UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN OPEN LEARNING RESOURCE IN ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

This study aimed to find out the perceptions of English education students in using social media as a learning resource, based on their previous experiences, this research used a qualitative method with a case study approach. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) involving ten 8th semester students from a private university in Indonesia. Data was analyzed by using hematic analysis. This research uses social media application technology, namely, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. With Fish’s (2021) perception theory approach which involves one aspect adverbialism and qualia theory aspects. From the data analysis, five main themes with nine sub themes were found. The most dominant theme is feeling the benefits of social media in English learning, indicating that students' perceptions focus more on the benefits of social media in English learning. Meanwhile, other themes, such as enhancing comprehension and cognitive skills, social media as a diverse learning resource, negative and positive feelings about learning through social media, have less data. The results of this study show that social media has an important role in supporting English language learning, especially through its ease of access, flexibility, and diversity of content offered. Although there are negative impacts, such as lack of focus, these challenges can be overcome by implementing appropriate learning strategies. This research provides alternative benefits of using social media as a relevant and effective English learning resource in the digital era at the university level.