the effects of flipped classroom approach on efl students’ oral performance and their attitudes an experimental study in ton duc thang university

The flipped classroom approach proved to be more effective as it improved the students performing better compare with the traditional face-to-face class.. Although this time for instruct

THE EFFECTS OF FLIPPED-CLASSROOM APPROACH ON EFL

STUDENTS’ ORAL PERFORMANCE AND THEIR ATTITUDES:

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY IN TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL

Submitted by LE THI THU HIEN Supervisor: Pham Vu Phi Ho (PhD.)

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

LE THI THU HIEN

THE EFFECTS OF FLIPPED-CLASSROOM APPROACH ON EFL

STUDENTS’ ORAL PERFORMANCE AND THEIR ATTITUDES:

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY IN TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY

Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Code: 60 14 01 11

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

Supervisor: Pham Vu Phi Ho (PhD.)

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis entitled “The Effects of Flipped-Classroom

Approach on EFL Students’ Oral Performance and Their Attitudes: An

Experimental Study in Ton Duc Thang University” represents my own work

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains

no material published elsewhere or extract in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma

No other person‘s work has been used without due acknowledgment in the main text of the thesis

This thesis has not been previously submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

Le Thi Thu Hien

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to firstly show my gratitude to my advisor, Dr Pham Vu Phi

Ho, without whom, this thesis would not have been possible Thank you for all of your precious help and guidance It is also a pleasure to thank my colleagues and the administration department in CLC – Ton Duc Thang University for their support Thank you for opening the door for new ideas and offering me all the facility I need And lastly, I would like to thank the students participating in this study, who have confined in me and gave me very valuable in-puts

ABSTRACT

This study looks into 2 English Speaking classes of a course named

Communicative English 1 in the first semester of school year 2017-2018 51

participating college students in these 2 classes were enrolled and completed all the course requirements in 2 different teaching methods The control group is taught with traditional face-to-face instruction approach and the experimental group is taught with flipped-classroom approach In the experimental group, the teachers‘ instruction was recorded in videos and uploaded to the internet for the students to watch in advance Also, the practice for that content was done online as a form of homework Then, while in class, the teacher could save the lecturing time for more collaborative activities so that the students could have more communicate practice

At the end of the course, there results of pre-test and post-test, unit tests, and online homework were calculated by SPSS program to examine the progress of students‘ speaking performance Secondly, the qualitative data was also collected through interview to identify the attitudes of the students The findings of the analysis of both formal and informal data came out very clear The flipped classroom approach proved to be more effective as it improved the students performing better compare with the traditional face-to-face class Also, the interview results showed that students in the experimental group have more positive attitudes towards the teaching approach as well as their English learning They expressed higher motivation and better impression about the class However, they also admitted having to struggle to overcome some difficulties like learning experience, technology literacy and English proficiency level in the preparation stage

In summary, this paper opens the door for the possibility of using flipped classroom in foreign language teaching contexts Especially in educational institutions which can offer sufficient technological support to their teachers as well

as their students in the preparation stage

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

CONTENT iv

LIST OF FIGURES viii

LIST OF TABLES ix

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Statement of the problem 2

1.3 Research aims 3

1.4 Research questions 4

1.5 Scope of the study 4

1.6 Significance of the study 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Definitions of terms 6

2.1.1 Oral performance 6

2.1.2 Flipped-classroom Approach 6

2.1.3 Blended language learning 7

2.1.4 Students attitudes 8

2.2 Theoretical framework 9

2.2.1 Theory-based approach to Flipped-classroom 9

2.2.2 A combination of Flipped-classroom Approach and Blended

Learning 12

2.2.3 Academic debates on Flipped Classroom Approach 16

2.2.4 Reported benefits of Flipped-classroom 19

2.3 A review of imperial studies related to this topic 23

2.4 Research gap 34

2.5 Chapter summary 35

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 36

3.1 Research design 36

3.2 Research site and participants 37

3.2.1 Creative Language Center – Ton Duc Thang University 37

3.2.2 Participants 38

3.3 Data collection 39

3.3.1 Instruments 39

3.3.2 Sampling Procedure 46

3.3.3 Procedures of the study 47

3.3.4 Training procedures 48

3.3.5 Validity of the study 55

3.3.6 Reliability of the study 56

3.4 Data analysis procedures 56

3.5 Chapter summary 58

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 59

4.1 Research Question 1: How does Flipped-classroom Approach affect the learners‘ second language oral performance? 59

4.1.1 Pre-test and post-test 59

4.1.2 Unit Tests 61

4.1.3 Students‘ Progress 63

4.2 Research question 2: How effective is the homework in each approach in improving students‘ oral performance? How valid and reliable are the homework in both approaches? 65

4.2.1 Effectiveness of online homework 65

4.2.2 The reliability of the homework 67

4.2.3 The validity of the homework 68

4.3 Research Question 3: How does Flipped-classroom Approach affect the learners‘ attitudes? 70

4.3.1 Students‘ general impressions about the class 70

4.3.2 Students‘ problems in traditional class & in flipped-classroom 71 4.3.3 Students‘ stress of workload 72

4.3.4 Students‘ motivation 73

4.4 Discussion 74

4.5 Chapter summary 75

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 76

5.1 Conclusion 76

5.2 Recommendations 76

5.3 Limitations and recommendations for further studies 77

REFERENCES 79

APPENDIX 95

APPENDIX A: COURSE BOOK 95

APPENDIX B 101

APPENDIX C 122

1 APPENDIX D 136

2 APPENDIX E 140

3 APPENDIX F 146

4 APPENDIX G 148

5 APPENDIX H 152

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: Published Studies of the Flipped Classroom 28 Table 3.1: Reliability of the test results between the interlocutor 47 and inter-rater

Table 4.1 Differences between the pre-test results of the 62

control group and the experimental group

Table 4.2: Differences between the post-test results of the 62

control group and the experimental group

Table 4.3 Students‘ speaking performance in pre-test and post-test 63

in both groups in general

Table 4.4 A comparison of speaking performance in pre-test and 64

post-test in both groups

Table 4.5: The comparison of the percentage of online homework 65

between the control and experimental groups

Table 4.6: The correlation between the percentage of 66 online homework and student‘s progress in controlled group

Table 4.7: The correlation between the percentage of 67 online homework and student‘s progress in experimental group

Table 4.8: The correlation between the average of unit tests 70

and students progress in controlled group

Table 4.9: The comparison of the average of unit tests between 71

the controlled and experimental groups

Table 4.10: The correlation between the average of unit tests and 71

59 students progress in experimental group

1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

In the trend of education revolution, educationalists always try to look for innovative ways to maximize the effectiveness of teaching and learning process The technology development in the world nowadays is bringing about a tremendous support to teachers and learners, and enables more effective teaching methods and approaches As a result, it can significantly change the face of education

Flipped learning has emerged in the past few years as an innovation in educational technology that has huge potential to generate outcomes in both improved motivation and enhanced mastery (Jamaludin & Osman, 2014; Kong, 2014) At first, the approach was applied mainly in science and math (e.g., Bergmann & Sams, 2012; Hamden et al., 2013) However, with the rise from three (in 2013) to more than thirty speeches (in 2015) at the TESOL Convention, the potential for the field of TESOL has been evidently confirmed In 2015, the Electronic Village Online (EVO) initially held a session about flipped learning with approximately 300 attendees from more than 70 countries There was also an article reported on a computer-aided language learning (CALL) Technology Showcase Hot Topics session at the 2015 TESOL Convention The issues such as features of flipped learning, the elements leads to its success, the assessment‘s role in a flipped classroom, and a description of how a flipped classroom is conducted in an intensive English program were discussed in details (IEP)

Looking at the English teaching condition in Vietnam, especially at colleges and universities, we can see that there is a promising future for flipped-classroom method to bloom The trend of using ICT (information and communication technology) and blended learning in language teaching is getting more and more popular Cimigo‘s studies found that, in 2012, 80 % students in Vietnam have access to the Internet, which take the highest percentage (33 %) of total Internet use

in the whole country (Cimigo Netcitizens & Cimigo Express, cited in VNEconomy, 2012) Also in this report, it is noticed that Vietnam has a tremendous growth in Internet use of 135% Moreover, Government‘s Decision No 32/2012/QĐ-TTg about the Plan for Country‘s Telecommunication System Development stated that 100% communes in the countries must have internet access points by 2020 So, nowadays, after 6 more years of dramatic growth in Internet use and also in technology advancement, the situation in Vietnam universities is good enough for promoting Blended Learning and applying ICT in language learning

According to Rivers (1981), in real life communication listening and speaking skills are used much more often than writing and reading He stated that speaking is used twice as much as reading and writing; and listening, in its turn, is used twice as often as speaking Besides, speaking and listening are also the most often used skills inside the classroom Both teachers and learners recognized these skills as critical for functioning in an English language context (Brown, 1994) Moreover, when learners are at low literacy levels (in English or in their first language) or have limited formal education, or when they are from language backgrounds having a non-Roman script or a predominantly oral tradition, speaking and listening skills are also logical instructional starting points Furthermore, with the desire to integrate workforce readiness skills to adult EFL teaching, practice time is being dedicated to such speaking skills as clarifying, reporting, negotiating, and problem solving (Grognet, 1997) Therefore, if we want to improve students‘ oral performance, we must increase the time for production in class The flipped-classroom method can help us to do this

1.2 Statement of the problem

In traditional EFL classes in universities in Vietnam, both the students‘ time for studying in class and students‘ time for homework are not utilized to the most

In class, a significant part of the class time is used for teachers‘ lecture (presentation), and that mean there are less time for students to practice and

reproduce the language, which is essential for improving oral performance It depends on the teaching method and the techniques the teachers use, but the presentation stage does take a considerable part of the class time Even in CLT - a more innovative approach to EFL classroom which emphasizes communication in the classroom, and student involvement – a part of the class time is use for pre-teaching the language Although this time for instruction in CLT classroom is much smaller compare with other teaching methods, it is still very useful if teachers can save this time for students to have more communicative practice in class

In addition, in traditional classes, we cannot guarantee the effectiveness of the presentation stage for all students because each student has their own learning style and pace Some may need teachers‘ repetition or more explanation while others may feel annoyed or lose their interest if the pace is slow Moreover, most of the homework is control practice, which is not suitable for the post-stage of the learning procedure Occasionally, the homework is written production, which follows the learning procedure but does not directly strengthen students‘ oral performance And even if they did, students still don‘t have enough assistance from the teachers except for the short feedback in the next class These problems cause students to be confused and demotivated

1.3 Research aims

Firstly, the study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using Classroom approach If we let students use ICT to study the grammar rules, vocabulary, and pronunciation instruction as well as to do some controlled practice

Flipped-at home and do more speaking activities in class, does their oral performance improve? Will this approach help them to understand and remember the lessons better and apply them more successfully in the production stage in class?

Secondly, since there is a significant difference in the roles and the procedures of homework between the traditional face-to-face instruction and the

Flipped-Classroom Approach, this paper tries to examine the validity and the reliability of homework in these two approach as well as the effectiveness of homework in improving students oral performance

Thirdly, the study tries to identify the students‘ attitude when studying with this method If students learn the language knowledge in their comfort zone at home within their realm of ability, experience, security, and/or control, do they feel happier and more positive about learning English? Are they more or less motivated when they do more activities of production in class?

Lastly, the study aims to propose some recommendations in order to improve the teaching of EFL in Ton Duc Thang University

1.4 Research questions

Question 1: How does Flipped-classroom Approach affect the learners‘ oral

performance?

Question 2: How effective is the homework in each approach in improving

students‘ oral performance? How valid and reliable are the homework in both approaches?

Question 3: How does Flipped-classroom Approach affect the learners‘ attitudes?

1.5 Scope of the study

This research concentrated on the effects of Flipped-Classroom Approach on oral performance and attitudes of elementary EFL students There were two types of variables in this study The independent variable was Flipped-Classroom Approach, and the dependent variables are students‘ oral performance and their attitudes Data collection was performed to 5% of the full population in elementary level students of Ton Duc Thang University in the school year 2018 -2019 These students represented the population in this study This research will not cover other issues that are not considered to be one of Flipped-Classroom Approach The other

students who are not part of elementary level were not within the scope of this study The research was conducted by using the students‘ pre-test and post-test results as quantitative data and student interview results as qualitative data By the strategy, the researcher was able to identify the effects of Flipped-Classroom Approach on oral performance and attitudes of elementary EFL students

1.6 Significance of the study

After this study there is a wide range of benefits for not only teachers and students but also researcher Firstly, the students are the ones obtaining the most advantages from this study They can improve their speaking skills and also familiarize themselves with their flipped classroom approach These are popular trends in English teaching in the world nowadays In addition, learning with this method improves the students‘ motivations a lot And in its turn, the motivation will help students study better Secondly, for the teacher, this opens a new horizon for them to improve their teaching skills and to adapt themselves to the modern technology trends in the field of education They can use flipped-classroom approach as an alternative method in the class when teaching speaking Moreover, this also motivate them seek new way of teaching speaking and encourage their self-study to gain more skills needed to improve the teaching And finally, this study also benefits the researchers who may refer to this to continue doing deeper research on this topic

2 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Definitions of terms

2.1.1 Oral performance

It is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves receiving, processing and producing information through mouth (Brown, 1994; Burns & Joyce, 1997) Most of standardized English testing systems in the world assess the student‘s oral performance base on the criteria of comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar

2.1.2 Flipped-classroom Approach

Generally, flipped-classroom or flipped model of instruction is a teaching approach that inverts the activities students do in class with the ones they do at home The explanations of a textbook done during class time in a traditional learning environment are now made available for students to self-study before the class time Then, tasks and activities typically finished by students as homework in

a traditional classroom are done in class under the immediate supervision of the instructor (Sabieh et al., 2016) Flipped-classroom was defined by The Flipped Learning Network as an educational approach where direct guidance shifts from the in-class learning time to the individual learning time, and the subsequent class-time

is changed over into an interactive and intuitive learning environment where the teachers instruct students when they implements ideas and engage creatively in the learning subjects (Flipped Learning Network, 2014a, p 1) This wide definition helps educational specialists to have a shared knowledge to construct their very own flipped learning classroom It ought to be underlined that flipping a classroom cannot just be accomplished by exchanging the things done in class with what was done at home Rather than doing the "homework in class," the classroom turns into

a student-centered place where collaborative activities and project-based language learning are conducted (Marshall, 2014)

2.1.3 Blended language learning

The term blended learning is used with high frequency in both scholarly and corporate circles The American Society for Training and Devel recognized blended learning among the top ten innovations in the field of education in 2008 (Rooney, 2003) In 2002, the Higher Education Chronicle quoted the Chairman of State University of Pennsylvania as declaring the confluence between online and classroom instruction was ‗the single - greatest unrecognized trend in higher education today‘ (Young, 2002, P A33) The confluence between Internet and education was ‗the single -greatest unrecognized trend in higher education today‘ (Young, 2002, P A33) This article also quoted the Journal of Asynchronous Leaming Networks' editor, who anticipated a significant rise in the number of hybrid (in other words blended) classes in tertiary education, potentially take up to

80 to 90 percent of all programs( Young , 2002 )

How was blended leaming definded? Since blended learning has become quite a contentious neologism in corporate and tertiary education environments, there is still some controversy about what it really means Most of the definitions are merely variations of few common background Some describe the blended learning so widely that it would be difficult to recognize any scheme of learning that was not blended (Masie), (Ross and Gage) Others questioned the theory behind blending as sticking to relics of an out-dated leaming model (Offerman & Tassava) Recorded by Graham et al., (2003), the three most frequently cited definitions are:

 Combining instructional modalities (or delivery media) (Bersin & Associates, 2003; Orey, 2002a, 2002b; Singh & Reed, 2001; Thomson, 2002)

 Combining instructional methods (Driscill, 2002; House, 2002 ; Rossett, 2002)

 Combining online and face - to - face instruction (Reay, 2001; Rooney, 2003; Sands, 2002; Ward & LaBranche, 2003; Young, 2002)

The first two definitions represent the discussion on media impacts versus teaching method on learning (Clark, 1989, 1994a, 1994b; Kozma, 1991, 1994) These definitions had one problem in common as they have defined Blended Learning so generally that they cover nearly all learning systems It is hard to locate any teaching scheme that does not engage various teaching techniques and several instructing media So defining BL in any of these two ways downgrades the definition and cannot reach the core of what blended learning is and why it is interesting for so many individuals The last defination more appropriately illustrates the historical development of blended learning systems and is also the basis for the definition of' blended learning systems combine face-to-face training with computer-mediated instruction' by Bonk & Graham (2006) Their definition represents the concept that BL is the confluence of teaching from two historically distinct teaching and learning models -the traditional face-to-face learning systems and the distributed learning systems It also promoted the important role of computer - based technologies in blended learning

2.1.4 Students attitudes

Attitude has recently received considerable attention from both first and second language researchers, and it has frequently been reported to be one of the most significant factors in second language learning Most of the researchers studying language attitude conclude that attitude covers a fundamental part of learning and that it should, therefore, considered to be an

‗essential component of second language learning pedagogy‘ (Inal et al., 2003) Attitudes are influenced by many different factors such as learners‘ upbringings, background, achievement, age, geographical area where they are raised (Gardner, and Smythe 1975a; Jones 1950a; Jordan, 1941) Among a number of studies (Burstall 1975; Jones 1950a; 1950b) attitudes have been found to relate to foreign language learning, and are very important in the teaching and learning processes Since a positive attitude leads students towards success in learning, an

attempt to improve attitudes towards the subject provides a base for continue study

it better (Ma & Xu, 2004)

The literature of the topic shows different definitions of students ' attitudes towards foreign language teaching; however, there was no agreement in a common definition Attitude is an element that impossible to be directly observed, it is more suitable to examine their behaviors or attitudes using different scales to comment (Daskalogianni & Simpson, 2000; Leder, 1985) There are several definitions in the literature on the notion of attitude, and these definitions emphasize various elements

of attitude Attitude is described as an individual's negative or positive reaction to

an specific topic or item (Haladyna et al., 1983; McLeod, 1992) Hart (1989) asserted that attitude is a subject-based emotional reaction, a body of convictions, and associated behavior The description of a concept of ' positive ' or ' negative ' attitude obviously relies on how the attitude itself being defined A ' positive' attitude shows the favorable psychological trend towards the topic while a ' negative ' attitude shows the adverse emotional inclination towards the topic

Although attitude and motivation are two different concepts - an attitude is a set of beliefs and motivation is a reason for doing something, they are closely connected to each other, this one is the reason for the other (Oroujlou & Vahedi, 2011) While there are many factors that affect the motivation, most researchers agreed that the three most important ones were selfefficacy, effort and worry (O’Neil & Schacter 1997) The interview questions of this study were constructed base on these definitions of attitude and motivation

2.2 Theoretical framework

2.2.1 Theory-based approach to Flipped-classroom

One assumption of how the notion of flipped teaching emerged can be traced back to Mazur's (1997) and later Crouch and Mazur's (2001) research on peer instruction Students requested Mazur to distribute copies of his lecture notes before

class, rather than after class, so that they did not need to note down the key points while listening to the lecture and could concentrate more during the lesson However, the learners then found that Mazur was merely reading unknowingly from his notes, which seemed to be a waste of time for both the learners and Mazur himself After trying many teaching methods, Mazur decided on one that needed his students to review the course materials before school, which would then be tested at the start of the lesson And after that, during the lesson, Mazur got his learners engage in discussions after affirming the students ' comprehension of the pre-class reading material This led in all students being actively involved, even in big courses (i.e., up to 250 students), which would otherwise be a very passive learning atmosphere While Mazur's method to tackling the traditional passive classroom was based on scientific courses, it is applicable for all topics and, as Mazur stated,

"we can no longer afford to ignore the inefficiency of the traditional lecture method" (Mazur, 1997, p 983)

In the beginning of the twenty-first century, Bergmann and Sams (2012) incorporated the idea of providing lesson content as a preparation for class with the availability and convenience of online video sharing sites on the Internet su

ch as YouTube They claimed that a flipped classroom enabled more time for individualized learning compared to a traditional classroom setting, a learning aspect that educators must take priority to make the most of their students ' ability (Keefe, 2007) Bergmann and Sams saw eye to eye with Garrison and Kanuka, who defined flipped-classroom as "a thoughtful integration of classroom face-to-face learning experiences with online learning experiences" (2004, p 96) Bergmann and Sams indicated that the implication of flipped classrooms as a component of blended learning is essential for both educators and learners, including several advantages to suggest that "we could never go back to a more traditional teaching model" (Bergmann & Sams, 2012, p 59) In the next part of this paper, these advantages will be covered

The theoretical background used for defending the flipped classroom mainly center on reasons for not utilizing classroom time to provide lectures These originated from an expansive body of research on student-centered learning, which based on the theories of Piaget (1967) and Vygotsky (1978) Tudge and Winterhoff (1993) then gave a detailed analysis of the similarities and contrasts between these two theories Also, Foot and Howe (1998) gave the basic outlining connections driving to peer-assisted learning Particularly, these researchers clearly indicated that constructivism and collaborative learning originated from Piaget‘s theory of cognitive conflict, and that Vygotsky‘s zone of proximal improvement is the foundation for cooperative learning to develop from Later on, both of these theories were considered more deeply by Topping and Ehly (1998), who suggested that the definition of peer-assisted learning is extensive enough to accommodate them Moreover, Lewin (1935) and Deutsch's (1949) social interdependence theories were claimed by Smith and MacGregor (1992) to have critical impacts in cooperative learning Constructivism is regarded as the root for the theories of problem-based and active learning (1995) Kolb‘s theory of experiential learning drawn from Piaget, Dewey, and Lewin helped to shape the premise of Kolb‘s (1984) learning styles, which then together with Jung‘s theory of psychological types helped to form Felder-Silverman (1988) learning styles Adapted and improved from an original diagram by Verleger (2009), Figure 2.1 is useful in tracking the progression and developmental relationship of different student-centered learning theories exist

in the literature

Figure 2.1: Psycho-Educational Origins of Student-Centered Learning Theories

2.2.2 A combination of Flipped-classroom Approach and Blended Learning

Technology has significantly impacted language teaching and learning in different ways throughout the world Second language/foreign language courses that incorporate technology with face-to-face instruction have been found to promote L2 learning effectively as they can give students the flexibility to work independently and at their own speed, which upholds language acquisition (Kırkgöz, 2011) Definitely, blended learning is one of the out-standing applications so far that constructs a learning environment that promotes better achievements (O‘Flaherty & Philips, 2015) In addition, current studies have proved the effectiveness of blended learning in enhancing students‘ language proficiency (Behjat et al., 2012; Obari, 2012; Adas & Bakir, 2013; Zahedi & Tabatabaei, 2015; Banditvilai, 2016; Geta & Olango, 2016), especially students‘ speaking performances (Kırkgöz, 2011; Ibrahim

& Yusoff, 2012; Rodrigues & Vethamani, 2015)

There are four models of blended learning: the rotation model, the flex model, the self-blend model and the enriched virtual model The flipped classroom

is generated from the rotation model of blended learning (Heather & Michael, 2012) Although studies on blended learning have been commonly investigated in various disciplines (e.g Farangi et al., 2015; Richard et al., 2014; Michael & Susan, 2014), flipped language classrooms have been understudied

Flipped approach is described as improved teaching in and out of the classroom by using technology (Hamdan et al., 2013) Teachers provide learners with digital resources and information to view the content of the class prior to school It is also recognized as the inverted classroom, reversed instruction, and blended teaching (Bergmann & Sams, 2012), adopting the learner-centered approach and active teaching method Schultz et al (2014) emphasized that most learners had a favorable view of the flipped classroom, considering the opportunity

to stop, replay, and review lectures, as well as improved personalized learning and the availability of teachers A wide range of content subject research reviewed by Nguyen (2014) led him to the conclusion that flipping the classroom proved

to increase learners' motivation, their autonomy, and learning excellence in many subjects So, he proposed that the approach could be tested with foreign language classrooms and that educators should critically reflect on it

Though there s a possibility to flip a classroom without the use of technology, for instance by providing students documents of the class and issues to

be addressed during the class time related to the content of those papers Since a vast proportion of college beginners possessing smart-phones (Shearon & Leis, cited in Leis 2015), and these phones prove to be efficient in enhancing learners ' motivation for learning (Leis, 2015), to use Internet-based video sharing channels (e.g., YouTube) to flip the classroom may be more useful for educators and learners This also brings an added advantage of listening practice for students, especially with availability of closed captions proving to be beneficial for

improving learners' listening proficiency (Chung, 1999; Huang & Eskey, 2000; Jones & Plass, 2002; Winke, Gass & Sydorenko, 2010; Yang & Chang, 2014) as well as their vocabulary banks (Garza, 1991; Markum, 1999; Huang & Eskey, 2000; Yuksel &Tanriverdi 2009) A further advantage of using a video-style flipped learning approach comes in the ability to use closed captions in combination with annotated keywords (e.g., using colors or other effects to highlight keywords), which, according to Yang and Chang's (2014) study, enable students to catch the reduced forms of language in addition to clarifying the main points the instructor wants to make in the videoed lesson explanation

In this flipped-classroom approach, students use technology every day in many different ways, and teachers have been using this to their advantage for many years in many classes The flipped classroom, or the inverted classroom as it was called in the late 1990s and early 2000s, moved what was traditionally done in the classroom to being done at home and the work done at home moved into the classroom (Lage et al., 2000a) Technology is not required, however, as teachers have assigned introductory textbook reading for many years before modern technological advances

The use of technology in the flipped classroom approach has been ―used for years in some disciplines, notably within the humanities‖ (Brame, 2012, p 1) College level courses at Harvard, MIT and Stanford have used this teaching model frequently over the years with documented success (Bull et al., 2012) The idea is that students have first contact of new material outside of the classroom and then incorporate that material into classroom activities the following day In 2007, Bergmann and Sams (2012) began recording their lectures for students to use when absent which prompted great success implementing and expanding the idea of flipping the classroom This approach was not a new concept as teachers have assigned reading homework to be completed before covering the material during the follow day‘s lecture (Springen, 2013) The acquisition of new knowledge can be

through an online video of the teacher‘s lecture over the material, researching of a topic through classroom approved websites, or simply as reading the material in advance (Brame, 2012) The flipped or inverted part of that model is when students used classroom time to enhance what they had initially learned at home by completing worksheets, doing lab activities, participating in debates, or engaging in other projects that involve higher level thinking There have been no single correct ways of flipping the classroom (Bull et al., 2012) The process could have been differentiated to engage all students at different levels of mastery learning with some students being given more free time to work if needed (Ash, 2012) Students would watch the videos on their own and advance through a series of activities to show that they understood the material at their own pace The flipped classroom model has been anecdotally shown to increase both goal setting and time management (Bergmann & Sams, 2012) This educational model had also been shown to meet the needs of many different learning styles (Marlowe, 2012)

According to Springen (2013) there are four requirements for apply this approach They are called the four pillars of flipped learning including: flexible environments, a shift in learning culture, intentional content and professional educators If these four pillars are present, then we can be confident that we have implemented this approach

The key factor that affects the possibility of applying this method is the resources The teacher and administration possess many options in technology that can be both good and bad for their use in the flipped classroom Schools have access to numerous platforms and online sources for flipping the classroom One of the simplest resources that a teacher can use is YouTube to find videos that other educators have produced within specific subjects A simple internet search showed

an accumulation of materials including the Khan Academy for video presentations (Tucker, 2012) The Khan Academy is an online video library for educational use and is designed for educators As more teachers become comfortable with the use

of digital technology, the increase in educational videos will continue Teachers can also produce their own videos to provide a more familiar voice to the students they teach The uses of online communities such as Blackboard, Camtasia, Coursera, Schoology, Haiku, and Moodle have also found their way into the flipped classroom with great success (Addy & Stevenson, 2012; Brame, 2012; Bull et al., 2012; Caverly & McDaniel, 2010; Dickerson et al., 2011; Fulton, 2012) These choices can help teachers of all technology levels The choice of technology helped good teachers become better even if the technology was of poor quality While some of the programs are overwhelming to some teachers, professional development can help a teacher that is technology deficient

2.2.3 Academic debates on Flipped Classroom Approach

Difficulties and worries about flipped classrooms take account of the concern that flipped classrooms will in it turn standardize teaching and cause "further privatization of education and elimination of the most of teachers," unfair accessibility to technologies among learners, and the failure to involve learners instantly upon delivery of lessons

Some researchers asserted that student-centered learning and engaged, active learning approaches enabled in a flipped classroom demonstrated what should occurred in classrooms before (Stumpenhorst, 2012) They also argued that Flipped Learning is not a specified model, but rather the outcome of educators using various instruments to satisfy the requirements of individual learners This was a reasonable remark The flipped classroom approach would not remove teachers' lecturing or any of alternatives for direct instruction from the lesson Rather, it removes lectures from the classroom learning environment to increase the quantity of time that educators spend with specific learners and learners have to collaborate with each other Flip approach gives more time to tackle each student's needs and allows more productive and motivated learning without compromising the volume of content that can be studied For sure, the Flipped Classroom approach is not the only

option to support successful teaching Nevertheless, in flipped classrooms efficient instruction might be better made possible and thrive more easily

Teachers who want to apply the Socratic Method to involve learners in the content when delivering it voiced another concern that a flipped lass-room approach let go real instruction to improve student cooperation possibilities and activities produced and led by learners Nevertheless, Marshall (2013) confirmed in her Flipped Learning model that one of the important functions for educators is to

"guide from behind." That is to say, during class-time, the teacher works in

"observation, feedback, and evaluation" and, in the meantime, directs the thinking

of the learners in the best spirit of the Socratic Method According to Marshall (2013), the distinction, and perhaps a significant gain, is that this teaching is unprompted, cannot be scheduled and is appropriate the students' situations then In addition, these same three roles can be filled by the learners themselves as they watch and give feedback to each other during class-time and as they also evaluate their own learning

Gary Stager - a lecturer, public speaker, and columnist -is also a Flipped Learning critic In a radio discourse with Aaron Sams on Southern California Public Radio (2013), he voiced three concerns about this model Firstly, he claimed that the model of Flipped Learning puts too much importance on instructions and homework, none of which is productive, and only flips the two's position Then,

he stated that the need to flip the classroom was just a symptomatic of bloated curriculum Some educational institutions try to cover too much material that part of

it must be delivered outside the classroom He also argued that the Flipped Learning model, instead of opening time in the classroom for student-centered learning, involves standardizing the learning experience and thereby privatizing education and eradicating the majority of teachers He anticipated that unqualified teachers will be paid to produce lecture videos that are not tailored to the particular requirements of a class

Flipped Learning can be performed badly; it is true of all designs The review of the literature on this model emphasized that flipping the classroom generates the opportunities for many innovative teaching and learning approaches such as active learning, engaged learning, student-centered learning, peer interactions, peer correction and individualized instruction Yet none of these outcomes were brought about simply by shifting direct instruction outside the classroom learning space Stager's worry about flipping the classroom meaning replacing teachers with technologies was also unrealistic In contrast, qualified, competent educators are critical to achievement in a flipped classroom, as has been amply demonstrated Besides being able to communicate the content skillfully, teachers also need to have the ability to facilitate learning (Hamdan et al., 2013)

Bergmann and Sams (2012) also had the same concern as Stager over standard videos replacing educators providing instruction customized to students ' needs in their classroom Ideally, instructors have to create their own videos, so it

is essential for them to have chances to obtain the necessary skills that the model demanded if the model becomes popular It should also be recognized, however, that videos generated by other instructors with a different style may satisfy some students ' needs better Furthermore, instructors are not necessarily specialists in their field in all aspects By choosing videos from other instructors who may have more knowledge in some fields, teachers can enhance their own understanding, too

There were also worries about learners with unequal access to technology Although this is a legitimate problem, it is crucial to remember that there is a rapid increase the use of computers and Internet in the households In a 2015 Child Trends study, 60% of kids aged 3 to 17 used the web at home, almost six times the proportion in 1997 (11%) Nearly 85% of learners had access to a home computer (the number is 15% in 1984) It is true that Hispanic and African American kids have less access to computers and the Internet, children in families having smaller incomes, and those having less educated parents Non-Hispanic white and Asian /

Pacific Islander kids have more chance to have access to a home computer (86% for both populations in 2015) compared to black and Hispanic children (71% and 70% respectively) Non-Hispanic white and Asian / Pacific Islander kids are also more likely have more Internet access at home (65% and 60% respectively) comparing

to black and Hispanic kids (53% and 51% respectively) (Child Trends, 2015)

These discrepancies are probable to decrease over time In the meantime, there are several forms of digital to provide instruction The easiest way to do this is

to download the content to the storage device that can be connected to the home computer Video lessons can also be accessible through increasingly omnipresent smart-phones Parents with iPods or iPads can also create a free iTunes account and their children can log in to obtain the material Teachers can burn lectures on DVDs which can be viewed in the schools' computer rooms, public library's computers or

2.2.4 Reported benefits of Flipped-classroom

Educators that have implemented the use of the flipped classroom have reported positive results in their classrooms Students are more engaged in their own learning by collaborative problem solving with the teacher and the other students (Electronic Education Report [EER], 2011) Students began taking

ownership of their own learning and teachers began to talk with students and not to the students (EER, 2011) Students received immediate feedback on material from their teacher instead of attempting the work at home and failing to complete the work due to missed information The reduction of face-to-face didactic learning forces students to research and learn by other means such as collaborative work or peer instruction in the classroom (Gilmartin & Moore, 2010) At home, students are able to pause and rewind the lecture to go back, find unknown answers, and review confusing information (Bergmann & Sams, 2012) Bergmann and Sams discussed multiple reasons that outlined the benefits of using the flipped classroom model (2012) Some of their reasons to this benefit were flexibility, individual attention, and changes in classroom management (Nolan & Washington, 2013) The educational method also allowed for transparency in the education of students (Bergmann & Sams, 2012) Parents and administrators could also view the material

to follow the path of the students‘ education

The chances for redirection are limited for learners who do the tasks at home without guidance or mentorship Redirection can only occur when the instructor mark homework or written work This is often either too late (post-assessment), or the feedback is not qualified enough to support the student deepen their learning Limitedly, this passive form of feedback, which is often in the form of written evaluation, can never be enforced or scaffolded to another level of learning , and the instructor still has no face-to-face opportunity to explain for the learners If the learners do not comprehend the written feedback, or does not read them, there again

is a lost opportunity for growth, which goes on to impact success as the teacher builds upon that content

There is also a chance for the teacher to see excellent development in a flipped classroom and to give expansion of teaching to those who may want it Another chance to deepen learning can be provided to a student who shines In the classroom, this is also a way to tackle various students (Chapman & King, 2000)

Examples of this could be to distinguish for that student by providing to explore more or more comprehensive sources, or even a distinct product to demonstrate learning Requesting a learner to implement their project or paper to the actual world and report back to class is one illustration of how to deepen and extend learning for the student concerned, but also for the other students in the classroom

It is not easy to identify learners who can excel in content and who would appreciate a deeper experience in a traditional classroom

For educators, one of the most significant benefits is to free up time and boost student participation outside the classroom by shifting content delivery to the out-of-class part of the program in order to dedicate their resources to observation, feedback, and assessment (Marshall & DeCapua, 2013) For the students, they are able to take possession of their learning and obtain instant assistance and guidance from the teachers in class (Anderman, et al., 2011; Bergmann, 2010 (cited in Sunal

et al., 2010)) Lastly, flipped learning strengthens meaningful input and interaction (Gillies, 2006; Krashen, 2014) by maintaining that learners independently control out - of-class input and implement this fresh content to do the communicative activities in class (Brinks-Lockwood, 2014; Han, 2015) However, flipped learning challenges typically involve additional time needed to prepare technology support tools and equipment, design appropriate language and evaluation activities, look for online resources to assist language and content tasks, and build activities for critical thinking and project-based learning Generally speaking, flipped learning is best suitable for motivated students who can invest extra time doing online activities at home

Sabieh (2016) looked at the opportunity created by establishing a flipped learning approach for English learners, which is the introduction of multiple informal assessments It is useful for continuing in-class informal evaluation

Evaluation includes a more individualized strategy in flipped learning, as in most active learning methods With the emphasis on what happens in the group space

(i.e., the classroom) in flipped learning, the formative evaluation of the classroom is crucial Using formative evaluations reinforces the vibrant nature of flipped learning training as learners participating in operations need advice from an educated view These formative evaluations together with a quiz, Tests, documents and projects provide teacher data to continue targeting student needs training as identified The flipped learning teacher reacts to instant issues with the use of classroom formative evaluations and makes needed instructional adjustments

In a flipped classroom, the teachers have the a bility to check in, monitor,

re-direct and mentor the individual at each class meeting This will enable each

learner to have in-depth understanding at a stage that may be new to the traditional teacher We understand that incorporating learning styles and multiple intelligences into the classroom can have a positive effect on the process of teaching (Silver, et al., 2000) Addressing varied learners (intellectual, physical and cultural) correctly needs a thorough knowledge of how students think, solve problems, learn, Creating fresh data and processing As they relate to the fresh material, it also needed both teacher and student to share experiences lived This generates the active classroom where educators guide rather than provide learning and where students and teachers are, in Atwell‘s words, working together to ―forge and inhabit a common ground where the logic of their learning and my teaching can finally converge to become one‖ (1998, p 22)

One benefit for teachers, once they free up class time, is the ability to facilitate deep discussions, watch students participate in small groups, allow time for writing and projects, and organize activities to synthesize the learning These in-class activities may include conversations, panel discussions, presentations led by students, peer review, and other active learning strategies Instead of providing material in the form of lecture to learners, the teacher is able to watch, observe, note, and redirect learning as learners interact with fresh material A very significant aspect and advantage of this model is that the teacher watches the learners conduct

or engage in a flipped classroom; therefore, if a student misunderstood the material, they can redirect the teaching For example, if a class discussion or panel discussion

is conducted by the student, the teacher can interject and offer new examples or information for clarity and learning depth Often, learners will also jump in and give great examples in this model, which can assist their colleagues comprehend the fresh material and link content to the life of learners, which also improves learning (Chapman & King, 2009)

In summary, Kathleen Fulton (2012) listed the following among the advantages of the flipped classroom: (1) students move at their own pace; (2) doing

―homework‖ in class gives teachers better insight into student difficulties and learning styles; (3) teachers can more easily customize and update the curriculum and provide it to students 24/7; (4) classroom time can be used more effectively and creatively; (5) teachers using the method report seeing increased levels of student achievement, interest, and engagement; (6) learning theory supports the new approaches; and (7) the use of technology is flexible and appropriate for ―21st century learning.‖ We recently surveyed the 15,000+ members of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science Listserv to see if the method was being used by STEM case study teachers Two hundred case teachers reported that they teach in a flipped classroom and cited additional reasons for doing so, including the following: (8) there is more time to spend with students on authentic research; (9) students get more time working with scientific equipment that is only available in the classroom; (10) students who miss class for debate/sports/etc can watch the lectures while on the road; (11) the method ―promotes thinking inside and outside

of the classroom‖; (12) students are more actively involved in the learning process; and (13) they also really like it

2.3 A review of imperial studies related to this topic

A review of the literature through June 2012 conducted by Bishop & Verleger (2013) disclosed 24 studies linked to the flipped classroom A table was developed

with a full encoding of study elements, including the type of publication, year of publishing, class name, school, type of research, sample size, assessment tools, theoretical framework, in-class, and out - of-class activities Table 2.1 below lists a restricted subset of this data

Table 2.1: Published Studies of the Flipped Classroom

Study Class &

Primary Author

Grade Level

In - Class Activities

Out - of - Class Activities

Test Structure Full Flip ,

Papadopoulos &

Santiago-Román

(2010a; 2010b)

SGA= Small-Group Activities

CM = Computer Modules (text-based)

- = was missing or not available

The combination of in-class and out-of-class activities was evaluated to determine whether the study actually represented a flipped classroom Out - of-class activities must include necessary video lectures to fulfill the criteria; in-class

activities must be needed, and interactive teaching activities must be involved — specifically, lectures could not be the main in-class component This has eliminated

11 research Some of these students required students to read material before school instead of presenting it in an audiovisual format (e.g Papdopoulos and Santiago-Román, 2010a & 2010b) others argued that either video lectures or in-class events were mandatory (e.g., Thomas and Philpot, 2012) Of the remaining studies, all but two either formally or informally examined student perception

Despite differences among studies, general reports of student perceptions were relatively consistent Opinions tended to be positive, but the shift was heavily disliked by a few learners constantly When assigned, students tended to watch the videos, and even when they weren't DeGrazia et al.(2012) notes that learners

27

provided optional video lessons came to school much better prepared than when textbook readings were given This observation is encouraging, since while learning benefits are high for textually submitted data, Sappington et al (2002) shows that college learners usually do not finish tasks for reading Nevertheless, many teachers established a necessary pre-class quiz on the lesson material on the advice of the learners This has been claimed to be a extremely effective practice Students preferred video presentations to live in-person presentations, but they also enjoyed more interactive class time than personal presentations (Toto & Nguyen, 2009) Shorter, rather than longer videos were preferred (Zappe, 2009)

The two remaining results that are both qualified as flipped classroom studies and examined student performance are those by Moravec et al (2010) and Day and Foley (2006) Moravec et al (2010) modified the presentation method for three lectures in an introductory biology course, In other words, they altered the presentation technique for three lessons Students had to watch narrated PowerPoint videos before class time and finish a worksheet In school, learners took part in alternating mini-readings for ten minutes and active learning drills for five to seven minutes This resulted in a 21 percent rise in performance on examination issues linked to the subjects presented with videos outside the school While these findings are encouraging, this research has several deficiencies First, in-class activities still contained a part of the lesson, although interactive activities were supplied with time Second, the duration of the treatment was very short and subjects were still taught with traditional methods on both sides of the flipped topics This leaves open the question of whether similar results would be achieved across all topics if the entire class were flipped

Day and Foley (2006) conducted their study in a senior-level computer interaction course They taught the course's concurrent experimental and comparison sections, matching sections on subjects, tasks, and task time Students

in the experimental segment watched out-of-class narrated PowerPoint videos and

participated in in-class interactive learning operations Students in the flipped environment scored significantly higher on all homework assignments, projects, and tests

In summary, of all the studies on the flipped classroom, there is only one (Day and Foley, 2006) that has examined student performance throughout a semester While the findings of this research are encouraging, this is not enough proof to warrant widespread use far beyond this scenario Furthermore, rather than being based on proven values to guide adaptation, the solution was very particular Thus, additional research is needed to examine the influence of flipped classroom instruction on objective learning outcomes

Studies on flipped classroom are limited, but studies on flipped language learning classrooms are much more limited The effect of flipped learning on the accomplishments and attitudes of learners in foreign language courses is investigated in very few research However, a trend in adopting flipped classroom training in teaching distinct topics has been observed in latest years The results were positive, with more learners attending, more test scores and favorable teaching attitudes (Farah, 2014) Flipped model has also been examined for its impact on teaching strategies for learners (Avdic & Akerblom, 2015) or students‘ perceptions (Li et al., 2015) However, little research has focused on the effect of the model on L2 development, especially learning English speaking skills

One of the pioneers in using flipped instruction in teaching language skills was Jamie (2010) He conducted an action research to explore the use of technology

in preparing EFL students for oral presentations In terms of the design, the students

in the experimental groups had to go to the school‘s computer lab to search for information on their presentations‘ topics As the content was ready, they learned about and practiced with the program ‗Audacity‘, which allowed them to hear their own voice Then, they used flip cameras to prepare for their presentations By this way, the partners recorded each other and reviewed the video clips so that they