Andrew D. Walton M. Sidury Christiansen

The Flipped Classroom in ELT: What it is, How it Works, How it is Done

Andrew D. Walton1 , M. Sidury Christiansen2

Department of Bilingual-Bicultural Studies, The University of Texas at San Antonio One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, Texas 78240 1 andrew.walton@utsa.edu, 2 marthasidury.christiansen@utsa.edu

Abstract. As a type of blended learning, the flipped classroom model is an instructional strategy in which direct instruction activities and homework are done in reverse order or “flipped.” In this model, the traditional learning experience is inverted in which instructors assign lectures to be completed outside of class time for individual review as homework, and reserve classroom time for guided and independent practice. This paper explores the ways in which English as a foreign language teachers can utilize the flipped classroom instructional strategy to maximize student engagement and learning. By addressing three questions: what is it, how it works, and how it is done; this paper examines the current trends in research that will help English as foreign language teachers promote an active learning environment, engage learners at their own pace, and create individualized learning experiences for each student.

Key Words: Flipped Classroom, Blended Learning, English as a Foreign Language, English Language Teaching.

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has exasperated educators and has caused new issues to emerge regarding teaching and learning. Specifically, the transition to virtual learning has brought about new issues on social (or face-to-face) interactions which have been known to enhance learners’ engagement, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills (Hurst et al., 2013). Schools’ shift to “emergency eLearning protocols” (Murphy, 2020), and online learning, pose a considerable challenge to all administrators, teachers, and students. On the one hand, there is teachers’ lack of preparation, students’ needs to improve digital skills, and lack of resources for virtual learning (Onyema et al., 2020). On the other hand, however, this rapid shift set forth novel realities for language education. While teachers may not have always been keen on using technology in their classroom, the pandemic has forced educators to use various kinds of technologies to drive learning. It is important to note, that although the COVID-19 pandemic has forced teachers to individualize instruction using various tech tools, the idea of blending technology with learning has been gaining traction for years. As we move forward

from the pandemic, educators will need to appropriately blend technology with face-to-face instruction instead of just using technology passively as a mere medium of instruction. Although the concept of blended learning, (a.k.a. hybrid learning), has been around since the 1960s, it gained popularity in the 1990s (Bersin, 2004). Blended learning is a combination of face-toface classroom instruction and online learning and incorporates the instructional mediums of both inperson and virtual in order to maximize learning outcomes for students (Tucker, 2012). The most popular models of blended learning are station rotation, lab rotation, individual rotation, and the flipped classroom (Horn & Staker, 2014). The station rotation model involves students working on different tasks at different stations in smaller learning communities. In this model, students rotate to the various stations with their small learning community. The lab rotation model consists of students rotating to a different lab classroom for online instruction. The individual rotation model is a mixture of online and in class learning in which the students rotate through stations that are individualized to their learning needs. While these popular blended learning models have allowed teachers, including English language teachers, to enhance their instruction, the flipped classroom model has specifically presented ways in which these teachers can engage students in both virtual and hybrid spaces.

What is the Flipped Classroom Model?

The flipped classroom, a current popular approach to teaching and learning, is a concept in which the learning is shifted from in-class to homework and vice versa (Bergmann & Sams, 2012). The Flipped Learning Network (2014) defines flipped learning as:

a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter (Definition, para. 1).

This model uses teacher generated resources for online content to be delivered to students outside of the classroom, typically for homework, while deeper discussion and interaction of the content is done face-to-face during class time (see Figure 1). As we adapt to the pandemic, English language teachers are struggling to find the right balance with flipped instruction as many new and updated returning technologies are overwhelming the market which presents an added layer to their stress. We will now provide specific examples on how this model can be used for English language teaching in order to engage students in their learning experiences.

Fig. 1. Comparison between traditional and flipped classroom (Source: Kurt, S. 2018. Flipped Classroom in Educational Technology Blog. Retrieved on January 12, 2022 from https://educationaltechnology.net/flipped-classroom/).

How Does It Work?

This section will present the trends and patterns that practitioners have when they incorporate flipped classroom model into their language teaching. A systematic review of 14 research articles between 2016 and 2021was conducted in order to gather information on the flipped classroom model within foreign language education. The range of countries from which these studies were conducted consist of China, Colombia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United States of America. The review also focused on all language skills: reading, writing, listening, speaking, grammar, and vocabulary. While the majority of the flipped classroom research incorporates all language skills simultaneously, it is noteworthy that not everything is flippable. Speaking activities, group work, formative assessments, discussions, and task/project-based activities are better for face-to-face instruction. In order to do this, there are certain modes of delivery that are used to flip classroom instruction.

There are several elements that allow for the flipped classroom to successfully be blended within the classroom environment. Before in-class learning, the teacher must create or gather multimedia instructional content that can be delivered to students in multimodal formats. Teachers

can use curated videos, found on YouTube or Vimeo, or self-made videos using apps such as Educreations and Screencast-O-Matic to provide opportunities for students to access content outside of the classroom. As teachers create and/or create video content, it is important to keep videos no longer than five minutes, target the video to one outcome, and provide differentiated options such as chunking. During in-class face-to-face instruction, the teacher should create an environment in which student learning activities are interactive and collaborative. When able, using various apps can provide various opportunities to enhance flipped classroom instruction. Apps such as Zoom, Seesaw,

Screencastify, and Padletas well as the apps within the Google Workspace for Educationhave worked well when flipping the classroom. By having the first two elements described above, the teacher can continuously assess learning at all times as seen in Figure 1. Although the aforementioned apps have worked well for flipped classroom instruction, there are certain apps that are useful to address gaps within the flipped classroom model. Pear Deck and Nearpod are useful tools that can support families who do not have access to printing. Pear Deck can convert worksheets into interactive slides while Nearpod can create personalized interacting lessons that includes a virtual reality library. To embrace project-based learning within flipped classroom instruction, apps such as Mindmeister can be used to brainstorm and map students' projects while Kialo can support critical thinking through online debates. In terms of assessing skills, teachers can use Edpuzzle and Formative to embed quizzes into videos and NoRedInk to run diagnostics on students’ written work before submitting. Apps that can be used for both formative and summative assessments within the flipped classroom environment include AnswerGarden, Chatzy, Coggle, Flipgrid, Formative, Lino, Naiku, Pear Deck, Plickers, The Queue, Quizalize, Remind, Sparkpost, VoiceThread. While the systemic review was used to detail how the flipped classroom has been researched within foreign language education setting from 2016 to 2021, it does not illustrate how teachers can specifically use the flipped classroom model to instruct their students. The following section will use the knowledge from the brief analysis to provide applicable ways in which the flipped classroom model can be used in second language acquisition classrooms.

How Can I Do It?

There are several benefits for students and teachers when it comes to a flipped classroom such as student engagement, autonomous language learning, and increased language skills (Aghaei et al., 2020; Alsowat, 2016; Etemadfar et al., 2020; Kirmizi & Kömeç, 2019; Moreno & Malovrh, 2020). The following section continues with an eight-step path to understanding how an English language teacher can flip their classroom. Figure 2 illustrates this pathway; however, it is important to note that this path is one of many different ways to use the flipped classroom model.

Eight-Step Pathway for Flipping the Classroom

Fig. 2. Eight Step Pathway for Flipping the Classroom. Source: Authors.

Step 1. Create a plan. Creating a plan includes curriculum planning to understand the lesson as a whole. The content to be taught should drive the technology that is going to be used during the lesson. Additionally, this step should include the planning for how to get students, parents, and administrators on board with this new way of teaching and learning. Step 2. Curating resources. These are resources for instruction such as YouTube videos, online worksheets, and quizzes. Remember focusing on a single goal and chunking. Step 3. Classroom management. Teachers need to spend time incorporating expectations and procedures as this learning style may be new for a number of students. Step 4. Technology training. Learn how to use the technology for language learning purposes. Learning how to curate those videos on YouTube by creating playlists or how to set up slides in Pear Deck and Nearpod are important to drive the pedagogy. Additionally, students must be able to access and interact with online content. Training the students on how to use the technology may take time initially, however, the time will decrease once students are accustomed to using the technology. Step 5. Assign content. The actual flipping of the class starts with step five. Teachers assign content for homework. Students will then access the content through videos, self-paced HyperDocs

(discussed below), interactive Google Slides, or the various tech tools that have already been curated by the teacher. Step 6. Guide students. Teachers will assist students in the classroom as they work on the application of the skills learned for homework. While teachers can walk around the room and facilitate

this learning, it is specifically important that English language teachers build in structure to the class time to either have one-on-one interaction with students or facilitate the learning in a way that differentiates and/or individualizes the learning for all students. Step 7. Provide resources. These resources allow students to become independent learners with the ability to move through the curriculum at their own pace. Step 8. Set up peer tutoring. Teachers can pair up advanced students who mastered the content beforehand with students who may still be struggling to complete the assigned tasks.

Reason and Tips for Flipping the Classroom

This section concludes with a look at how the Flipped Learning Network (2014) provides several reasons for flipping the classroom as well as give classroom examples of successful flipped English language classroom implementation.

Reason #1. The flipped classroom model allows for a flexible learning environment. In order to achieve this, teachers can establish space and time for students to reflect on their learning. Teachers can also observe and monitor their students and make adjustments to the curriculum as needed. Teachers can also provide students with different ways to learn content and demonstrate mastery. Stations and Rotations is one way to provide students with a flexible learning environment that allows the teacher to monitor students’ progress while providing students with classroom time to practice and reflect on their learning that took place outside of the classroom. As shown in figure 3, this example consists of three stations in which students will rotate through each station throughout the class period. The first 15 minutes of class is designed to give the teacher an opportunity to address the whole class. This time is spent explaining each station, assigning students to their specific groups, directing students to their first station, and giving instruction on how to rotate. Each station is then broken down into equal time sections. In this example, there is a station in which the teacher reviews the flipped classroom material and the other two stations are designed for independent work on task 1 and 2. The tasks provided in these two stations offer students a way to demonstrate mastery of what they have learned.

Fig. 3. Example of a Station Rotation Schedule. Source: Authors.

Reason #2. The flipped classroom model shifts the learning culture from teacher-centered to learnercentered. To achieve this, teachers can provide opportunities for students to engage in activities without the presence of a teacher. Teachers can also provide activities that are both scaffolded and differentiated so that they are accessible to all students. Choice boards provide ways in which students can demonstrate mastery of the content without the presence of a teacher. In this example, there are six writing activities that students can choose to complete. With choice boards, usually the teacher assigns one of the tasks while the students are able to choose the other task (or tasks) to complete. Figure 4 is a choice board that was assigned to students after reading a small novel called Felipe Alou. Students had to complete the Perfect Summary, the task at the bottom of the board, and had to complete one other task. By providing this choice board, the teacher was able to provide a learner-centered experience with differentiated activities.

Fig. 4. Example of a Choice Board. Source: Authors.

Reason #3. The flipped classroom model allows educators to be intentional with content in order to maximize classroom time for student-centered active learning to occur. To achieve this goal, teachers can prioritize and create opportunities for learners to access direct instruction content on their own, create and curate relevant content for students, and use differentiation techniques to make content accessible and relevant to all students.

HyperDocs are digitized lesson plans given to students that enable them to take responsibility for and initiate their own learning from start to finish. These digitized lesson plans allow teachers to spend less time addressing the entire class and more time working with students one on one. Figure 5 depicts one way to use HyperDocs with instructions for each section.

Fig. 5. Example of a Self-Paced HyperDoc. Why use HyperDocs? Students learn at their own pace. It frees up the teacher’s time so that they can work individually or in small groups with students. It allows those students who are absent to have immediate access to the lesson. Students can review any part of the lesson as needed. Students consider it more engaging than worksheets. Students can access the work anywhere. Teachers use less paper and find it is easier to grade. Finally, students actively seek information; no more sit ‘n get. (Source: Basic HyperDoc template that shows the Engage-Explore-Explain-Apply-Share-Reflect-Extend learning cycle by Highfill et al., 2019)

Reason #4. The flipped classroom model allows teachers to become professional educators who continually observe their students, assess their work, and provide timely and meaningful feedback. To achieve this goal, teachers can be available to all students and provide feedback as needed, conduct ongoing formative assessments during class time to inform future instruction, and transform pedagogical by collaborating and reflecting with other educators. Utilizing apps such as the Talk and Comment app found through Google Chrome Extensions allows teachers to provide timely feedback and formatively assess student progress. With the free Talk and Comment google extension, teachers can either provide a written or voice comment on student work. There is no time limit or limit to the number of recordings teachers can make. Figure 6 is an example of a teacher who has provided feedback to their student’s work in both a written comment as well as a voice recording. Providing ongoing feedback such as this saves the teacher time which gives them more time for individualized attention during class.

Fig. 6. Example of the Talk and Comment Google Chrome Extension. (Source: Authors)

Conclusion

The flipped classroom model provides benefits such as focusing on specific tasks, providing learner autonomy, building a sense of community, and giving students options to move at their own pace. However, there are some drawbacks to flipped learning such as planning for technological difficulties, students’ lack of access to technology, technology support for both teachers and students, and lack of immediate clarification for when the students are doing the learning at home. Additionally, as the flipped classroom model relies heavily on technology, more upfront time may be required for planning and content creation particularly when transitioning the traditional content to online activities (Kovach, 2014). Finally, the flipped classroom model assumes that students will complete the assigned work outside of the classroom walls. All students may not complete the assigned task, therefore providing a warm-up activity or a short quiz at the beginning of class can provide students with incentives for completing the assigned work at home. There has been an upward trend on flipped classroom research with the majority of the studies being conducted in the last two years. Although there is an upward trend on flipped instruction being used in English as a foreign language classroom, it is important that teachers do not overuse this model by constantly providing students with instructional videos to be learned at home. By scaffolding and specifically targeting the learning within a flipped classroom environment, teachers can provide opportunities for students to be autonomous with their learning while providing themselves with time to address the learning needs of all students in their classroom. ■

References

Aghaei, K., Rajabi, M., Lie, K. Y., & Ajam, F. (2020). Flipped learning as situated practice: A contrastive narrative inquiry in an EFL classroom. Education and Information Technologies, 25(3), 1607–1623. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-019-10039-9

Alsowat, H. (2016). An EFL flipped classroom teaching model: Effects on English language higherorder thinking skills, student engagement and satisfaction. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(9), 108–121.

Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2012). Flip your classroom: Reaching every student in every class every day (1st edition). International Society for Technology in Education.

Bersin, J. (2004). How did we get here? The history of blended learning. In The blended learning book: Best practices, proven methodologies, and lessons learned (1st edition). Pfeiffer.

Etemadfar, P., Soozandehfar, S. M. A., & Namaziandost, E. (2020). An account of EFL learners’ listening comprehension and critical thinking in the flipped classroom model. Cogent Education, 7(1), 1835150. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2020.1835150 Flipped Learning Network (FLN). (2014). What is Flipped Learning? The Four Pillars of F-L-I-PTM . www.flippedlearning.org/definition

Highfill, L., Hilton, K., & Landis, S. (2019). The HyperDoc Handbook: Digital Lesson Design Using Google Apps. Elevate Books Edu.

Horn, M. B., & Staker, H. (2014). Blended: Using disruptive innovation to improve schools (1st edition). Jossey-Bass.

Hurst, B., Wallace, R., & Nixon, S. B. (2013). The impact of social interaction on student learning. Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 52(4), 375–398. Kirmizi, Ö., & Kömeç, F. (2019). The impact of the flipped classroom on receptive and productive vocabulary learning. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 15(2), 437–449. Kovach, J.V. (2014) Final thoughts - Leadership in the “classroom.” Journal for Quality and Participation, 37(1), 39-40

Moreno, N., & Malovrh, P. A. (2020). Restructuring a beginner language program: A quantitative analysis of face-to-face versus flipped-blended Spanish instruction. Hispania, 103(2), 259–274. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpn.2020.0036

Onyema, E. M., Eucheria, N. C., Obafemi, A., Sen, S., Atonye, F. G., Sharma, A., & Alsayed. (2020). Impact of coronavirus pandemic on education. Journal of Education and Practice, 11(13). https://doi.org/10.7176/JEP/11-13-12

Tucker, C. (2012, January 3). Top 10 Reasons that Blended Learning is Worth the Hype!. https://catlintucker.com/2012/01/top-10-reasons-that-blended-learning-is-worth-the-hype/