2019 2 nd International Conference of Computer and Informatics Engineering (IC2IE) 978-1-7281-2384-4/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE 222 10-11 September, Indonesia-Banyuwangi, East Java YouTube® for the 21 st -century English language E-learning: What Works and What Doesn’t? Amalia Nur Husna, Pupung Purnawarman, Didi Suherdi English Education Indonesia University of Education Bandung, Indonesia amalianh16@student.upi.edu, purnawarman@upi.edu, suherdi_d@upi.edu Arif Husein Lubis Information Technology Budi Luhur University Jakarta, Indonesia arif.huseinlubis@budiluhur.ac.id Abstract—Integrating ICT in the teaching of English as a foreign language is nothing new. ICT integration through Web 2.0, particularly the application of YouTube, is beneficial to ease the implementation process through an E-learning platform. However, the description of the milestone of the application of YouTube for EFL E-learning remains underexplored. Thus, this study explores the benefits and challenges of its application by conducting a qualitative systematic review of 14 published articles within the last 10 years from 2008-2019. Embracing that systematic review framework, the findings explain three main points: (1) YouTube and the development of EFL students’ English language skills, (2) YouTube and the promotion of EFL students’ soft skills, and (3) YouTube and the facilitation of EFL E-learning. This paper concludes with the importance of the findings for EFL teachers and practitioners to reconsider the implementation design of E-learning oriented to multi- literacy through YouTube as well as recommendations for future research. Keywords— YouTube, EFL, benefits, challenges, E-learning, systematic review I. INTRODUCTION The praxis of English as a foreign language (hereafter EFL) learning has long witnessed that ICT integration is beneficial to ease the implementation process through the E- learning platform. This sort of ICT integration opens more opportunities for learners to explore the language and the world without any geographical and time restrictions [1] (p. 1184). A recent study conducted by Lubis [2] involving EFL school teachers discovered that the benefits of ICT integration pertain to the teaching objectives ranging from preparing the learning materials to assessing the students' works. On the other hand, some technical and non-technical challenges remain on the surface. Time management, limited access to the internet, and limited supporting facilities become the primary technical concerns. Limited knowledge of operating ICT and lack of students’ engagement are mostly experienced by the participants as the non-technical barriers to make the most use of ICT integration. The latter leads to the absence of the role of such technology integration in mediating the development of students’ core language skills. Consequently, the possibility of technologies to cater to EFL students’ communicative skills remains inconclusive. In accordance with the current gap previously mentioned, Sun, Tsai, Finger, Chen, and Yeh [1] have advocated that the E-learning platform can be effectively utilized with the proper blend of the learner, teacher, design, technology, course, and environmental dimensions. Among the six dimensions, types, and characteristics of the technologies being utilized become the growing interest of exploration among scholars. This study focuses on the use of Web 2.0 since it pertains to the notion of E-learning as a web-based system. Within the current scholarship of ICT, Web 2.0, firstly coined in 2004, is the advancement of Web 1.0 generation from read-only digital learning resources such as e-books and single-user prescriptive websites [3] to read-and-write [4] dynamic and collaborative educational technologies such as social networks, media sharing tools [5-6], mobile applications [7], and interactive educational websites, e.g. Edmodo [8]. As Web 2.0 embraces the nature of multimodal learning platforms, this study mainly discusses the application of YouTube in the EFL E-learning environment. Additionally, the 21 st -century EFL learners are often regarded as millennial users of technology in which their familiarity with the use of YouTube is no longer questionable. YouTube is a website for the users to share and interact with different kinds of videos i.e., video clips, TV clips, music videos, movie trailers, and other content such as video blogs, short original videos, and educational videos. It was launched in February 2005. Nowadays, YouTube is utilized as a video repository to assist in the teaching and learning process [9]. In the EFL E-learning context, the site allows users to upload, watch, rate, share, and comment on videos. A considerable body of research has reported the benefits of YouTube for foreign language learning. Almurashi [10] suggests that such a learning platform can be integrated into traditional foreign language courses as a supplementary tool to deal with students' difficulties and barriers in mastering the target language. It is conceived to be more productive and successful than textbook-based foreign language courses. Moreover, it provides an opportunity to interact with native as well as non-native speakers of the target language and also to understand the different spoken varieties of the target language around the world [11]. Saputra and Fatimah [12] pos it similarly that YouTube allows the teachers and students to obtain self-study language materials and information, new vocabularies, and various language skills exercise so that they can monitor the development of their foreign language repertoire. As a result, such a personal rich and multimodal learning atmosphere also promotes soft skills such as autonomy and creativity as well as clinical attitudes toward language learning such as motivation and activeness. Although the use of YouTube for language learning has been extensively investigated, the description of the