Volume 2 · Issue 6 (2025)
Tool-vs Entertainment-Oriented Social Medial Use in Large College English Classes: A Systematic Review of Engagement Mediators
Xianyan Dai
Faculty of School of Chinese and International Education, Guangzhou International Economics College, Guangzhou, 510540, China
Abstract: This review scanned 41 empirical studies (2020-2025) to unpack how tool- versus entertainment-oriented social media behaviours shape engagement in large college English classes. Tool-use consistently strengthened cognitive engagement (majority positive paths), whereas entertainment-use eroded the same mediator (majority negative paths); the negative signal was markedly larger in lower-proficiency sub-samples. Emotional engagement showed transient gains but failed to reach summative assessment. Cognition functions as the single toll-gate linking online behaviour to tested performance. Micro-task design, traffic-ratio dashboards and platform-level “edu-mode” switches are recommended to throttle entertainment feeds during scheduled sessions.
Keywords: Tool-use; Entertainment-use; Cognitive engagement; Large-class college English; Proficiency gap; Precision intervention
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