Short-form video and microlearning in English language education: A bibliometric and science mapping review

Short-form video platforms, particularly TikTok, have altered how second language learners encounter and process linguistic input. Individual studies have examined specific aspects of microlearning in second language contexts, yet, to the authors' knowledge, no bibliometric analysis has mapped the intellectual structure of this emerging subfield. This study maps the publication landscape, thematic clusters, and research gaps characterizing microlearning research in English language education through short-form video platforms. We conducted a hybrid bibliometric analysis of 80 Scopus-indexed documents published between 2004 and 2026. Performance analysis was performed using Biblioshiny (R), and science mapping was executed through VOSviewer. The bibliometric outputs were then interpreted through a qualitative synthesis using the Theory, Context, Characteristics, and Methodology framework. Three principal patterns emerged. First, scholars from developing Asian economies, including Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, and Indonesia, contributed the largest share of publications, whereas traditional Western academic centers produced comparatively fewer studies. Second, the thematic clusters concentrated on phonological production and vocabulary acquisition, with limited attention to academic writing or reading comprehension. Third, qualitative and experimental designs together accounted for approximately two-thirds of the corpus, while computational learning analytics appeared only peripherally in the keyword co-occurrence network. This bibliometric review maps the knowledge structure of a rapidly expanding subfield at the intersection of educational technology and applied linguistics. The findings point to a need for longitudinal experimental designs, methodological diversification toward learning analytics, and empirical investigation of how algorithmic recommendation systems mediate L2 input delivery.