of educational videos that may be

discovered with ease in addition to videos for amusement (Lee, 2020). There are several short
films about various English dialects accessible. Interacting with English speakers who are not

native speakers is one of the key objectives of learning the language. The website does not

only offer the opportunity to engage with native as well as non-native English speakers but

learn about the various dialects and variants of English spoken across the globe at the same

time.? Thanks to it being a free video sharing platform with users watching almost 6 billion

hours of video each month, YouTube is currently among the most popular websites online to

the extent that there is a strong probability that any internet video a person comes across, it

can be found on the website. Due to the variety of views and activities it supports, YouTube

has developed over the last 20 years into a rich and relevant platform for social media users.

The teaching and learning of English can benefit from watching YouTube videos. ESL

students can use this material to improve their language abilities, particularly their speaking

and understanding abilities (Lee, 2020).

2.2 Previous Studies on Perceptions towards the Use of YouTube in Enhancing English

Proficiency Skill

In the year 2021, Hadeel A. Saed, Ahmad S. Haider, Saleh Al-Salman, and Riyad F.

Hussein from the Science Private University, Department of English Language and

Translation, Amman, 11192, Jordan, published a journal titled “The use of YouTube in

developing the speaking skills of Jordanian EFL university students”, which investigated how

YouTube affected a student’s capability to verbally communicate. For the purpose of that

study, a control group as well as an experimental group were chosen where while the

experimental group was forced to acquire speaking skills through YouTube, the control group

on the other hand was coached on speaking skills through conventional methods. Both the

experimental group as well as the control group were tested before and after the experiment

and when the results of the pre and post tests were compared the among the groups, the study

showed that the experimental group’s test scored significantly higher in all of the speaking

ability descriptors compared to the control group.

A significant increase in the number of multimedia learning material now available in

Jordan thanks to the advent of Internet-supported digital technology, with YouTube videos

monopolizing the marketplace. Despite the circumstance, it was recorded that a barrier was

the fact that some teachers lack the necessary training and were therefore unable to keep up

with the most recent developments in digital learning and assessment technologies (Ali,

2020). Students as well as teachers were sometimes at odds since most have digital skills that

some teachers may not be comfortable with. The generational digital divide has produced a

population of digital immigrants among instructors who are unable to keep up with the

advanced technological expertise of their EFL pupils.

 In the aforementioned study, it was examined that the students’ performance before

and after completing the Oral Skills course in order to determine whether or not there had

been a noticeable improvement in the speaking performance of the students who were

subjected to the two teaching techniques (Ali, 2020). After undergoing a 16-week teaching

session, the students' results seem to be improving. The disparity between the students' pre-

test and post-test results provided clear evidence of this. The researchers looked at the

variations of the group which made the most progress after determining that there was a

statistically significant difference between their performance in the two groups before and

after the training (Ali, 2020).

Numerous studies have shown the value and applicability of the webiste in the

instruction of speaking skills to EFL students. This study, which is the first in a line of

empirical studies projects, had a narrow field of investigation. It focused on the speaking

ability of the EFL students, which is one particular level of expertise. In order to lay the

groundwork for future research on the other elements of the IELTS speaking band, which

consists of four main categories, namely fluency & coherence, lexical resource, grammatical

range & accuracy, and vocabulary, the study also recorded a relatively small amount of

university students in one institution of higher education in Jordan.

2.3 Factors that Influence the Perceptions towards the Use of YouTube in Enhancing English

Proficiency Skill.

According to the International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature

titled “YouTube as a Learning Tool to Improve Students’ Speaking Skills as Perceived by

EFL Teachers in Secondary School”, by Thamer Binmahboob, published on 30th November

2020, a study showed that English language teachers had favourable opinions about utilising

YouTube to improve speaking abilities. According to their comments, YouTube videos may

be used to teach students how to speak more clearly, predict the meaning of terms that they

are unfamiliar with, and provide them with guidance. The findings also included YouTube

videos as prospective resources that might aid students in understanding the content they are

listening to, segregating speech into recognised pieces, and improving their ability to

distinguish between sounds. The participants agree that YouTube help students with

meaning, understanding, and sound recognition in general.

The study's conclusions made it clear that YouTube videos have been shown to

improve speaking. This is consistent with other studies where it was noted that YouTube

videos can assist generate opportunities for language usage, speaking abilities, and

cooperative learning amongst students. When it comes to answering questions, creating video

inquiries, and developing communication skills that are crucial for self - directed learners,

YouTube videos offer a wonderful setting for cooperative learning.

Additionally, it was claimed that employing movies in the classroom allows teachers

to provide language learners with real cultural knowledge, which is consistent with this study.

For students who don't take English classes, practising their English speaking abilities

through movies is a better way to learn about the cultures of the target language. The same
outcome is was demonstrated, where it was noted that YouTube's beneficial impact on the

improvement of speaking abilities. It's crucial to understand that YouTube may help with

language improvement. YouTube creates a fun and welcoming environment that motivates

students to study.

Other than that, (Snelson and Perkins, 2009), who found that using films in English

language classes is a beneficial in language acquisition, confirm the current findings. It

encourages language learners to use the target language. Using films to improve pupils'

speaking abilities has a lot of benefits. It can be argued that YouTube may be extremely

beneficial for students in improving their speaking ability and that it can also be an important

tool in learning about different cultures and terminology. The main advantage of watching

movies while studying English is that it makes the students laugh. Due to the fact that

YouTube videos offer several advantages, students must learn English by viewing them.

English language instructors are interested in using YouTube in their educational

process because they believe it will benefit them in the academic environment and bolster

their students' knowledge of the English language, according to Lee (2010) and Alimemaj

(2010)?. These authors supported the results of this research by pointing out that this is a new

way that they believe will benefit them.

(Barrs, 2012), who stressed that the teachers believe YouTube videos might be a

solution to many problems including weariness and schedule, further supports this

conclusion. Despite what might be expected, it was provided that additional evidence in

favour of this conclusion by indicating that YouTube videos may be utilised as a fresh and

reliable source of information that students can rely on in order to learn new material in

addition to the teacher (Nguyen, 2021). YouTube videos may be a highly helpful tool for EFL
learners to practise their speaking skills and provide them fresh, engaging ways to learn the

language.

2.3.1 Motivation towards using YouTube app in developing speaking skill

As a ground breaking digital arena, the internet is fast transforming the social lives of people

all over the world (Snelson, 2016). As a result of the proliferation of social networking

websites, this capability has gained an even greater amount of attention (SNS). YouTube now

has over one billion users, which is equivalent to one third of all people who use the internet.

YouTube is accessible in more than 88 countries and provides material in more than 76

languages all around the globe. YouTube also provides its members with the ability to

monitor and record the activities of other users who view the videos that they like. In the

beginning, YouTube was nothing more than a video-sharing website that enabled its users to

upload their own films (Snelson, 2016). These days, however, YouTube is a massive

entertainment business in and of itself. In addition, people utilise it as a platform for sharing

videos and searching for information. Research has shown that eighty percent of respondents

use social media to search for information. They also mention that the information on

transactions, produced items, or small enterprises that they seek via social media.

When compared to other video platforms, such as ITV and Netflix, YouTube enjoys the

greatest level of popularity among young people. They are much more familiar with

YouTube in comparison to the other two video outlets. A wider variety of video material is

also available for viewers to search through on YouTube, making it easier for people to find

the videos they want to watch (Snelson, 2016). The ridiculous challenges that can be found

on YouTube, such as tasting "hot pepper," are examples of the humorous stuff that can be
found on the website. YouTube can be accessed and used with relative ease from a wide

variety of digital devices. Users watch videos on YouTube because the video material is

enhanced, diverse, and unique, and because the website has a convincing, integrated user

experience that makes it easy to publish, broadcast, and watch live streaming videos.

According to the uses and satisfaction viewpoint, the media material and channels that users

consume might be determined by the attractions that consumers already have. Consumers of

today may look for information on YouTube because they feel that website has the potential

to provide all of the gratifications that watching traditional broadcast television cannot. In

addition, people who use the internet are becoming more productive and more immersing

themselves in the online world as a result of the increasing popularity of social networking

sites. According to the findings of a number of studies, the third kind of pleasure provided by

mass media in general is referred to be "integration in the social context." In this context, the

uses and gratifications that may be derived from social media are taken into consideration.

This is done on the basis of the capabilities and functions of social media. YouTube is mostly

known for its user-generated material, in addition to the presentation of video clips that have

been developed commercially and professionally. Despite this, many of the people who

upload material to YouTube are probably not professionals, but there are those who upload

videos with very expensive production values. Because there are so many different things that

can be done with user-generated material, users are always looking for new ways to satisfy

their needs. Consumers are able to develop their own material, participate in its creation, and

make contributions to it (Snelson, 2016).

2.3.2 Attitude towards using YouTube app in developing speaking skill

As a result of YouTube's ability to provide users both auditory and visual information, the

language-learning platform has become an extraordinarily effective source of material for

students working on their speaking skills. In addition to that, the subtitles that are included in

videos that are hosted on YouTube may also be utilised to support exercises involving

speaking and listening. The question of whether or not using YouTube may improve students'

ability to communicate verbally has given rise to some debate. Despite the fact that a great

number of research have been carried out on this topic, the results are not even close to being

definitive (Thamer , 2022).

It is common knowledge that people's attitudes may have a significant impact on the actions

that they do. It was established that a person's perception of his own level of intellect has a

direct correlation to the degree to which he believes he is capable of finding solutions to

challenges. It was also said that the components of attitudes are believed to be an individual's

evident behavioural beliefs, which reflect the results of the behaviour. To be more exact,

attitudes may be broken down into three distinct categories: emotional attitudes, cognitive

attitudes, and behavioural attitudes. Surprisingly, the reactions approaching an attitude object

are what constitute affective attitude. It involves how people think and feel about speaking

exercises, as well as how much encouragement they are given to practise talking and how

much interest they have in speaking activities (Thamer , 2022). In addition, a person's

cognitive attitude consists of their beliefs, ideas, and characteristics that they give the most

consideration to. The behaviours or reactions that one has while performing anything are
referred to as one's behavioural attitude. Non-English majors' perceptions regarding the usage

of YouTube in enhancing speaking abilities are accordingly trending toward the positive side,

which may be attributed to the relevance of YouTube and opinions towards speaking skills.

The reaction that one has toward an attitude object is referred to as the emotional component.

In regards of language, it encompasses how people perceive and react about communicative

skill, how motivated they are to partake in English conversation, and how much they are

enthusiastic about speaking. In addition, it looks at how much they are motivated to improve

their speaking skills. The ideas, thoughts, and characteristics that people express about an

item are examples of the cognitive component of attitudes. It is referring to the fact that a

person's general knowledge corresponds to a portion of their views. It is predicated on

people's mental processes in relation to attitude objects. The term "behavioural component"

refers to the reactions or comments that listeners leave on English videos seen on YouTube

(Thamer , 2022).
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