EXPLORING INSTAGRAM AFFORDANCES IN SCAFFOLDING ENGLISH SKILLS AMONG PRE SERVICE TEACHERS

Abstract

English language proficiency of most English teachers in Indonesia is still at the lower intermediate level.  As a result, it must be improved.  Since teachers are crucial in providing exposure to their students. This improvement can begin while they are still working as prospective teachers.  In today's digital era, social media can be used as English learning media, including Instagram. Instagram is the second most used social media in Indonesia and it is popular among university students as well as pre service teacher who are pursuing higher education. Instagram has many features and contents that make it not only an entertainment media but also potentially used as a learning media. While several prior studies have looked into Instagram's use in learning English, but there are not many that have focused on the affordances of Instagram that assist in language learning. Thus, this study aims to identify the affordances of Instagram that can be utilized for learning English. This research adopts a case study method for data collection, utilizing documentation, and semi-structured interviews. The participants of this study were eighth-semester English education students from one of the universities in Bogor. Findings from this research reveal that all Instagram affordances, including editability, association, persistence, and visibility, can be utilized to learn English.