Incidental English learning through social media and English Proficiency among Indonesian Gen Z: A cross-sectional survey

Social media platforms expose many Generation Z learners to English outside the classroom, raising the question of whether such incidental encounters are associated with measurable language ability. This study examined whether the frequency of incidental English learning (IL) through social media is associated with English proficiency among Indonesian secondary-school learners of English as a foreign language. A cross-sectional survey design was used. IL frequency was measured with a 25-item Likert-scale questionnaire capturing self-reported encounters with English on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, while English ability was assessed with a 45-item test of listening, vocabulary, and grammar. Descriptive statistics, Pearson and Spearman correlations (with bootstrap confidence intervals), and linear regression were used to estimate the zero-order relationships between IL frequency and overall as well as sub-skill scores. Across all analyses, IL frequency showed no statistically significant association with total proficiency or with listening, vocabulary, and grammar sub-scores, and confidence intervals suggested that any undetected positive relationships, if present, are likely to be small. These findings, within the limits of a self-report, cross-sectional design, and a single EFL context, suggest that frequent incidental exposure via social media may not be sufficient on its own to produce measurable gains in formal proficiency. The study is preliminary and does not address causal effects, but it provides a baseline for future longitudinal and theory-rich work that considers not only how often, but also how and why adolescents engage with English on social media.