Free TESOL Quarterly Article: "Flipped Learning in the English as a Foreign Language Classroom: Outcomes and Perceptions"
by Given Lee and Amanda Wallace
This article first appeared in TESOL Quarterly, Volume 52, Number 1, pgs. 62–84. Subscribers can access issues here. Only TESOL members may subscribe. To become a member of TESOL, please click here, and to purchase articles, please visit Wiley-Blackwell. © TESOL International Association.
|
Abstract
Although many educators have recently discussed the positive effects of flipped learning, there is little empirical evidence about whether this approach can actually promote students’ English learning. This study was undertaken in four sections of the same College English 1 (E1) course over two consecutive semesters at a South Korean university. A total of 79 students enrolled in the E1 course participated in the study. Of the participants, 39 learned English using a communicative language teaching approach, whereas 40 studied English in a flipped learning manner. Data were gathered from the students’ achievements in three major tasks, their responses to three surveys, and the instructor's notes on the students’ engagement in the process of their English learning. Findings demonstrate that the students in the flipped classroom achieved higher average scores in their final three tasks than those in the non‐flipped classroom, but only the final examination mean score indicated statistical significance. However, surveys indicated that most students in this study seemed to enjoy learning English in a flipped learning environment. Also, the instructor found the students in the flipped classroom to be more engaged in the learning process than those in the non‐flipped classroom. Pedagogical implications for effective English teaching are discussed. |
Communicative language teaching (CLT), which was born in the early 1970s out of the need to develop communication skills, has been one of the most commonly employed teaching methodologies in English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts over the past 40 years. However, some scholars have noted that CLT has failed its intended goals, especially in many EFL settings, because it did not consider different contextual constraints in which language teaching occurs (Bax, 2003; Humphries & Burns, 2015; Kumaravadivelu, 1993; Li, 1998). Unlike ESL environments, EFL contexts provide few opportunities to use English outside of class time. Also, even in the CLT classroom, much class time is used ineffectively by instructors who explain concepts, often via lecturing, as students sit quietly and passively listen (Lee, 2009; Littlewood, 1999). As a result, students may receive insufficient “input, output, and interaction, particularly given the time constraints of a language class” (Spino & Trego, 2015, p. 3). Thus, creating preclass input materials can facilitate language learners in producing output (Pica, Lincoln‐Porter, Paninos, & Linnell, 1996). Without comprehensible input (Krashen, 1982), students may not be able to actively participate in class activities.
A flipped learning approach, a newly emerged teaching methodology, has the potential to address the constraints of EFL contexts. It allows more time for students to use English inside and outside the classroom because of the inverted learning process (Bergmann & Sams, 2012). In a flipped classroom, lectures are removed, and the removed content is often delivered to students through preclass input materials like video recordings. However, flipped materials do not always have to be tied to technology (Brinks Lockwood, 2014). Students can study various types of materials (e.g., readings from a textbook and worksheets developed by their teacher) on their own outside of class time and grasp the meaning of the content. Based on their understanding, they consolidate their content knowledge by raising questions and engaging in class activities through group work facilitated by their instructor (Milman, 2012). Questions are generally regarded as indicators of constructing learner knowledge and creating interaction and participation (Dallimore, Hertenstein, & Platt, 2010).
Many instructors and researchers have discussed the benefits of flipped learning. For instance, Bergmann and Sams (2012), who have promoted the flipped learning approach, stated that the approach transcends physical constraints (e.g., time, space) and allows students to study class materials anytime and anyplace as long as an Internet connection is available. Bergmann and Sams also emphasized that “the flipped classroom is offering students an individualized education” (p. 18). Brinks Lockwood (2014) indicated that the flipped method could increase students’ higher order thinking skills (e.g., application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation), as opposed to their lower order thinking skills (e.g., knowledge, comprehension), as identified by Anderson, Krathwohl, and Bloom (2001). After having applied the flipped model to the Integrated Humanities subject in a Hong Kong Secondary 1 Class, Kong (2014) found that the new approach helped students increase their literacy competency and critical thinking skills.
Despite the recent attention to the flipped learning approach, there is little empirical evidence of how the approach has actually promoted students’ learning (Chen, Wang, & Chen, 2014), especially in EFL classrooms. Reviews on flipped learning in first language (L1) classrooms (Butt, 2014; McDonald & Smith, 2013) pinpointed methodological limitations. That is, many flipped studies tended to rely on surveys to examine student perceptions of flipped learning, and others used single‐group designs without control groups. Moreover, the reported L1 studies assigned video lectures as the main content for students to study outside the classroom.
To fill these gaps, this study examines the efficacy of the flipped model approach in an EFL course at a South Korean university by using an action research approach (Burns, 1999, 2005; Johnson, 2005). Instead of basing our study only on surveys, we collected data from various sources, including students’ achievements in three major tasks, three surveys, and the instructor's observation notes on the students’ engagement in class. We also created flipped and non‐flipped sections and provided various types of preclass input materials for the students in the flipped section. In the following section, we turn our attention to the existing literature on flipped learning in both L1 and second language (L2) contexts.
Studies on Flipped Learning in the L1 Context
The effectiveness of flipped learning in K–12 and higher education in the L1 context has been well documented (Alvarez, 2012; Bergmann & Sams, 2012; Day & Foley, 2006; Findlay‐Thompson & Mombourquette, 2014; Missildine, Fountain, Summers, & Gosselin, 2013; Moravec, Williams, Aguilar‐Roca, & O'Dowd, 2010; Strayer, 2012). Many of these studies have reported positive outcomes of flipped learning. For example, Day and Foley (2006) examined the learning outcomes of the flipped model in an introductory human–computer interaction course for one semester. The participants were 46 students in two sections of the same course, one section using Web lectures and the other traditional lectures. The instructor assigned the lectures to be viewed before each class and used most of the class time helping students complete their work. The study revealed that the students in the flipped section achieved better average grades than those in the non‐flipped section and showed a strong positive attitude toward the instructors’ intervention in class....
This article first appeared in TESOL Quarterly, 52, 62–84. For permission to use text from this article, please go to Wiley-Blackwell and click on "Request Permissions" under "Article Tools."
doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.372
Previous Article
;){kind=small}
I can hear my grandmother’s voice echoing through her house as she called. “Get your feet off the davenport!” My mother still calls remote controls “clickers.” My siblings and I have found humor in their use of these antiquated terms. In recent years, I’ve found more and more commonality with my grandmother and mother as some of the words in my vocabulary Rolodex are now notably different from the mainstream dialect.
In this ESP project leader profile, we meet our incoming English in occupational settings (EOS) representative for TESOL ESPIS. If you would like to speak with Jennifer and other ESPIS members in person, please attend the ESPIS Open Meeting at TESOL 2018 in Chicago. Jennifer’s bio highlights her background as an aviation English specialist, her international experience, and her research interests. 
Let me begin with an anecdote. My teaching career started when I was 18 but without any experience. During my initial days as a teacher, I had no idea what all those teaching methods—CLT, learner-centered, task-based—meant, and, thus, chiefly employed methods that my teacher had used when I was a student. I was totally unaware of all the latest developments in teaching and learning contexts in terms of teaching methodologies and pedagogical approaches to address the needs and challenges of the changing contexts. 
Teaching English to Chinese Learners in U.S. Colleges
More Than A Native Speaker: An Introduction to Teaching English Abroad, Third Edition
