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What Contributes to the Perceived Impact of Live Chatting with English Native Speakers on EFL Learners’ Willingness in Speaking English?

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Effectiveness and Sustainable Application on Educational Technology

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28 May 2024

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04 June 2024

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Abstract
The study looks at how joining live video chats with native English speakers on TikTok helps people who are learning English feel more ready to talk in English and less nervous about it. This study looks at EFL students who join TikTok live sessions. The researcher wants to understand how confident and nervous the students feel when they communicate. He uses qualitative research methods to do this. The study shows that using TikTok in a fun and calming way could help people learn a new language and reduce feelings of worry. This is helpful for teachers and language experts who want to use social media to help people learn languages.
Keywords: 
Subject: Social Sciences  -   Education

1. Introduction

Studying a language from another country is important at all levels of education. In 2015, Motteram also wrote about this (Motteram, 2013). In accordance with the government's education department, in China, English is very important and being able to speak and write in English is very important for students in all areas of study.
The popularity of social media, especially TikTok, has revolutionized the way people connect and communicate with each other around the world. These platforms offer EFL students the opportunity to have instant communication with native speakers of English, which could also make them feel a little bit more relaxed and at ease while speaking English, so they would not be as nervous about the language. WTC suggests readiness to talk in the second language with some people at some specific point in time. Another aspect of language anxiety may also be when one is worried about actually speaking or using a second language that is not his or her own. That can make it harder for them to learn and use the language well. The current study examines how live video chatting on TikTok affects the confidence in speaking and anxiety of English learners.
With many people using smartphones and the internet, social media is now a big part of our lives and it's changing the way we talk to each other(Feito & Brown, 2018). TikTok has become a popular place for people to show their creative side, share their lives, and make friends. The live stream on TikTok lets people talk to each other through video in real time. This lets people from different places talk to each other and practice speaking in different languages. Talking to people who speak English as their first language in a relaxed and informal way can really help EFL learners to get better at the language and feel more confident using it.
The research questions of the research have been shown here:
What were the EFL students' interactions like during the use of live stream video chatting via TikTok, and how much did the live stream video chatting impact their practice?
To what extent does live chatting with native English speakers on TikTok enhance the WTC of EFL learners?
3. How do EFL learners perceive live chatting with English native speakers as a way to reduce their anxiety about speaking English?"

2. Literature Review

Social cognitive theory of learning was developed by Albert Bandura in the form of a framework explaining, predicting, and changing human concerns. He gave more importance to the concept of learning from observation, imitation, and modeling to grab hold of new behaviors. He says that learning takes place in a social context and it may be facilitated by observation of others performing an action and the consequences of this performance. The major constructs of SCT are self-efficacy, observational learning, and reciprocal determinism. This theory will be called upon in exploring how engaging with native speakers of the English language through live chatting on social media sites like TikTok impacts EFL learners in terms of readiness to use the English language and anxiety management.
Learning Strategies and Observational Learning One of the building blocks of this theory is observed learning, by which a person learns from observing others and what to imitate from other people's behavior. In live streaming video chats, EFL learners observe pronunciation and intonations of native speakers, plus conversational strategies, which they will try and emulate in their speech; hence, it provides an active dynamic and real context of learning, in contrast with the traditional classroom setting. Furthermore, live interactions make learners take immediate feedback that helps them adjust their speech to increase proficiency in a fast manner (Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2020).
Table 1. The development of Social Cognitive Theory Framework.
Table 1. The development of Social Cognitive Theory Framework.
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2.1. Language Learning Impact, and Self-Efficacy

Another important construct of SCT is self-efficacy, which has been defined by Bandura as the belief of an individual in his ability to perform behaviors required to achieve specific performance attainments (Bandura, 1997). Doing live video chats with native speakers can greatly enhance EFL learners' self-efficacy. When learners experience positive events and succeed during communication in these live settings, their belief in their own ability to use language increases, giving rise to greater willingness to communicate (WTC) in English. Consistent and varied interactions with platforms such as TikTok easily make improvements in speaking proficiency, and thus language competence quite remarkable.

2.2. Learning Motivation and Intrinsic Motivation

SCT also stresses the aspect of intrinsic motivation with regard to the learning process. Intrinsic motivation entails carrying out a behavior because it is interesting and fun in and of itself, rather than being driven by some separable consequence (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Live video chats undeniably create an exciting interactive platform for language learning, enhancing the intrinsic motivation of the learners. Opportunities to communicate with native speakers all over the world, and to engage in real conversation, are definitely enjoyable and relevant for real-life communication needs.

2.3. Social Interaction and Communication

SCT is based on the principle that learning takes place in a social context through interaction with and by others. Indeed, live chatting with native speakers on Tik Tok avails EFL learners authentic language exposure and an exchange of culture that makes them develop communicative competence (Krashen, 1985). Such interactions cannot only help the learners understand the pragmatic usage of the language but also idiomatic expressions, as well as the cultural nuances, many times not brought out in a formal training situation (Swain, 2000). Challenges in Language Learning and Speaking Anxiety. In fact language learning by itself is fraught with two major problems: the anxiety of speaking and acquiring the vocabulary. Anxiety is one major source of setback to learning, as postulated in the SCT framework, since it ultimately erodes the self-belief capacity of learners, reducing the motivation to engage in any form of communicative activity. Live video chatting provides a safe environment for the learners to practice speaking because fear of being judged that might be developed by learners in live interactions is eliminated. These interactions take place with immediacy and informality, making students feel less stressful and gain confidence over time.

2.4. Anxiety Management and Coping Strategies

An important aspect of language learning is the management of anxiety. SCT postulates that students can build mechanisms of managing their stress. This will critically augment the output of their learning (Bandura, 1997). Using live chatting, EFL students can manage to handle the anxiety of real-time conversation by slowly exposing themselves to such less-stressful settings. This enables them to speak more comfortably in English. This gradual exposure, especially when combined with the positive reinforcement coming from the native speakers, helps to slowly expand the comfort zones further, thus building up some resilience against such anxiety. Conclusion Application of Social Cognitive Theory to the study of live chatting with native speakers in English through social media platforms, including Tiktok, could shed light on EFL learners' language development. Studies on the SCT constructs, such as observational learning, self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and social interactions, should be conducted on how the support of these processes leads students to become more willing to communicate, less apprehensive, and effectively efficient in their L2. Real-time video chatting is interactive and dynamic, making language learning promising in a sense as a tool in EFL education.

2.5. Willing to Communicate: The Build and Its Estimation

WTC means being ready to talk in a second language in certain situations with specific people (MacIntyre et al., 1998). It includes both a person's natural ability and their ability in specific situations. Trait-like WTC is a part of a person's personality that stays the same over time and in different situations. Situated-dynamic WTC, on the other hand, is a temporary feeling that can change. Supporters of the idea that people's natural characteristics, like personality traits, can explain how well they speak a second language have found many personal factors that affect how willing L2 learners are to communicate in that language. With social interaction taking the center stage in language learning, it has brought forth alternative ways of boosting willingness to communicate among learners(McCroskey & Baer, 1985; Peng & Woodrow, 2010). While physical communication is noted as key towards skill acquisition due to its naturalness, the emergence of computer mediated communication (CMC) presents an avenue where learners can interact and yet not be in the same physical space; a tool whose use is blended with that of traditional face-to-face method can enhance anonymity thus reduce anxiety which later enhances WTC leading to better performance in the language.
The issue surrounding language anxiety research has been pointed out with findings showing that high levels of anxiety have adverse effects on language learning; this underscores importance of making the environment positive and supportive for all the students willing to learn a particular language thereby reducing anxiety levels which consequently will lead to higher WTC plus better performance in the target language(MacIntyre & Gregersen, 2014; Gregersen & Horwitz, 2002).In this regard, social media platforms like TikTok have emerged as potentially valuable tools for promoting language learning in a more relaxed and interactive manner. Although the effect of social media on language learning has not yet been fully investigated by many, a few studies have dived into its positive impacts. Through these platforms, learners are exposed to authentic use of the language and can connect with native speakers— which makes practicing language skills more dynamic and interesting. On another note, TikTok’s use of visuals and audio features can capture different types of learners' preferences towards understanding concepts easily. It can also reach those who may not be appealed by traditional teaching methods(Lai & Zhao, 2020).
The diagram represents how Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) applies to the research on the impact of live chatting with English native speakers on EFL learners' willingness to communicate in English. It highlights five key constructs of SCT and explains their relevance to the research context.
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Figure 1. Social Cognitive Theory Framework.
Figure 1. Social Cognitive Theory Framework.
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3. Methodology

The research ͏uses a quali͏tative design with semi-structured interv͏iews and observation a͏s ͏the main dat͏a collection me͏thod. A purposive ͏sampling metho͏d w͏ill select͏ 6 EFL learners who chat live on TikTok with English speakers. Th͏e interviews will explore participants' ͏experi͏ences on͏ TikTok, changes in their English communication willin͏gness, and views on anxiety reduction. Thematic analysis wil͏l find common͏ themes in͏ ͏the data͏ ͏t͏o ͏understand ͏pa͏rticipant p͏erspectives better.

3.1. Sample

Purposive sampling helps in the identification of 6 informants with relevant experiences and insights on the effect of TikTok live chats on English communication willingness and the reduction of anxiety among EFL learners. These six are diverse in their educational backgrounds: one from the medicinal profession, another from legal profession, and another from selling profession, with an even distribution between genders. All of them have shown a different level of their mastery level in the use of English—from basic to advanced level; thus, it represents both the need and ability for language learning. It is therefore out of such diversity that the richness of their interaction in the live-streaming rooms can only be fostered. A multifaceted perspective is experienced by language learners. Li Jia is an undergraduate major in administration and has the occupation of a salesperson. She is a female learner with an intermediate level of English. Mrs. Jia first seemed very shy, but after that, she began to open up bit by bit and showed how eager she was to learn those colloquial expressions and cultural behaviors. Chen Lei is a male Japanese learner whose major is engineering; his English proficiency is at an intermediate level, so he can be quite enthusiastic about his language learning. During live classes, the learner is very eager to take assistance to enable himself to improve his grammar as well as vocab bank. Apart from this, he also uses his analytical power to observe the different types of rhetorical processes used by the presenter. The male learner, Ma Wen, is a computer software engineer who has just completed his undergraduate study in computer science. Her shyness was really evident at first, but later on, as the observation week went by, Ma Wen got a bit unfolded and became playful with jokes and funny arguments to the host and other learners. Gao shuocheng is one of the female students and is taking a medical course. She belongs to the highest levels of the English proficiency that she can be part not only of the discussion process but most importantly it is the discussion held within the classes in medical terminologies.
A great strength on the part of Gao Shuocheng would be sharing the research so that it may be stimulating with provoking questions in different learning environments. Ma Xiaoxu is a lady of legal and law background, equipped with the English language. She will conduct such a study on idiomatic professions with precedent-based concept presentation of the analytical capacities, thereby giving justification for a unanimous input into disagree. As Ma Xiaoxu re-adjusts one more value gained from group discussions; unmediated, true-to-life conversational input. Li Yifan is a male learner who graduated with a bachelor degree in finance and works as a financial analyst. Most of his English speaking is fluent because he always practices the pronunciation and intonation. It is this step-by-step manner by which Li Yifan overcomes his minor frailties that makes him really sincere that he wants to get good with the language. (Table 2 shows detailed information of the participants.)

3.2. Research Design: Qualitative Data Collection Instrument

The interview and observation help us understand things better. We picked these tools because they can give us the information we need easily about the issue, the problem, and the goals of the research. So, we talked to 6 people in a more relaxed way to get information and to answer our research questions(Díaz-Bravo etal., 2013).We did interviews one-on-one using a specific plan. Interviews were done using WeChat, an online tool that can make calls and have video chats. This was because it was very difficult to travel to these faraway places for the interviews. We recorded all the interviews, whether they were done in person or on WeChat, and wrote down what was said for more study. Typically, interviews were about 30 minutes long, but face-to-face interviews were about 1 hour long. More questions were asked to understand and learn more about the interviewees' special experiences. Participants agreed to be interviewed. Researchers used online tools to explain the study to each participant before the interview. Later, the permission forms were mailed to. The people used an online tool to give their spoken agreement. All the interviews were done in 3 months and the observation went on for 9 months.

3.3. Data Analysis

The data analysis will be thematic and inductive. First, The author organizes the qualitative research information on live video chats created by native English speakers and their impact on EFL learners’willingness to communicate in general. During the first steps of data sorting and organization, the major themes and patterns for this case study will be defined. These inductive methods can help to identify some overall changes and the nature of factors affecting participants’ willingness to communicate(Huang,2014;Lee,2011). Secondly, inductive analysis will be utilized to determine some general patterns and findings by summarizing and generalizing reductive analysis in large masses of qualitative analysis material. In this way, the process of this analysis will illuminate the real effect of TikTok live video chat to EFL learners and the way it can boost willingness to communicate(Huang,2014). It is necessary to note that in the course of analyzing data, I will also pay special attention to the objectivity and accuracy of the information to support the scientific value of this research and results’ reliability(Lee,2011; Flick, 2004). This case will be analyzed in applying thematic analysis to identify themes or patterns with repetitions in the interview materials. This is one of the ways of organizing and interpreting qualitative data that seek to discover underlying concepts or themes. Participants' responses on each topic and observation of 6 participants' lives in the stream room were compared to gain insight into their opinion concerning TikTok live conversation and how it influences language acquisition.
The interviews and observation were written down to analyze the information and the conversations (Fernández, 2006). We used Max QDA software version 2022 and a codebook to analyze the data. To summarize, Theme A and Theme B based on the thematic and inductive analysis of six interviews through Max QDA 2022 regarding live video chats’achievement on EFL learners’ willingness to communicate and the reduction of the anxiety, the following results can be seen. We used grounded theory to help us analyze the interview data. Grounded theory helps guide the analysis process. A step-by-step way to figure out different groups and how they are related to each other. We followed the steps for coding from Creswell (2009) and Strauss and Corbin (1998). First, we collected data by asking questions. Then, we looked at the data and found similar ideas that we grouped into categories. For example, if people talked a lot about technology being helpful in English classes, we made "perceived motivation" a concept and "boost students' interest" and "providing authentic materials" categories. The writer read the interview conversations carefully and used colors to mark important concepts and categories.(Figure 2. Example of coding system from Max QDA)
Categories only describe the data and need to be combined further. Create the theory (O'Connor, 2012). In the final stage of combining and improving, all other categories must be connected to this one. This decreased the long list of codes by constantly checking and comparing them. Some codes were left out because they didn't follow the rules or were not important to the study. To make sure the results are fair, the author carefully checked the codes to see if they matched the original statements (Miles &Huberman, 1994). This helps to make sure different researchers would come up with the same results. During the interviews, the author made sure to act like they didn't know anything and not talk about any theories with the participants. (Figure 3. Example of coding process from Max QDA)

3. Finding

An inductive analysis of what the qualitative data is missing can elucidate the main areas of richness in the narrative on this topic and make clear the added value regarding the voice of the participants concerning the intervention: key ideas, concepts, or themes that frequently reappear in our data, such as TikTok, communicating, actively, anxiety, English.. The closeness and repetition of the words in the Word Cloud (Figure 4) (largest and most often repeated）represent the primary issues and problems addressed in the data. All of the components listed above with the last explanation of findings, which includes thematic and inductive research analysis, are related to the Word Cloud (Figure 4) itself to ensure that EFLs in the TikTok live video chats intervention study feel the willingness to communicate improvement in anxiety regarding their language learning behaviors. The above research already reveals that TikTok's digital environment can be a good site for language learning in search of innovative approaches at this age, for teachers, or practitioners.

4.1. Perceived Motivation from Immersive and Interactive Engagement

4.1.1. Language Learning Impact

The grounded data through the observations and interviews clearly show that live video chatting on TikTok forms an immersive and highly interactive language learning environment for EFL learners. As put by Li Yifan, "Talking to English speakers on TikTok has helped me learn English a lot. I can use this platform to practice speaking in English with native speakers. I can talk about different things and get feedback on my language and how I say words right away." In other words, this immersive practice environment provides a platform for learners to apply and internalize their knowledge in real-life settings, with instant feedback for the correction process. As Chen Lei himself puts it, "After April, he began unashamedly asking questions on a wide range of topics about grammar and vocabulary, carefully writing down the feedback from the host."
"For example, Li Jia seemed to be a rather shy person in the live room. She even stuttered to do very simple self-introduction in the beginning of March. But after a couple of weeks later, she starts challenging herself by asking questions and imitating how some people were pronouncing words. And while it was May, she had even pulled up enough courage that led her to effectively joking around with some slang sayings, much to the approval of other viewers who listened to her."
From being a quiet and passive participant in the class, Li Jia became very verbal and assertive – changes that dramatized the value of being immersed and being allowed interactive engagement as factors that might lead to language learning. According to Bandura (1986), the overall assumption of the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) lies in acquiring new behaviors through observational learning. By observing the interaction process with the native speakers, Li Jia was then in a position to be able to imitate the phonemes and strategies in conversation of the speaking natives. This way, Li Jia was able to acquire a very high level of change improvement in language use several notches higher willingness to communicate. This assertion is consistent with that of Bandura. Learning takes place through quite a number of processes, and these include observation of action and the different consequences of the action.

4.1.2. Learning Motivation

Live video interactions influence not only language learning outcome but also have a positive effect on the intrinsic motivation with which learners appraise the learning activity (Ryan & Deci, 2017). Ma Wen said: "As his confidence grew, he shed his initial reticence and embraced a more playful demeanor, occasionally cracking witty jokes or engaging in friendly banter with the host and fellow learners. This lighthearted atmosphere appeared to alleviate any lingering anxiety, allowing him to express himself more freely."
Also, Jia Li added: "Live chatting sessions on TikTok are absolutely amazing and very effective to practice speaking with confidence and interactivity with native speakers. Don't worry about making mistakes; worry about learning from every chat."
Chen Lei: "At the beginning, it was extremely exciting, but after that, the encouragement feedback from the host in real-time became such that I felt the enthusiasm for participating more and more. I started enjoying the process of learning and communicating with native speakers."
This only shows that intrinsic motivation is being subjected to the learning of the language, as hypothesized by SCT. From nervous to excitement— this case of Chen Lei only proves that such interactive and engaging platforms as TikTok help increase the level of motivation through enhancing intrinsic motivation, according to Ryan and Deci. Such quick feedback and support from native speakers create a friendly instructional climate, help emanate good attitudes toward learning, and guarantee persistent involvement in the activity.

4.1.3. Frequency of Participation

Consistent and constant engagement is key at getting that learning motivation on course and facilitating the improvement of language skills. Li Yifan said, "I participate in live video chatting whenever am free by encouraging online friends to engage me at least a minimum of a few times in a week or when their schedules allow."
On the general contrary, Gao Shuocheng revealed, "Maybe 1 to 2 times a week if I'm not busy. Some, but because I don't do it very often, the improvement is definitely not that fast." This suggests that one has to keep on applying the language constantly.
"At first, he is always silent in the live room. He started to open a bit by June. He was actually nodding hard every time the host was speaking, at points making some really interesting follow-up questions that got the applause from the rest of the viewers."
This is just so quality an output for regular participants. Therefore, SCT also purports that learning through repeated exposure and frequent interaction with the target language would improve learning and guarantee retention. Live chat helps him participate often so that he may listen carefully to feedback, practice, and observe a lot of development in self-confidence and efficiency in the language.

4.2. Self-Efficacy: From External Pressure to Internal Initiative

4.2.1. Anxiety Management

The live chatting environment in video on TikTok gives learners a relatively low-anxiety and safe place for language practice, which contributes to anxiety reduction. According to Gao Shuochen: "I'm relatively introverted, so if go to an English corner at school or something I might not be able to speak directly to people, but with Talk I won't have to face a stranger directly, so I'm more relaxed."
Jia Li also added: "In the beginning, speaking English in public did make me a bit nervous, but as I kept practicing, it built up my confidence. To conquer it, I will remind myself that making mistakes is part of the study process."
Ma Wen: "In the beginning, I was really so scared to say something wrong, so my attitude was very careful. But later on, the chatting environment was quite informal and friendly so that I began to relax and tried to just tell things in my mind."
In fact, Ma Wen's experience represents the functioning of SCT theory in coping with language learning anxiety. In some sense, Bandura (1997) highlighted that concept of self-efficacy; people's confidence or belief in their capability to perform a task affects whether they will make attempts at the task or not. The warm-up environment and the less formal nature of entering the live chat narrow the purpose of its use for Ma Wen, where he can practice speaking without psychic pressure from real-time performance and a process of social evaluation with self-discipline, thus reducing anxiety and building self-efficacy at the same time (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986).

4.2.2. Language Learning Obstacles

Whereas the benefits that ensue from using live video chatting on TikTok for learning a new language might be plenty, there are, however, a few challenges and setbacks to learners. For example, Ma Xiaoxu described it thus: "Yes, because there is this mismatch between your ability to read and write and your ability to listen and speak.you don't understand a lot of the words, or you don't understand the other person when they speak too fast.and sometimes there's a mismatch between the vocabulary that you know and the vocabulary that you hear, and it's just a case of that."
Gao Shuocheng also said, "The biggest problem that would also be confidence. The confidence to speak English is still lacking a bit."
Ma Xiaoxu: "Sometimes, idiomatic expressions and colloquial usage were confusing to me. But when discussing these directly with the host, and giving examples in real conversations, they became more comprehensible and easy to remember."
Live chatting here helps it be possible to cross the huddles that a learner has before language learning. SCT identifies that some linguistic issues are solved through social interaction and real-life contexts of communication (Krashen, 1985). In the discussion and clarification of idiomatic expressions, learners get practical applications and use that helps them bridge the gap between theoretical descriptions and actual application.
From these observations and interviews, it became apparent that immersion through live video chatting on TikTok sums up the characteristic of a very flexible, interactive language learning environment for EFL learners, better intrinsic motivation, decreased anxiety, promoting further development of language proficiency. However, vocabulary knowledge, pronunciation correction, and self-confidence still need continuously working. Only with frequent interaction and practice will the learner be able to overcome obstacles and reach a high level of expertise in the language.
SCT is an elaboration of a social cognitive theory explaining behavioral development in an individual. The theory is anchored by self-efficacy in which one learns a new behavior from the actions of others and then internalizes it to the effect that the experience becomes the same as if the action had been taken by him or herself. They were also taught about self-efficacy. Aside from progress in the developmental trajectories of these English-as-a-Foreign-Language learners—how they have come to be able to use the language effectively, how their self-confidence has risen through exposure and interaction with the native speakers, and how they are emboldened by mimicking corrections on pronunciation, among many others—intrinsic motivation, as discussed by Ryan and Deci, is one of the major contributing factors for continued interest or persistence. Contributions of TikTok Live to this environment include Funneling.

4.2.3. Language Proficiency

At the same time, it helps learners understand the language better because they can notice how native speakers pronounce words, intonate, and use pragmatics. Li Yifan was the best in the class, and his English was truly pure and fluent. Still, the élite member was hasty in allowing small shortcomings to disturb his grace. Every time he caught a tiny lapse in both the tone and connection, he would put on his solemn expression, self-correcting immediately, until he won the agreement and compliments of his host.
Ma Xiaoxu also admitted some improvement in vocabulary and conversational expression: "Maybe it's the liking of English. because it's convenient, right, direct face to face, but it's really a better place to practice your speaking ability, and your ability of expression and to increase your ability to chat."
"Gao Shuocheng sometimes did not understand some of the medical professional words, frowning her eyebrows, and then wrinkling deeply in thought. The host made one explanation after another quite patiently, until she finally put on an enlightened face."
The live chat discussion by Gao Shuocheng illustrates that SCT affects the development of language proficiency. The experience helps to learn much more since Gao could seek further explanations on the meaning of some terms from the natives. Thus, she is able to improve her professional vocabulary. This time-bound and space-bound learning is much more effective than the old-fashioned methods since it engages both interactive involvement and immediate use (Swain, 2000).

3. Discussion

The study results are in line with the SCT framework and elucidate the potential of live video chatting platforms, such as TikTok, to improve EFL learners' WTC while ameliorating anxiety about speaking English. Two overarching themes drawn from thematic analysis were: 1) Perceived motivation deriving from immersion and interaction; 2) Self-efficacy: from external pressure to internal initiative.
The live video chatting sessions have been entirely immersive and interactive and have played motivating and engaging roles on learners. Making a connection on this aspect of the research with SCT learners could listen to the pronunciation, intonation, and conversational strategies of the native speakers that they tried to copy in their own speech production(Bandura, 1986). This is the real time exposure to authentic language use provides learners with opportunities for practice; with immediate feedback, the learning potential increases manifold (Grooms, 2021). Besides, this finding of the study validates the intrinsic motivation though supported through SCT (Ryan & Deci, 2017). Engaging and fun interactions over live chat platforms within TikTok raised intrinsic motivation among learners, towed study English because they became more enthusiastic and open to engage in it with more regularity. The literature had also mentioned that the positive effect of enjoyment and relevance on intrinsic motivation had been previously reported by Ryan & Deci (2000).
Participation frequency has been proven, empirically, to be one of the moorings that bring increase and keep learning motivation alive. Many learners often reported a lot of improvement in their language proficiency since practice and exposure were essential(Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2020). Participating students, empirically, often reported improvements in language proficiencies because of the practices and exposure they had in live video chatting. The live setting of the video chat is relatively low-pressure and seen as a safe haven for practice of the language, which reduces anxiety among EFL learners. Thus, these findings reflect the emphasis placed on self-efficacy in SCT: if it is believed that learners can't do something, then they will not actually try it in the first place anyhow (Bandura, 1997). These findings are in line with the literature that discusses the management of anxiety in language learning. The encouraging and less formal synch chat allowed learners to build confidence, slowly subduing their initial apprehensions(Horwitz et al., 1986).
It has further been said that through live video chatting, language development can be assisted; learning new pronunciation, intonation, and pragmatic use of language can be acquired, while learners observe and participate with native speakers. This exposure to actual-life communication scenes facilitates the development of communicative competence, which according to SCT, is primarily focused on social interaction and learning in a socially mediated environment(Krashen, 1985; Swain, 2000). The study, however, also evidenced obstacles to language learning such as dissonance between receptive (reading/listening) and productive (speaking/ writing) skills, unfamiliar vocabulary, a d fast speech rate, which further emphasizes the need for regular practice and differentiated support to be provided to meet the needs and challenges of individual learners because SCT maintains that learn- ing takes place through observation, modeling, and feedback (Bandura, 1986).
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3. Conclusion

The qualitative design approach of the current study is to determine or examine the potential effectiveness of live video chatting with English-speaking natives on TicTok in increasing EFL'ers' willingness to communicate in English and decreasing their anxiety. The results are thus based on social cognitive theory and reveal what interactive social media learning platforms might bear for language teaching.
Moreover, this interactive, self-contained environment is seen to be effective at the base for observant learning, and intrinsic motivation through live video chatting that would induce frequent participation when generalized by SCT in regard to enhanced language acquisition and willingness to communicate in L2. Moreover, being less anxious in the excessive frequency of exposure would gradually reduce their anxiety and build self-efficacy, where they could confront fear progressively at higher levels and become more confident in the language. Video Chatting still maintained a cascade of benefits for study in the long run. It, however, posed too many challenges on language learning such as; the restrictions in the speaker's vocabulary and rapid speech flow, and there is a debilitating maintenance of a gap between receptive and productive language skills. All these highlighted challenges make focus to be on the practice with proper support significant in ways that effective strategies are used to manage individual learner needs by facilitating the progress. The current study has therefore contributed and deepened knowledge on how these interactive social media platforms could be used to design an interesting and motivational task for language learning experience. Being properly guided by social cognitive theory, educationists and language learning professionals can develop ways by which the potential of the media can be tapped to raise the willingness to communicate, lessen anxiety, and improve levels of proficiency among EFL learners. Future research might be conducted to explore, on a longitudinal level, the impact that live video chatting may have on the development of emergent language proficiency and the role that specific features on these platforms play in improving outcomes of language learning; this way, they can be best integrated into formal settings of language education. The current study has produced rich qualitative data. However, future research could usefully shed some light on the direct impact the variables would have in increasing willingness to communicate and correspondingly decreasing anxiety reduction in a quantitative manner.

References

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Figure 2. Example of Coding System from MAX QDA.
Figure 2. Example of Coding System from MAX QDA.
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Figure 3. Example of coding process from Max QDA.
Figure 3. Example of coding process from Max QDA.
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Figure 4. Word cloud.
Figure 4. Word cloud.
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Table 2. Social Cognitive Theory Framework.
Table 2. Social Cognitive Theory Framework.
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Table 3. Demographic Information of Participants.
Table 3. Demographic Information of Participants.
Participant Age Gender Education English Proficiency English Exam Scores Occupation TikTok Chatting Time (hours/week)
Chen Lei 27 Male Associate’s degree Intermediate Did not pass CET-4 Preparing for postgraduate exams 2
Li Jia 32 Female Bachelor’s degree Intermediate Passed CET-4 Scenic area worker 1
Ma Wen 34 Female Associate’s degree Beginner Did not pass CET-4 Business owner 3
Gao Shuocheng 32 Female Master’s degree Advanced Passed CET-6 Medical researcher 4
Ma Xiaoxu 32 Female Master’s degree Intermediate Passed CET-4 Legal researcher 2
Li Yifan 30 Male Master’s degree Advanced Passed CET-4, CET-6, TEM-4, TEM-8 University lecturer 5
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