Given the almost universal penetration of mobile phones and good, reliable internet access, there’s a very strong chance that many of the learners in your class will be using TikTok. Particularly given that by the end of 2021, it had already surpassed Google as the world’s most popular web domain – that’s astonishing given that the company was only formed in 2016!
The platform hosts an amazing range of interactive and highly engaging audiovisual content, developed by amateur and professional content creators across the world. Given its success, teachers have turned to the site to create learning materials to engage with users worldwide. This blog post therefore looks at six language teachers, who are using TikTok to reach huge audiences and identifies how all language teachers could effectively use the platform in their classrooms.
(It is worth noting the use of the noun “teachers” on TikTok does not always mean a fully qualified professional. Similarly, students or learners are not always enrolled in a formal language learning course).
How does TikTok work?
TikTok is a video-sharing platform managed and run by the Chinese company ByteDance. According to their website, the application is “the leading destination for short-form mobile video. TikTok’s mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy”.
Content on the platform is created by TikTok’s users (TikTokers) and covers a large variety of topics: music and dance videos, beauty, technology, cooking, fashion – you name it! But language learning is an increasingly popular content area with leading TikTokers generating 1million followers!
Users are able to search for specific videos in the Discover-area of the app or via the search bar tool, As with other social media networks, hashtags such as #languagelearning or #learnitalian, for example, can help learners to find relevant content. Videos with the #languagelearning hashtag have already generated over 1.5 billion views!
Top language teaching accounts to follow on TikTok
There are a huge number of accounts on TikTok that are creating language learning content across a wide variety of all global languages. We’ve picked six interesting accounts for you to check out and visit below.
1. @spanishforeveryday – Spanish
Identified by TikTok as a standout teacher in 2021, Nibaldo’s videos are followed by 2.6 million people worldwide, who use the videos to learn Spanish. Notably, his day job is teaching Spanish to school children in the US, but he joined the platform to share his love of the language. That comes across in his fun and engaging videos that demonstrate how to use Spanish in everyday situations. Learners are presented with a sentence to practice and can see it written out in full and carefully pronounced.
2. @nathaliekitahara – Japanese
Nathalie’s daily Japanese lessons and stories have generated over 5 million likes and she’s an established name for people looking to learn the language. Her content ranges from easy Japanese words / phrases for visitors to food and words that look the same as English but which mean something completely different. She also gives regular insights into Japanese culture and the country behind the language.
3. @italianmatters – Italian
This is probably TikTok’s leading account for anyone looking to learn Italian – Margherita has 1.4M followers and her videos have generated nearly 8 million likes globally.
Her content mostly focuses on spoken Italian, and covers a wide range of topics including basic words and phrases. She provides very clear guidance on pronunciation – a recent video on the rolled r in Italian is a great example. Her accent is also very clear and everything is really accessible as she reinforces all learning in spoken and written English.
4. @iamthatenglishteacher – English
It’s no surprise that much of the language learning content on TikTok is focused on those looking to improve their English. But with 4.4m followers and 24.6m likes, Claudine James sits at the very top of the pile!
She maintains a full-time teaching role as an English teacher for US students in seventh and eighth grade. Students can be heard participating in her content which invariably features a whiteboard and sees her teaching vocab or grammar concepts. Her content is real and classroom-based – there’s nothing fake or artificial about it. This simple approach has helped her to gain a worldwide audience: One follower messaged her to say, “Everyone in Brazil loves you. We all follow you because you help us learn English.”
5. @levelupurabaic – Arabic
Abdo is a charismatic Arabic teacher in both Egyptian Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). His content is super practical and focuses on everyday Arabic, grammar and pronunciation. Typical videos focus on question words, pronouns and key conversation phrases.
Abdo encourages users to listen and repeat what he says. Back-up is available throughout in English. In addition, Abdo’s content also highlights some of the differences between his two language specialism as well as the important cultural contexts to consider.
6. @goetheinstitut.deutsch – German
National language teaching institutions such as The Goethe Institute are also great examples of how to deliver language learning on TikTok. Their channel provides tips, tricks, and explanations to “improve your knowledge of German and gain insights into what Germany is really like”. Content is updated almost every day and features a range of engaging native speakers.
Using TikTok in your language classroom
The above accounts and many of the other language learning accounts on TikTok can be used to help your students to improve their language skills. Videos are typically short and engage their interest but also contain useful tips, handy vocabulary and explanations of simple grammar concepts. They could also be easily used for listening comprehension.
TikTok videos can also be useful as a stimulus for key parts of any lesson. For example, it could be a powerful way to open a lesson or as a summary at the end. Videos can also be a useful prompt to encourage spoken and written language production. Students could, for example, create their own TikToks in their L2; present a video to the class on a particular topic or analyse a TikTok video or a creator in detail.
Importantly, TikTok’s Duet functionality could also be deployed for conversation practice. This allows users to respond to an existing video by creating a new video. The result is split-screen content where the two videos run side-by-side.
Always check the accounts that you’re going to direct students to use and remember to protect your students’ data and privacy when using social networking sites. But do experiment with TikTok and explore how the wealth of amazing, real language learning content could motivate and inspire your students!
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