Guided vs. unguided social media-assisted language learning: An In-depth analysis of speaking performance, willingness to communicate, and social emotional learning

Previous studies have indicated that social media has been used by students to develop speaking skills. However, how guided social media (GSM) and unguided social media (USM) activities in conversation courses affect their speaking skills and willingness to communicate (WTC) remain unclear. It also remains uncertain what social and emotional learning (SEL) factors during the adoption of social media-assisted language learning (SMALL) help to facilitate student learning. This study therefore purposed to investigate (1) the effects of GSM and USM on English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ speaking performance and WTC and (2) the SEL factors that enable students to thrive during SMALL activities. This study employed a mixed-methods experimental approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data. This study employed intact group sampling to recruit Indonesian EFL students who were studying at a state university and formed three groups, USM (20 students), GSM (23 students), and control group (26 students). The quantitative data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests while the qualitative data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The results indicated that USM and GSM could significantly improve EFL students’ speaking performance. However, only USM could significantly improve WTC. In addition, students’ SEL is influenced by factors such as learning engagement, motivation, learning environment, and support.