Speaker
Description
This study examines whether English-mediated social media use is associated with measurable English achievement and self-concept outcomes among Vietnamese university EFL students. While platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook provide frequent exposure to English, it remains unclear whether time spent using social media in English corresponds to externally anchored language outcomes. Data were collected from 115 university students who reported their weekly hours of English social media use, self-rated English proficiency, English confidence, subjective socioeconomic status, and most recent valid English test result. Test results were mapped onto CEFR levels and analysed using ordinal logistic regression. The findings showed that weekly hours of English-mediated social media use did not significantly predict CEFR-based achievement, self-rated English proficiency, or English confidence. Gender and subjective socioeconomic status were included as control variables to account for learner background differences. Overall, the results suggest that exposure quantity alone is too coarse to explain informal digital English learning. For teachers and researchers, the findings highlight the need to distinguish passive scrolling from language-rich engagement, interaction, output, and feedback. The study contributes to technology-enhanced language learning research by showing that social media may support English learning, but its educational value cannot be inferred simply from the number of hours students spend using it.
Biography
Trung Bùi is a researcher in Education and TESOL whose work examines English as a socially embedded practice within Vietnamese higher education. His research focuses on English-Medium Instruction (EMI), high-stakes assessment, learner well-being, and the sociocultural dynamics that shape participation, legitimacy, and identity in English-learning environments. Drawing on sociocultural theory, language ideology, and concepts of linguistic and symbolic capital, he investigates how institutional policies and classroom norms influence students’ engagement, silence, and investment in English.
His recent work explores student perceptions of EMI effectiveness, the social construction of IELTS-related pressure and academic burnout, and the ways learners negotiate authority and face in Confucian-influenced university classrooms. Methodologically, he integrates quantitative modeling with qualitative inquiry to examine both structural patterns and lived experiences of learners.
Situated at the intersection of applied linguistics and education, his broader research agenda seeks to understand how global English operates within local institutional contexts and how educational practices can better account for cultural, psychological, and social dimensions of language learning.
| Affiliate type | University |
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