As Brinks Lockwood (2014) noted, "flipped learning occurs when students are exposed to the instruction outside of the classroom and when class time is used as a means to apply that newly found outside knowledge through activities" (p. 1). In our field of TESOL, this approach has been steadily gaining popularity. At the 2014 TESOL convention in Portland, for instance, seven presentations and one showcase focused on using a flipped approach to teach English language learners, and there were even more presentations at the 2015 convention in Toronto. Nevertheless, few pedagogical materials exist as examples of the approach for teaching English, particularly to learners who are studying English for academic purposes. Our presentation at Massachusetts TESOL (MATSOL) last year aimed to fill this gap and provide attendees with materials they could use to flip their classes.

The benefits of flipping the classroom are unique to each classroom situation depending on how much of the classroom is "flipped" and how well the tasks are designed. Nonetheless, we have identified three salient benefits of this approach as we began incorporating it into our academic English courses. We have noticed increased engagement in class work and homework (Bergmann, Overmyer, & Wilie, 2013; Brinks Lockwood, 2014), learners’ autonomy (Bergmann, Overmyer, & Wilie, 2013), and opportunities for meaningful language production (Brinks Lockwood, 2014). In our presentation at TESOL 2016, we will explain the pedagogical materials we have developed and trialed for advanced undergraduate and graduate learners of English. Our target population focuses on students who intend to matriculate to an English-medium college or university; however, these materials can also be adapted to other language proficiency levels. Please join us at the “Best of Affiliates” presentation on 8 April at 10:30 am in room Douglass at the Baltimore Convention Center. We look forward to talking with you about the flipped approach.

References

Bergmann, J., Overmyer, J., & Wilie, B. (2013). The flipped class: Myth vs. reality. The Daily Riff. Retrieved from http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/the-flipped-class-conversation-689.php

Brinks Lockwood, R. (2014). Flip it! Strategies for the ESL classroom. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

Ilka Kostka, PhD, is an assistant teaching professor in the Global Pathways and American Classroom programs at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She teaches ESL courses in reading and writing and contributes to curriculum development. She is currently the newsletter editor of SLW News.

Erik Voss, PhD, is an assistant teaching professor in the Global Pathways and American Classroom programs at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He specializes in teaching courses in academic listening and professional speaking. Dr. Voss’s research focuses on second language assessment and learning through technology.