University Students’ Perceptions of YouTube Usage in (ESL) Classrooms

Abstract

Persistent use of internet specifically social networking has provided vast opportunities to enhance the quality of teaching and learning of university students. The usage of YouTube videos in the classroom is imperative to meet the educational needs of the younger generation. While text-based resources have remained the standard for centuries, currently, with the fast pace of the development of technology, the usage of YouTube videos in teaching and learning has become a trend. There are a few studies conducted on students’ perceptions of using YouTube to learn the English language. Research suggests that this generation of individuals have different styles of learning due to their familiarity with technology. How students learn and gain information from watching YouTube videos in learning the English language is very important in teaching setting. Other studies that were conducted also explored students’ perceptions of YouTube as an effective tool to learn English among ESL learners. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate (RQ1) the students’ interests and (RQ2) the students’ perceptions on the use of YouTube in learning English. The results of this study revealed that students are highly interested to use YouTube in learning English. It was also discovered that the students have used YouTube to help them completed their course assignments and study tasks. Hence, it can be concluded that the students preferred to use English YouTube videos to help them enhance their English language proficiency.