Multimodal Design or Communicative Input? ESL Learner Perceptions of TikTok-Inspired Vocabulary Instruction

Abstract

Short-form video applications such as TikTok offer instructional environments that combine multimodal design with communicative input modes, yet how ESL learners perceive these features in formal classroom contexts remains underexplored. This quantitative descriptive correlational survey study examined the perceptions of 92 ESL learners regarding seven multimodal feature constructs embedded in TikTok-inspired vocabulary instruction. The constructs were derived from a prior qualitative multimodal discourse analysis of 10 authentic TikTok vocabulary videos (Phase 1 of the broader research programme), which informed the design of a validated questionnaire (Cronbach's alpha = .840 to .920) administered within an Intensive English Programme at a private university in Malaysia. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 31. All seven constructs were positively endorsed above the scale midpoint. However, two descriptive patterns emerged. Constructs related to the stabilisation of vocabulary meaning through on-screen text, visual support, and consistent video format received stronger and more consistent endorsement. In contrast, constructs associated with communicative input delivery (narrative framing, audio delivery, embodied cues, and interactive engagement) were endorsed positively, however, with greater individual variability. These patterns informed a tentative exploratory framework distinguishing Design Features from Multimodal Input, offered here as a hypothesis-generating rather than a confirmed framework. Structural validation has been undertaken in a subsequent phase of the research programme using a sample of n = 304 appropriate for structural equation modelling, and is reported separately. The findings provide evidence-based guidance for educators selecting and sequencing TikTok-inspired vocabulary materials, consistent with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4.