The Role of TikTok in Enhancing EFL Students’ Understanding of English Idiomatic Expressions in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Understanding idiomatic expressions is an essential aspect of language proficiency, as idioms reflect cultural knowledge, communicative competence, and natural language use. This study aims to investigate the role of TikTok in enhancing Saudi EFL students' understanding of English idiomatic expressions. It hypothesizes that many EFL students are unfamiliar with English idioms and that TikTok, as a popular social networking platform, facilitates the dissemination and learning of idiomatic and fixed expressions. The study employed a descriptive analytical research design. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered to a random sample of 100 undergraduate EFL students selected from a population of 300 students at Onaizah Colleges in the Qassim region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The collected data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings revealed that TikTok plays a significant role in enhancing students' understanding of English idiomatic expressions. The participants agreed that TikTok provides a wide range of common idioms presented in an engaging and easily understandable manner, making it more effective than many other social networking platforms for learning idiomatic expressions. However, the study also found that EFL teachers encounter challenges when integrating TikTok into classroom instruction. The study recommends that EFL students follow educational TikTok content related to English idioms to improve their comprehension while developing an awareness of the cultural contexts in which idioms are used. It also recommends integrating digital learning tools, particularly TikTok, into English language instruction to support the teaching and learning of idiomatic and fixed expressions.