The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Vocabulary Development in English Language Learning

Abstract

   This study examines the relationship between social media use and English vocabulary development among university students in Kazakhstan. A quantitative correlational research design was employed to investigate students’ social media usage patterns and their self-reported vocabulary-learning experiences. Data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics. The analysis included descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, tests of normality, and Pearson correlation analysis. The preliminary results indicate that the relationships between individual social media platforms and vocabulary development vary across platforms. Facebook use was negatively correlated with vocabulary scores, whereas YouTube showed a positive but statistically non-significant relationship. No statistically significant correlations were identified for Instagram or TikTok. These findings suggest that the potential educational value of social media may depend on the platform and the nature of learners’ engagement with English-language content. The study highlights the importance of purposeful social media use in supporting vocabulary development. Further research with a larger sample and more objective measures of vocabulary knowledge is recommended.