By Hyna C. Banitak
Social media platforms and developing technology help teachers and students discover many useful language resources. These include different English content that can assist students in their studies. Therefore, bringing these materials into the classroom can motivate students since it is creative and appealing through their visuals and sounds.
Motivating the students is challenging for teachers because of many factors, such as their emotions and environment. However, teachers can at least make the lesson engaging by carefully choosing relevant language materials aligned to the students’ levels. Teachers can also adopt effective techniques and educational games from the videos they watch. Thus, the teacher’s role is important in designing the lesson, making it interactive and fun to catch the students’ attention.
Some English content on TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube include vocabulary, songs, fables, interviews, and movies. Teachers can use entertaining music videos to motivate their students, especially children since they are very active. Furthermore, online materials can make the class engaging, such as asking the students to share a difficult word and its pronunciation they have heard. This strategy lets students learn new things from their classmates. As with narratives, fables can portray the characters’ emotions, which help the students understand and reflect on the story’s message. Popular inspirational movies also interest the students, and at the same time, they give life lessons that inspire them to do better, to be aware of their actions, and to be respectful to anyone.
Moreover, showing the students authentic dialogues before they role-play them in the class guides them about the expressions they need to use in their daily conversations. This activity is a way to practice and improve their speaking skills. Through these language resources, students will appreciate and willingly participate in the discussions because they can see the importance and impact on their lives. Nevertheless, issues with internet access are one of the disadvantages of using online language resources. Hence, teachers should download the videos so that it will not affect students’ excitement during the session. Students and teachers should also ask permission from the content creator, and they should know how to cite the references properly.
There are many language materials in the internet that we can utilize in the classroom. However, the teachers’ decisions and methods affect students’ motivation as to how they incorporate the materials effectively and involve them in the learning process. Therefore, teachers should make an effort to find appropriate and interesting materials. Students should also use social media wisely to learn English content that helps them intrinsically and academically.**
