Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching

ISSN: 1750-1229 (Print) 1750-1237 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rill20

Learning English from YouTubers: English L2

learners’ self-regulated language learning on
YouTube

Hung-chun Wang & Cheryl Wei-yu Chen

To cite this article: Hung-chun Wang & Cheryl Wei-yu Chen (2019): Learning English from
YouTubers: English L2 learners’ self-regulated language learning on YouTube, Innovation in
Language Learning and Teaching, DOI: 10.1080/17501229.2019.1607356

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2019.1607356

Published online: 16 Apr 2019.

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INNOVATION IN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING
https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2019.1607356

Learning English from YouTubers: English L2 learners’ self-

regulated language learning on YouTube
a b
Hung-chun Wang and Cheryl Wei-yu Chen
a
Department of English, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC; bDepartment of Applied
Foreign Languages, National Taipei University of Business, Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Focusing on a growing English-learning trend in Taiwan, this study Received 1 October 2018
investigated EFL university students’ self-regulated language learning on Accepted 8 April 2019
YouTube outside of the classroom. Twenty university students who had
KEYWORDS
substantial experience of watching YouTubers’ English-teaching videos Self-regulated language
were invited for an individual interview to bring to light their learning; English-teaching
perceptions of this self-directed learning approach. Their responses were YouTuber; English L2 learners
analyzed to provide insights into learners’ attitudes toward this
technology-enhanced learning strategy and its impact on their learning
of English. Results show that the most highlighted purposes for learning
English on YouTube were to explore more learning resources, to seek
the attraction of learning English, and to explore cultural knowledge.
After viewing the videos on YouTube, the students were more likely to
press like and share the videos with their friends. Moreover, learning
English on YouTube was considered to be more flexible, more
interesting, and more interactive than formal learning in the classroom;
nevertheless, this informal learning approach was also deemed less
effective for students who wanted to improve their English or prepare
for English exams. Based on the results, this study concludes by
highlighting the pedagogical implications of this research and proposing
the complementary use of YouTubers’ English-teaching videos to
classroom learning.

Introduction
With recent advancements in technology, the contexts for language teaching and learning are no
longer bound in classrooms. Much informal learning is taking place beyond the physical boundaries
of language classrooms. Defined as ‘learning resulting from daily life activities related to work, family
or leisure’ (European Commission 2001, 33; see also Greenhow and Robelia 2009), informal learning is
germane to the rise of lifelong learning (Stickler and Emke 2011) where learners are depicted as
autonomous, social agents who actively seek learning tools, resources, and opportunities available
in their surrounding environment (Kalaja et al. 2011). This line of research is valuable because its
findings can help us better understand the array of learning opportunities available in a wide
range of physical and virtual spaces (Reinders and Benson 2017). They also provide alternative
insights on the meanings and processes involved in language teaching and learning (Benson and
Reinders 2011).
The advancements in technology also mean that students’ literacy environments have become
highly social, interactive, and multimodal (Kuure 2011). Different resources also compete for learners’
attention as soon as students go online. As multitasking and students’ short attention spans are

CONTACT Cheryl Wei-yu Chen wychen66@ntub.edu.tw

© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 H.-C. WANG AND C. W. CHEN

norms in the digital age (Mokhtari, Dellello, and Reichard 2015), how to best describe students’ infor-
mal, out-of-class language learning in these virtual spaces continues to be an important topic of
inquiry (Merchant 2009). One important virtual space is YouTube. Since its official launch in 2005,
it has become the most popular site where people view, share, upload and comment on videos
(Chau 2010). The popularity of the site has generated a group of content-producers called YouTubers.
According to Chau (2010), full-fledged YouTubers are those ‘who regularly broadcast videos to the
YouTube audience’ (67). A search of the YouTube website reveals that the most-subscribed YouTuber
is PewDiePie (https://www.youtube.com/user/PewDiePie), a Swedish-based video game reviewer
with over 61 million subscribers and 16 billion view counts on his YouTube channel. In terms of
English learning, Ray Du, the Taiwan-based YouTuber with over 1.4 million subscribers (https://
www.youtube.com/channel/UCeo3JwE3HezUWFdVcehQk9Q), is one of the most subscribed
English-teaching professionals around the world.
As YouTube has changed the landscape of the digital world, research on this platform has been
quite extensive. For example, Su’s (2017) study shows that YouTubers of the beauty industry in
Taiwan have a strong impact on their followers’ purchasing behaviors. Another example is Cayari’s
(2011) case study of a teenage musician which demonstrates how YouTube changes the ways
people consume, create, and share music. He concludes that YouTube is a technology which
‘allows listeners to become singers, watchers to become actors, and consumers to become producers
creating new original works and supplementing existing ones’ (24). On YouTube, everyone can be
part of the participatory culture (Jenkins, Ito, and Boyd 2016) where voices are heard and faces are
seen (Cayari 2011). Even by contributing comments to YouTube videos, the viewers are an important
part of the YouTube culture as they help to shape YouTubers’ charismatic personalities (Cocker and
Cronin 2017).
In the field of applied linguistics, research on YouTube has largely focused on the comment
exchanges between YouTube viewers, and the findings depict the global, dynamic, and complex
nature of YouTube discourse (e.g. Benson 2015, 2017; Boyd 2014). For example, Benson’s (2015)
study demonstrated that the comments on YouTube videos were a fertile ground for much language
and intercultural learning to take place. For our study, we turn the attention to followers of English-
teaching YouTubers. More specifically, we are curious about Taiwanese tertiary-level students’ self-
regulated language learning by watching these English-teaching YouTubers’ videos. To this end,
we adopted the theory of self-regulated learning to explore how they self-regulate their learning
on YouTube, how they perceive the advantages and limitations of this technology-enhanced learning
mode, and what actions they take as participants in this YouTube English-teaching-and-learning (ELT)
culture. In the next section, related literature on self-regulated learning in the online environment and
the potential of YouTube for serving as an informal language-learning site will be explicated in detail.

Literature review
Self-regulated language learning in the online environment
Self-regulated learning (SRL), which is closely intertwined with learner autonomy (Oxford 2015), is
considered to be essential for learners, and it emphasizes ‘the autonomy and responsibility of stu-
dents to take care of their own learning’ (Carneiro et al. 2011, vii). During the past several decades,
many SRL theories have been proposed to conceptualize SRL (see Panadero 2017, for a detailed
review). For example, Zimmerman’s (1998) review on SRL points out that SRL theories often depict
learning as a cyclical process consisting of three phases with distinct subprocesses: forethought
(e.g. goal setting and strategic planning), performance or volitional control (e.g. attention focusing
and self-monitoring), and self-reflection (e.g. self-evaluation and self-reactions). According to his
work, forethought is concerned with an individual’s beliefs, planning and mindset before he/she
takes action to learn. Performance or volition control pertains to factors that influence whether an
individual persists in the learning process and how well he/she performs. Self-reflection is about
 INNOVATION IN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING 3

how a person views and reacts to the earlier learning process, which further affects how he/she plans
and sets goals for the next self-regulated learning cycle. In developing a questionnaire for assessing
EFL learners’ self-regulation, Salehi and Jafari (2015) also discovered that self-regulation constitutes
thirteen relevant factors, such as intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, attitude of learning the language,
self-monitoring, planning and goal setting, and self-evaluation.
In L2 education, researchers have paid growing attention to the role of self-regulation in EFL lear-
ners’ learning of English. For example, the study by Şahin Kizil and Savran (2016) has discovered that
self-regulated learners are more likely to have greater language learning achievements. Research has
also revealed that SRL is intertwined with many internal and sociocultural factors (e.g. Tsuda and
Nakata 2013). Studies on learners’ technology-enhanced language learning (e.g. Çelik, Arkın, and Sab-
riler 2012; Kondo et al. 2012; Lai and Gu 2011; Şahin Kizil and Savran 2016; Shyr and Chen 2018; Zheng
et al. 2016) have particularly illuminated what factors may contribute to EFL learners’ SRL, as well as
how SRL benefits L2 learning. Zheng et al. (2016), for instance, explored the relationships among
Chinese EFL students’ conceptions of learning and their online self-regulated language learning. Con-
ceptualizing learners’ SRL as five factors (i.e. goal setting, environmental structuring, task strategies
and time management, help seeking, and self-evaluation), they found that EFL learners tended to
have higher SRL if they considered learning English as a channel to explore new knowledge and per-
spectives about the target language and culture. Language learners who placed a greater value on
the role of memorization and authentic communication were also more likely to have higher SRL.
In another study, Shyr and Chen (2018) developed a Flip2Learn learning system as a pre-class com-
ponent to flipped teaching. The system engaged students into the self-regulated processes by
leading them to select their learning tasks, and monitoring and evaluating their outcomes step by
step. Their findings show that the English learners following the Flip2Learn approach prior to
flipped learning demonstrated significantly greater English learning achievements and better self-
regulating ability than those who did not; the former were also more prepared for the subsequent
flipped learning in the classroom.
Similarly, the study by Kondo et al. (2012) probed the effects of a Mobile Assisted Language Learn-
ing (MALL) approach that was designed to facilitate Japanese learners’ self-regulated learning pro-
cesses. Using the Nintendo DS Lite as the MALL device, their study shows that this MALL
approach was an interesting learning mode for the students, and it also encouraged them to
devote time to studying with the mobile device. Compared with the control group who did not
receive the MALL intervention, the experimental group showed a significantly greater gain in their
reading comprehension at the end of the study. However, in their follow-up study that focused on
15 participants’ deliberate use of the mobile device, they discovered that the students’ time spent
on the mobile device plummeted to a much lower level, with six of the students no longer using
it during the entire semester. Moreover, there was also a stark drop in the students’ self-efficacy
and metacognitive awareness in self-learning with the device. Based on the results, Kondo et al.
argued that teacher intervention was sometimes necessary to help sustain students’ self-regulated
learning outside of the classroom.
The study by Şahin Kizil and Savran (2016) set out to explore the reasons how 777 EFL learners at a
Turkish university used information and communication technologies (ICT) for self-regulated learn-
ing. Focusing on six factors of self-regulated learning (i.e. goal commitment, affect, social connection,
resource regulation, metacognitive skills, and culture learning), their study reveals that the students
generally felt more positive about the benefits of ICT tools on helping them achieve their learning
goals, arouse their motivation, as well as obtain more learning resources. In contrast, they felt less
positive about the fact that ICT tools could enable them to interact with native speakers or other
L2 learners, enrich their knowledge about the L2 culture, and develop their awareness of the meta-
cognitive processes involved in the adoption of ICTs. Şahin Kizil and Savran concluded their study by
proposing that EFL learners should learn to use the ICTs for self-regulating their language learning on
the abovementioned six aspects.
4 H.-C. WANG AND C. W. CHEN

In another study, Lai and Gu (2011) surveyed 279 Hong Kong students’ use of technologies
outside of the classroom to explore how technologies influenced their self-regulation in
language learning. They discovered that more than half of the respondents used technology
to learn a language for at least four hours weekly. Moreover, they explored the participants’
self-regulated language learning on six types of regulation: goal commitment, resource,
affection, culture learning, metacognition and social connection. The results show that their
use of technology was most useful in helping them sustain their learning goals, strengthen
their learning motivation, explore foreign cultures, obtain more learning resources, and create
more authentic learning experiences. In general, the respondents also felt positive about this
language learning experience.
Considering the role of self-regulated learning to successful language learning experiences, this
study is concerned with EFL learners’ self-regulation on YouTube, which abounds in language-learn-
ing resources that include but are not limited to the English language. We are particularly interested
in how EFL learners use these resources to self-regulate their English L2 learning.

Youtube as a language-learning site

The daily life of many people is now characterized as moving constantly among devices, modes, and
media (Burnett and Merchant 2015). In terms of language learning, many richer, more flexible, and
more diverse learning resources are now available to language learners (Burnett and Merchant
2015), and these resources provide learners with many out-of-classroom, informal language learning
opportunities. According to Richards (2015), learning informally outside classrooms offers many
benefits to learners. Because out-of-classroom, informal language learning is flexible and pleasant,
learners can decide the pace, mode, and place according to their needs and interests (Richards
2015). Such style of learning also reflects students’ out-of-class activities which are often technol-
ogy-mediated, highly interactive, and multimodal (Kuure 2011). Although learning beyond classroom
will probably never replace formal learning which is intentional and structured, such learning which
takes place in digital environments deserves more scholarly attentions to better understand their
affordances and constraints (Reinders and Benson 2017) and its relationship with learning in the
classroom. The results of this study will contribute to the insights needed to understand learners’
out-of-class technology-mediated learning.
According to Alexa’s (www.alexa.com) analysis of Internet traffic, at the time of writing this article
(March, 2018), the top three websites with most visits globally are Google, YouTube, and Facebook.
The focus of this study is on YouTube, the California-based video-sharing website launched in 2005.
With over 400 h of content uploaded every minute, YouTube is now best known for its user-gener-
ated videos, which include reviews, tutorials, pranks, critiques, and much more (Miller 2017). Instead
of being merely passive video viewers, many people have taken the role of content producers who
actively create and share their ideas on YouTube (Greenhow 2010). These content producers have
come to be known as YouTubers. Addressing the needs and interests from all walks of life, many suc-
cessful YouTubers enjoy much fame and wealth and have great impact on their followers. In Taiwan
where the need for learning English has always been intense, many YouTubers establish themselves
as English-teaching professionals who regularly post tutorials on their YouTube channels, thus
turning YouTube as a possible language learning site for their viewers. This study looks into the
viewing behaviors of regular viewers of English-teaching YouTubers and whether such regular
viewing affects their English learning to shed some light on the affordances and constraints of
such form of informal learning. It differs from previous research on YouTube which mainly establishes
the platform and its comment section as a globally complex ground which can provide many oppor-
tunities for language and intercultural learning (Benson 2015, 2017). Instead, the participants were
seen as learning agents who actively took control of their out-of-class learning by utilizing videos pro-
duced by YouTubers.
 INNOVATION IN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING 5

Considering the popularity of YouTube as a language-learning site among many Taiwanese stu-
dents, this study was set up to explore EFL learners’ self-regulated language learning with YouTubers’
English-teaching videos through a qualitative inquiry. The guiding questions are:

(1) How do the EFL learners use the English-teaching YouTubers’ videos to self-regulate their English
learning outside the classroom?
(2) What actions do the EFL learners take after viewing the English-teaching videos?
(3) In what ways do the EFL learners perceive that learning English from YouTubers is the same as or
different from learning English in the classroom?

By addressing these research issues, this research is expected to provide implications into peda-
gogical strategies that can enhance learners’ self-regulated language learning on the technology-
enhanced environment outside of the classroom.

Methodology
Participants
This study involved 20 university students (ten male students and ten female students) from a wide
range of academic disciplines (e.g. Chinese studies, Applied Foreign Languages, Business Adminis-
tration, Education, Industrial Management, and Mechanical Engineering) at two public universities
in northern Taiwan. While most of the participants were studying in the undergraduate programs
(95%) at the time of the study, one student was pursuing a master’s degree in Engineering. Moreover,
the participants’ ages ranged from 20 to 23, with the mean age being 21.6 years. All of the partici-
pants were recruited through the snowball sampling approach, by which two research assistants
set out to recruit participants who had the experience of watching English-teaching YouTuber’s
videos through their own personal network. These initial participants they invited were further
invited to introduce other people with similar experiences to participate in this study; we were
able to recruit 20 participants in the end.

Semi-structured interview
Interviewing, which is strongly founded on ‘the attitude that the participant’s views are valuable and
useful’ (Marshall and Rossman 2006, 101), was adopted as the primary data collection method as it
enabled us to interact with the participants closely so as to explore the issues of interest. Specifically,
semi-structured interviews were conducted because this approach, with a flexible set of interview
questions, could help us delve into the issues of why these students watched YouTubers’ English-
teaching videos and how watching these videos had benefited them on different dimensions in
great depth. Two trained research assistants interviewed them on a one-on-one basis by asking
ten questions about their experiences of watching YouTubers’ English-teaching videos on
YouTube and other social media (e.g. Facebook), their purposes of watching those videos, their atti-
tudes of those videos, and the perceived effects of this informal learning approach on their learning
experiences and outlooks on life (see Appendix). The interviews were all conducted in the students’
first language, Mandarin Chinese, so that they could express their thoughts freely without possible
language barriers.

Data analysis
The recorded interviews ranged from 7′ 49′′ to 25′ 50′′ , and they were transcribed into written verba-
tim by two research assistants. Upon completion of the interview transcriptions, we analyzed the data
on three levels to address this study’s foci on three aspects: self-regulated learning purposes, learners’
6 H.-C. WANG AND C. W. CHEN

response behaviors to YouTubers’ English-teaching videos, and comparison between learning English
on YouTube and formal learning in the classroom. First of all, self-regulated learning purposes were
analyzed in three steps: identification, coding, and comparison. First of all, each of us read through all
of the participants’ responses, and worked independently to identify instances that were related to
the students’ self-regulated language learning based on the classification of technology-enhanced
self-regulation in Lai and Gu (2011). Their classification is based on a review of different SRL
models, and it focuses on six aspects of self-regulation – goal commitment, resource, affection,
culture learning, metacognition, and social connection. After the identification of representative
learner responses, we again classified all instances based on the classification independently. The
inter-rater agreement rates were .50 for the classification of self-regulated learning. Finally, we com-
pared and discussed our results of analysis to reach a consensus and resolve all of the disputes
together.
Second, we read through all of the students’ responses again to identify their response beha-
viors, and a classification scheme that contained eight response behaviors was developed from
scratch based on the data pool. After this scheme was constructed, we worked together to
analyze the data and explore what actions each of the students took after viewing English-teaching
videos.
Finally, the students’ responses were analyzed again to explore the similarities and differences
between learning English on YouTube and learning English in the classroom. The most common simi-
larities and differences reported by the students were highlighted and selected for discussion in this
article. In the following, we will present the results of this study to address the three research
questions.

Results
How do the EFL learners use the English-teaching YouTubers’ videos to self-regulate their
English learning outside the classroom?
The first research question focuses on how the participants used English-teaching YouTubers’
videos to self-regulate their English learning outside the classroom. The self-regulation instances
were identified and classified according to Lai and Gu’s (2011) framework. The results are shown
in Table 1.
As can be seen from Table 1, a total of 151 instances were identified from the interview transcripts.
The top three reported purposes are to seek and expand learning resources (resource regulation, N =
63, 41.72%), to enhance the attraction of learning (affective regulation, N = 42, 27.81%), and to
enhance cultural knowledge (cultural learning regulation, N = 22, 14.57%). They can be illustrated
by the following quotes:
Resource regulation:

Ray Du will tell you the contextual information and where and when to use a phrase. In textbooks, you may find a
phrase, but you are not sure if you can use it in a specific place. In English-teaching videos, we will see examples
and they will tell you directly how to use it. (Student 2)

Table 1. Purposes for learning English by watching YouTubers’ English-teaching videos.

Types of self-regulated learning Number Percentage
1 Goal commitment regulation 16 10.60
2 Resource regulation 63 41.72
3 Affective regulation 42 27.81
4 Culture learning regulation 22 14.57
5 Metacognitive regulation 7 4.64
6 Social connection regulation 1 .67
Total 151
 INNOVATION IN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING 7

Affective regulation:

Ray Du’s channel features some everyday topics. I feel it is quite interesting to learn along with his channel.
(Student 4)

Ray Du’s materials are about our daily life, so I think home learners will feel interested. The materials are not dry,
and they come with many cute special effects. Also, I think his personality is quite likeable. (Student 11)

Cultural learning regulation:

Stop Kidding Studio will film topics in different settings. For example, one of the episodes was about how
foreigners rated fried chicken from KFC, McDonald, and Napoli’s Pizza. Another episode was about how foreigners
perceive Japanese girls. I like watching a variety of topics, so I like their style. (Student 4)

I like watching those clips about other countries. Some YouTubers may go abroad and make videos about these
countries. I cannot go abroad, but I can watch these clips. (Student 6)

As can be seen from the above quotes, learners often resort to English-teaching YouTubers’ videos to
find extra information to complement their formal learning. Because the topics in YouTubers’ videos
are related to students’ daily life, many students find watching these videos help them to regulate
their emotions and make learning English less intimidating. Students also appreciate the cultural
aspects featured in YouTubers’ videos which enable them to gain more understanding about
other cultures.
Besides these three types of regulation which take up 84.1% of the total instances, goal commit-
ment was mentioned 16 times (10.60%) by students. This type of regulation involves encouraging
oneself ‘to persevere and commit to the learning goal’ (Lai and Gu 2011, 325). Students may set
different goals when they learn a language and invest their energy accordingly. For example, in
Student 5’s case, the goal is working abroad; for Student 7, it is making learning English a daily
routine. Watching YouTubers’ videos helps them commit to their personal learning goals, as illus-
trated by their words:
I want to work abroad in the future, so I want to train my speaking and listening abilities. (Student 5)

Watching English-teaching videos allows me to come into contact with English every day. Your English ability
won’t weaken as a result of not coming into contact with English. (Student 7)

A highly related type of regulation is metacognitive regulation, which was mentioned 7 times (4.64%).
This involves learners watching YouTubers’ videos to ‘plan, evaluate, and monitor their learning pro-
gress’ (Lai and Gu 2011, 325). The followings are two exemplar quotes from students:
I heard from somewhere that graphics help with learning. Books consist of dead words. If you listen to audio
books, you may know how to say a word, but this doesn’t really help with learning. If there are pictures, they
will help with memorization. (Student 7)

I am someone who doesn’t use my time effectively, and I spend lots of time on my cell phone. So watching a video
clip on my cell phone allows me to waste less time. (Student 16)

In Student 7’s case, he thinks that the visual cues in YouTubers’ videos are helpful for monitoring his
learning. For Student 16, watching YouTubers’ videos in his spare time is a good way to manage his
time.
In the data pool, there is only one instance of social connection regulation. Student 20 mentioned
in the interview, ‘I feel like that people in the video are interacting with you.’ The description Lai and
Gu (2011) provides for this type of self-regulation is ‘to enhance social connections with and seek help
from native speakers and other peer learners around the world’ (325). The fact that only one out of
151 instances of self-regulation is categorized as social connection regulation shows that most Tai-
wanese EFL learners are passive consumers or viewers of YouTubers’ English teaching videos. They
mainly watch the video contents and do not seek to establish social connection with YouTubers
or other viewers.
8 H.-C. WANG AND C. W. CHEN

What actions do the EFL learners take after viewing the English-teaching videos?
This study also examines the actions EFL learners take after viewing YouTubers’ English teaching
videos. The results are summarized in Table 2.
Thirteen out of the 20 students stated that they will press like if they like the video contents while
12 said that they will share the videos with their friends. The sharing behavior might involve copying
the video link to one’s Facebook page and leave a comment about the video before sharing it
(Student 8). Or it might be a reaction to a conversation students engage with their peers, as
stated by Student 5, ‘When talking with people, I may find a video quite relevant to our conversations.
I will pass this video to this person.’
Some students may subscribe to the YouTuber’s channel (N = 4) or take notes on the video
content (N = 4). The subscription function of the YouTube platform allows users to pace their own
learning on YouTube, as shown by Student 19’s comment:
The YouTube subscription bell will remind me of new videos. Usually, I will wait for a few new videos to come out
and watch the one(s) I like. I still haven’t watched many videos because there are so many. My approach is to
watch them slowly. (Student 19)

Student 19 also mentioned that he may store the video into his favorite list if he really likes the
content. In addition, four students take notes of important contents especially when the topic (e.g.
tips for job interviews, and preparations for English proficiency tests) is useful to them (Students 1
and 6).
A very small number of students will leave comments (N = 2), memorize the video contents (N = 1)
or simply browse the videos without taking any action (N = 1). First of all, Students 3 and 16 will leave
comments; however, Student 3 mentioned that she does not leave comments on the original
YouTube videos. Instead, she will leave comments on a video only when it is shared on her
friends’ Facebook page, and her comments, such as ‘Did you also watch this video?’, can only
been seen by her friends and their networks. The reason why she does not give feedback to the con-
tributors of the original videos is simply because the comments left by other people may have already
included what she wants to comment on. Moreover, Student 13 mentioned that he may memorize
some useful contents from the videos, while Student 20 stated that he will just browse the video
without taking any further action.

In what ways do the EFL learners perceive that learning English on YouTube is the same as
or different from learning English in the classroom?
We are also interested in investigating the similarities and differences between learning English on
YouTube and learning English in the classroom as perceived by the students. This investigation
can enable us to further delve into the reasons that motivated these participants to watch YouTubers’
English-teaching videos outside of the classroom. As for their similarities, both learning modes are
quite similar in terms of their structure and presentation style. As shown in the responses below,
Student 2 stated that learning on YouTube and learning in the classroom both involve a teacher

Table 2. Students’ response behaviors (N = 20).

Response behaviors Number of students Percentage
Browsing only 1 5
Taking notes 4 20
Leaving comments 2 10
Subscribing or following 4 20
Sharing 12 60
Pressing like 13 65
Storing the video 1 5
Memorizing 1 5
 INNOVATION IN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING 9

talking to students and responding to their questions or comments. Student 13 also highlighted that
despite the differences in their presentation modes, YouTubers and classroom instructors share the
same goal – teaching students about the knowledge of the English language. Student 15 also
reported that some YouTube English-teaching Channels like Ray Du English help students organize
and classify their learned vocabulary, just like what teachers do in the classroom. Taken together, the
examples below show that many participants perceived learning English on YouTube and learning in
the English classroom are quite similar in that both provide essential learning resources for them to
improve their knowledge of English.
As for the similarities, both of them involve a person talking to you, and you listen. Some teachers will interact
with you. You can leave your comments below, and they will reply. I think this is perhaps the most similar
feature between them. (Student 2)

The similarity is knowledge transmission. We [learners] receive those resources. Although knowledge transmitters
have different perspectives, their needs [objectives] always exist, and we only receive them. (Student 13)

They both can improve (students’) English skills, but I think they are quite different. (Student 14)

As for the similarities, I think Ray Du English is more similar because it organizes vocabulary for you. Even when it
describes a story or talks about other content, it will classify the content for you on the side (of the screen).
(Student 15)

Despite the similarities, most of the students perceive that learning from YouTubers’ English-teaching
videos and learning in the classroom vary greatly in the following aspects. First of all, the learning
content for a course is always determined at the onset of a new semester, and students learn the
course content mainly by following the syllabus scheduled by the teacher. Yet, many students per-
ceived this type of classroom learning to be rather fixed and inflexible. By contrast, YouTubers usually
would consider audience’s interests and needs when they are planning a new English-teaching video,
so they are more able to provide students with resources that meet their learning needs and interests.
For example, Student 1 comments on this point, stating:
The difference is that they [YouTubers] can offer you things freely, and learning in the classroom is less flexible; for
example, the course syllabus for a new semester is determined at the onset, and it gives students a comprehen-
sive overview of the learning content for 18 weeks. However, YouTubers read audience’s comments below their
videos, such as what they like to watch in the next episode. So, it can update its teaching materials and provide
students with things they need the most. But many teachers can not do this, because they may have planned
their syllabus during the summer vacation. (Student 1)

Textbooks are usually less flexible, but YouTubers can keep up with the trend. For example, Ray Du English
teaches how to say something like “sen-chi-chi” [a new Chinese colloquial expression meaning “angry”] in
English, but textbooks basically do not talk about this kind of expressions, unless teachers mention them in sup-
plementary materials. (Student 1)

Similarly, Student 20 also felt that learning in the classroom is less individualized because students are
often on different proficiency levels. Nevertheless, when they watch YouTubers’ English-teaching
videos, they can choose the topics that interest them and later find more relevant sources to
support their learning, which makes them feel that they are really learning something.
The difference is that what is taught at school is not individualized at all. I feel that everyone is on different profi-
ciency level of English, but our tests are always the same, which makes learning English strenuous and unhappy
for me. Some students may even feel the tests are too easy … ..But when we watch YouTubers’ videos, we can
choose our interested content. If we know what we are poor at, we can watch the videos about it, and find rel-
evant resources, which can make me feel “self-expanded.” (Student 20)

Moreover, when students watch YouTubers’ English-teaching videos, they feel less stressed because
they can pace their own learning and plan their own schedules. Learning on YouTube also provides
them with a more interactive mechanism that allows YouTubers to consider their interests and inte-
grate them into their subsequent videos promptly. Yet, although teachers also welcome students’
10 H.-C. WANG AND C. W. CHEN

feedback in the classroom, they often seem to be less capable of dealing with it in the face of the
predetermined syllabus they need to catch up with.
I think using YouTube to learn English is less stressful. Because learning English in the classroom comes with aca-
demic pressure, your progress may be very fast … But the English-teaching videos on YouTube are very flexible,
because they [YouTubers] will keep producing videos, and your progress can be at your own will. Although you
may have missed this video for this week, you can go back and click it … That is your learning is self-autonomous,
and you can interact with them (YouTubers) by leaving comments … .which is a feedback mechanism. And, the
disadvantage of classroom learning is that teachers are often under pressure for catching up with the course sche-
dule, so they cannot integrate students’ feedback promptly into their course. (Student 8)

Nevertheless, although classroom learning was less flexible and interesting to students, it is con-
sidered to be more beneficial to students’ learning of English by some students. As classroom learn-
ing is often based on textbooks or carefully-edited teaching materials, it provides students with more
knowledge, helping them improve their English skills more effectively than learning by watching
YouTubers’ English-teaching videos. For example, Students 5, 6 and 10 commented on this point
by stating:
In the classroom, teachers give you a well-organized learning material … Although classroom learning is relatively
more dull, if I want to prepare for TOEFL or TOEIC, I will choose the traditional way and sign up for English classes.
But, if I only want to improve my listening and speaking skills, I will opt to watch YouTubers’ English-teaching
videos. (Student 5)

I think it (learning on YouTube) is more like an entertainment … If you really want to learn English, it seems that it
can only provide you with physical and mental relaxation. It doesn’t seem to do much to help you improve
English. (Student 6)

When students learn at school, … their textbooks are edited, so they can provide more knowledge or vocabulary.
So, if students want to learn English more efficiently, learning from teachers (in the classroom) may be faster. If
they want to learn in a more relaxed way, they (YouTubers’ English-teaching videos) may be easier to digest.
(Student 10)

These examples reflect that although classroom learning sometimes cannot interest students as
much as YouTubers’ English-teaching videos, the fact that this formal learning approach is based
on carefully-edited, well-structured teaching materials enables students to learn English in a more
systematic way. Moreover, considering their respective features and advantages, Student 8
suggested that both learning modes can complement each other, and students should be encour-
aged to watch YouTubers’ English-teaching videos to enrich their learning of English outside of
the classroom. In so doing, students will be able to not only learn English in a more organized
way, but also enjoy a wide range of learning resources on YouTube according to their needs and
interests.
They of course have their own benefits, but [and] I think they can complement each other, which can make learn-
ing English more efficient. On one hand, this (integrated learning method) is supported by predetermined learn-
ing schedule; on the other hand, you can also improve what you are not good at, such as watching videos,
because teachers may not be able to pay attention to it. I think it [learning English on YouTube] can meet
every student’s needs. (Student 8)

Discussion and conclusion

Founded on the premise that YouTube is a fertile language-learning site, this study examines EFL uni-
versity students’ self-regulated language learning on YouTube in their spare time. It was found that
students watch YouTubers’ English-teaching videos mostly for finding learning resources (41.72%),
increasing the attraction of learning (27.81%), and learning about other cultures (14.57%). Watching
these videos also helps learners to commit to their goals (10.60%) and plan and monitor their learning
(4.64%). The data show that when the participants watch YouTubers’ English-teaching videos, they
were not interested in engaging in social interaction with others. In terms of the actions EFL learners
 INNOVATION IN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING 11

take after watching the English-teaching videos, our data show that most students either press Like
(65%) and/or share the videos (60%). Only less than a handful of students would take other further
actions (e.g. taking notes, leaving comments; see Table 2) after they watch a video.
The findings suggest that most participants had clear goals in mind when they watched English-
teaching videos on YouTube. Some of them watched the videos mainly for learning purposes, while
others were more attracted by the entertaining aspect of the videos. The user-centered nature of
YouTube also allows them to learn English by selecting and watching interested videos, which
would further pique their motivation to learn English on YouTube. Apart from their interests and
beliefs in YouTubers’ English-teaching videos, we believe that teachers can sometimes intervene
to help sustain students’ self-regulated learning outside class (Kondo et al. 2012). Such intervention
can take the form of designing activities to expose students to the different learning opportunities of
watching YouTubers’ English-teaching videos, such as understanding foreign cultures. As most par-
ticipants in the current study can be described as passive viewers of YouTube videos, they can be
encouraged to take a more active role to interact with global audiences to fully utilize the learning
potentials offered by YouTube. Such interaction can be initiated by analyzing the comment
threads of YouTube videos (Benson 2015; Thorne and Reinhart 2013) or by encouraging learners
to leave their comments. Indeed, YouTube can serve as a fertile ground to further introduce learners
to a broadened understanding of literacy (Elola and Oskoz 2017) which encompasses how to read
and write in the digital forms (Reinhart and Thorne 2011). Moreover, the social nature of the new
forms of literacy should be emphasized. As students learn to contribute and respond to online com-
ments, a sense of community, like in fanfiction (Black 2009; DeLuca 2018) and gaming (Reinhardt and
Sykes 2012) communities, can be gradually built.
Conventional study strategies, such as note-taking, should also be encouraged when viewing
online English-teaching videos. As the results of the current study indicate, only one fifth of the par-
ticipants stated that they took some notes on the videos they watched. The notes taken by students
can serve as a tool for students to evaluate and reflect on the effectiveness of their online self-regu-
lated learning (Zimmerman 1998). To turn the independent learning into a social event, students can
share their notes or take notes collaboratively on a video by selected the teacher. Before students
begin their independent exploration, the teacher can consider reinforcing students’ metacognition,
defined as ‘the ability of learners to control their thoughts and to regulate their own learning’ (Van-
dergrift and Goh 2012, 5). For example, students should actively record their thoughts and actions
during video viewing and share their documentation. Based on these reflections, they can also
make plans for future learning.
The findings of the study contribute to the literature of online self-regulated learning by focusing
on YouTube videos, an important source of information and entertainment for the young generation
these days. Unlike some previous studies which also focused on technology-assisted self-regulated
learning (e.g. Kondo et al. 2012; Shyr & Chen, 2018), this study was not bound to a specific device
or a closed course management system. Compared with other similar studies which also explored
types of students’ online self-regulated learning (e.g. Lai and Gu 2011; Şahin Kizil and Savran
2016), this study further probed into what students did after they viewed a certain tutorial video.
It was found that students mostly resorted to passive response behaviors such as pressing Like
and sharing the video.
This study is limited in that it only adopted the semi-structured interview approach to addressing
the main issues under investigation in this study. Future research should depend on multiple data
sources to probe these issues in greater depth, such as using learner diaries to document students’
use of YouTube English-teaching videos for informal English learning. Such extensive accounts may
help to further shed some light on the personal and sociocultural factors which affect students’ self-
regulated learning online. As Zheng et al. (2016) found, how students learn online is often related to
their conceptions of learning. Future research can consider examining if extensive self-regulated
learning online helps to reshape students’ learning beliefs. It is also suggested that L2 teachers
12 H.-C. WANG AND C. W. CHEN

and researchers adopt an experimental research design to investigate the learning effect of watching
YouTube English-teaching videos by comparing an experimental group with a control group.
In conclusion, this study examined the EFL university students’ self-regulated language learning
on YouTube outside of the classroom. It brings to light the students’ purposes of watching the
English-teaching videos produced by YouTubers and the actions they take after viewing. The
results indicate that students need to take a more active role and embrace the social nature when
they view tutorial videos online. They should also be encouraged to reflect on their online learning
more rigorously and make subsequent learning plans. It is hoped that the potentials offered by
YouTube and other technological advancements can truly be harnessed to assist students in their
journeys of learning a language.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors
Hung-chun Wang, Ph.D. in English Teaching, is an assistant professor in the Department of English at National Taiwan
Normal University, Taipei City, Taiwan.
Cheryl Wei-yu Chen, Ph.D. in English Teaching, is an associate professor in the Department of Applied Foreign Languages
at National Taipei University of Business, Taipei City, Taiwan.

ORCID
Hung-chun Wang http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3521-7042
Cheryl Wei-yu Chen http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4491-4926

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Appendix
Interview protocols

1. What English-teaching channels or videos do you often watch on YouTube, Facebook or other social networking
websites? How often do you visit these sites to watch videos?
2. Why do you want to watch this type of English-teaching videos?
3. What is the most impressive English-teaching video that you have recently watched? Who filmed this video? Could
you please talk about it?
4. From an English learner’s perspective, what do you think about these English-teaching channels and videos?
5. From an English learner’s perspective, do you have any suggestions for the YouTubers about what they teach and
how they teach it on these English-teaching channels and videos?
6. After watching the English-teaching videos filmed by YouTubers, do you give them any feedback, such as leaving
comments or pressing Like (or any emoticons)? Do you share their videos? Why or why not?
7. Do you think that these English-teaching videos have any influences on your English learning experiences or your
life in general?
8. From your English learning experiences, are there any similarities or differences between learning English in the
classroom and learning English from English-teaching videos on YouTube?
9. Do you want to become a YouTuber in the future?
10. If you could see these English-teaching YouTubers in person one day, what would you tell them about their videos?
What would you like to discuss with them?