Social Media for Learning English: Investigating EFL Students’ Challenges in Creating Speaking Contents on TikTok

In the era of rapid globalization and information technology, the ability to speak English is becoming increasingly important for students studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL). One of the main challenges in teaching EFL is how to create a learning atmosphere that encourages the development of speaking skills interestingly and effectively. The uses of social media, for example, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, as learning tools can be an innovative solution. EFL students, as a group of active TikTok users, who have the opportunity to combine their creativity with the development of English speaking skill. However, there are several challenges that might face in integrating TikTok into EFL learning. Therefore, this research is conducted to know the types of challenges do EFL students’ face when creating English speaking contents on TikTok. The researcher uses interviews as a data instrument to obtain factual and accurate data. The research used a qualitative method by interviewing ten students of the department of English Language Education of UIN Ar-Raniry who actively use TikTok and make TikTok videos in English. The result showed that there are some challenges of EFL students for their creativity in creating TikTok content. The challenges are lack of idea, vocabulary, pronunciation, lack of confident, “For you Page” TikTok algorithm, followers and viewers, and media that the students use to create the video.