Teaching English Language Learners on TikTok

The explosion of Tiktok in late 2017 brought the short-form video to the forefront as a major force in social media. Lip sync and dance battle videos have seen consumption of over a trillion views, and competitors like Instagram and Youtube quickly responded by retooling their platforms with "reels" and "shorts" respectively.

Five years on, however, Tiktok is evolving, following its social media predecessors through the maturity cycle from entertainment into education, information, and news content. Whatever criticisms educators may have about Tiktok's core content, it is worth considering the value that this platform and short-form video format can bring to education, and more specifically, to English Language learners.

• • Could TikTok be an ideal platform for effective English micro and nano-learning?

  • Could you make a difference to an audience of learners by generously posting valuable content?

  • Is it time to add the role of "content creator" to your identity?