Áp dụng phương pháp học đảo ngược trong dạy và học tiếng Anh ở Việt Nam: Lợi ích và thách thức

Basically, the theoretical underpinnings of flipped learning lie in the justifications for not using class time to deliver traditional lectures but to focus on deeper learning activit[r]

1 INTRODUCTION

New approaches in language teaching always

emerge together with the flow of time With the

advancement of technology, now teachers and

learners can adopt innovative learning modes

besides the traditional chalk-and-talk ones Among

the new methods of learning, flipped learning is

regarded by many educational researchers as an

evolving approach that changes the concept of

a traditional classroom (Bergmann & Sams, 2012;

Hamdan, P McKnight, K McKnight, & Arfstrom, 2013;

Webb, Doman, & Pusey, 2014)

As flipped learning has been proven to work

successfully in a variety of disciplines in Western

ÁP DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP

HỌC ĐẢO NGƯỢC TRONG

DẠY VÀ HỌC TIẾNG ANH

Ở VIỆT NAM: LỢI ÍCH VÀ

Học viện Ngân hàng

countries (Hung, 2014; Joanne & Lateef, 2014), the desire to investigate the feasibility of flipped learning

in EFL teaching in Asian contexts has inspired EFL researchers to bridge the literature gap While there might be concerns that Asian students’ learning styles may not be suitable for flipped learning, the gathered data from the recent studies on the issue generally portray a positive picture of the application of this approach in Asian EFL context (Hung, 2014; Joanne & Lateef, 2014; Webb et al., 2014)

The question that this paper seeks to answer is whether the use of flipped learning in an Asian expanding circle context like Vietnam is a compatible approach Based on the analysis of relevant readings and a consideration of our EFL setting, this paper

TÓM TẮT

Bài viết này bàn về những lợi ích và thách thức của việc áp dụng phương pháp học đảo ngược trong việc dạy tiếng Anh ở Việt Nam qua việc tìm hiểu nguyên tắc hoạt động của phương pháp này cũng như phân tích đặc điểm người học Việt Nam Qua phân tích, phương pháp học đảo ngược có thể mang lại những lợi ích cho việc dạy tiếng Anh ở Việt Nam bằng việc tối ưu hóa hiệu quả học tập trên lớp, hỗ trợ việc học của từng cá nhân và thu hẹp khoảng cách giữa giáo viên và học sinh Tuy nhiên, việc áp dụng phương pháp này có thể gặp phải những thách thức như làm thế nào để thay đổi tư duy đã tồn tại từ lâu về vai trò của giáo viên và học sinh trong lớp học cũng như khối lượng công việc các giáo viên sẽ phải đảm nhiệm để thiết kế hệ thống bài giảng mới theo phương pháp đảo ngược Bài viết kết luận với một vài gợi

ý hỗ trợ việc bước đầu áp dụng phương pháp này trong việc dạy tiếng Anh tại Việt Nam

Từ khóa: học đảo ngược, lợi ích, Việt Nam, thách thức, tiếng Anh

argues that flipped learning is a promising approach

in the Vietnamese EFL context The paper will

commence with a description of our EFL context,

followed by a discussion of the anticipated benefits

as well as challenges when applying flipped learning

in Vietnam and be concluded with some solutions to

tackle the mentioned hindrances

2 DESCRIPTION OF CONTEXT

For a long time now, students in Asian countries

in general, in Vietnam in particular have been

characterized as being passive receivers of

knowledge and enthusiastic rote learners (Dang,

2010) In addition, the role they are supposed to

take in the learning process is minimal compared

to the authoritative position of the lecturers (Dang,

2010; Joanne & Lateef, 2014) The common belief is

that teachers are the source of information, whose

knowledge is not supposed to be challenged (Dang,

2010; Joanne & Lateef, 2014)

However, this well-assumed learning habit and the

mentioned teacher-student power distance should

not be perceived as universal concepts because

conventional cultural features can gradually fade

over generations (Joanne & Lateef, 2014) As a result,

although some features of the Eastern culture and

of the traditional methods, to a certain extent, still

persist, these cannot always impede Vietnamese

students from being active in the learning process

(Dang, 2010) A study with the participation of

more than 2,300 students from East Asian countries

(including Vietnam) indicated that Asian students

were not fond of passive learning (Littlewood,

2000) The results also demonstrated that if Asian

students did show a passive role in the classroom

as often stated, it should be mainly due to the

educational settings that they had been and were

put in (Littlewood, 2000) A student will conform to

a hierarchal classroom context if he/she is located in

it and that same person will express himself/herself

more freely if he/she is situated in a collaborative

classroom (Dang, 2010) Thus the teacher’

appropriate pedagogy plays a big role in helping

students maximize their role in class

Regarding English Language Teaching, the teaching

and learning of English in Vietnam has experienced

a shift from the traditional Grammar-Translation method to a more Communicative approach (Luu, 2011) Communicative Language Teaching is the apparent trend that many teachers of English are adopting Activities where students have the chance

to interact with each other are the standards that many EFL teachers aim at designing In addition, the role of students has transformed from occupying the passive role of doing what the teacher commands into becoming the core of the learning process (Luu, 2011) The purpose of all teachings is to meet the learners’ needs and focus on students’ active role to reach achievement and success

3 BENEFITS OF APPLYING FLIPPED LEARNING FOR VIETNAMESE EFL STUDENTS

Basically, the theoretical underpinnings of flipped learning lie in the justifications for not using class time to deliver traditional lectures but to focus

on deeper learning activities (Bergmann & Sams, 2012; Bishop & Verleger, 2013; Hamdan et al., 2013; Honeycutt & Garrett, 2014) With this learning approach, simple and basic activities are allocated

to homework tasks with the aid of technology, while deeper learning activities are implemented

in the classroom with teacher or peer assistance

In a simple way, the two factors that help form this learning approach are the deep interactive group activities inside the classroom and technology-based individual activities outside the classroom (Bergmann & Sams, 2012; Bishop & Verleger, 2013; Hung, 2014) This approach is built upon a number

of learning theories, the most prominent of which

is theory of active learning (Bishop & Verleger, 2013; Hung, 2014) Theories of Bloom’s Taxonomy and Zone of Proximal Development also build up the conceptual framework of this learning approach (Bishop & Verleger, 2013; Honeycutt & Garrett, 2014) This learning approach is expected to alter the way knowledge is transferred and activities are organized

in and outside the classroom (Bergmann & Sams, 2012; Hamdan et al., 2013; Honeycutt & Garrett, 2014; Webb et al., 2014) Considering the Vietnamese EFL context as discussed above, flipped learning is believed to bring benefits to EFL teaching practices

in Vietnam in the subsequent ways

3.1 Flipped learning maximizes classroom effects

for better learning outcome

In the common situation of having limited class time

in many of the Vietnamese universities and schools,

the application of flipped learning is considered an

apt solution to tackle the time issue and at the same

time help students develop their academic skills in a

number of ways

To start with, the “homework in class and

class-work at home” model allows teachers and students

to take effective use of class time compared to the

traditional teaching methods (Webb et al., 2014,

p.54) In a conventional Vietnamese EFL classroom,

the application of modern technology to enhance

teaching and learning quality in and

out-of-class time is still limited Nonetheless, in a flipped

learning environment, students watch pre-recorded

instructional videos at home and come to class for

deeper discussion of the issue and further practice of

language and problem-solving skills (Webb et al., 2014)

The key strength of this learning approach is that

it organizes learning activities in a logical and

convenient way for the sake of students’ learning

benefits With this approach, students’ lower level

thinking skills as presented in Bloom Taxonomy such

as remembering and understanding can be practiced

in students’ own time and place whereas higher order

thinking skills such as applying, analyzing, creating

and evaluating can be done in class with teachers’

support (Hamdan et al., 2013; Honeycutt & Garrett,

2014) For example, at home, EFL students can track

down unknown words, take time to understand new

concepts as well as listen and read for the content

of the coming lesson in their own comfort (Hung,

2014) As these thinking skills do not require teachers’

assistance, flipped learning could free up teachers’

time of lecturing basic content in class Class time is

instead devoted to more challenging collaborative

activities in pairs or groups

Secondly, by promoting higher order thinking skills,

this learning approach is particularly suitable with the

Vietnamese EFL high school and tertiary students As

this group of learners has greater ability for abstract

thought and better commitment to what they are

doing in comparison to their younger counterparts,

the use of flipped learning is considered to be an appropriate approach

Finally yet importantly, flipped learning is believed

to better enhance students’ language skills in comparison to regular classroom practices Regarding listening and speaking skills, by letting students watch pre-recorded videos at their own time, which means students are provided with necessary vocabulary and having time to brainstorm for ideas before class, they can feel more well-prepared to take part

in speaking activities in class (Hung, 2014) A similar outcome can be obtained with reading and writing skills For instance, by watching writing lectures and doing basic tasks at home, students can understand the theory of writing formats before coming to class and class time can be dedicated to teachers’ further clarification of the unclear contents and students’ deeper writing practice

3.2 Flipped learning supports individualized learning

By catering for students’ individual needs, flipped learning is hoped to mitigate the issue of mixed-level EFL classes in many Vietnamese schools and universities and bring the enjoyment of flexible learning to all students First, there are apparent benefits for not only low-performing students, but also high-performing students as well as students with special learning schedules Concerning low-performing students, they can watch the pre-recorded lessons as many times as they wish for their understanding As a result, poor achievers may feel more confident to take part in class-time activities due to their prior exposure to the learning materials For example, if some students are weak at listening skill, they will feel worried and unready when being asked to join the speaking activities immediately after watching the video in class However, flipped learning will give them the chance to access and have multiple-watching of the learning videos, which will eventually help them perform better and enhance their confidence in class Even in cases when some students still feel unclear after attending the lesson, they can always go back to the videos for further understanding (Hung, 2014) This is a plus point of flipped learning to assist struggling students because

if these activities are carried out in the traditional

classroom, there is little possibility of students

watching it again and again due to time limitation

Turning to high-performers, there are chances of

leadership roles in collaborative activities, as well as

a variety of higher-order thinking activities to join

which can develop their academic potentials In

addition, more class-time devoted to all individuals

also means that high achievers’ desire to foster deeper

learning can be satisfied While these priorities may

not be achieved in a conventional classroom, the use

of flipped learning in this case could bring benefits

to the deep learners (Hung, 2014) What is more,

in exceptional circumstances such as conflicting

schedules, the exploitation of flipped learning can

mitigate the worries of missing the lesson content

(Bergmann & Sams, 2012)

3.3 Flipped learning helps narrow the

teacher-student power relation

If the teacher is seen as the sole authority in a

conventional classroom and students are expected to

do what they are told, the flipped classroom shifts the

focus of the learning process to the students (Hamdan

et al., 2013; Honeycutt & Garrett, 2014) In this

learning approach, students take the responsibility

for their learning process and reposition themselves

as key stakeholders If, in a traditional classroom, the

teacher is often seen to stand on the stage to give

lectures and students are observed to sit in rows

and take notes of the lesson, a more collaborative

image is attached to flipped learning In this learning

approach, students work in vibrant group discussions

in class time while the teacher walks around and

offers help where necessary (Hamdan et al., 2013;

Hung, 2014; Webb et al., 2014) Similarly, students join

cooperative projects outside class time to accomplish

the assigned tasks where they develop their ability

to cooperate with other group members, to reflect

on, and evaluate the work they have done (Hamdan

et al., 2013) This image has illustrated the changing

pattern in teacher-student power distance compared

to traditional methods

4 CHALLENGES OF APPLYING FLIPPED LEARNING

IN THE VIETNAMESE EFL TERTIARY CONTEXT AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

Besides the substantial benefits that flipped learning

is expected to bring to the Vietnamese EFL tertiary

classrooms, several challenges may remain, which poses the question of how to implement flipped learning in the most effective way in our Vietnamese EFL context

4.1 Teachers and students’ perceptions towards their role in the classroom

The first challenge lies in the Vietnamese EFL teachers and students’ perceptions towards their role in the classroom Many of the EFL teachers may not be ready for the change in classroom power where students are the ones to take charge In addition, there is a fear of riskiness when classroom activities are sometimes out

of the teacher’s control (Honeycutt & Garrett, 2014) This could be the case when a flipped classroom may look “messy” when students are discussing vibrantly

in pairs or groups to solve a problem rather than sitting passively in class (Honeycutt & Garrett, 2014, p.13) Regarding students, as they have been used to learning in the traditional methods for a long time, some of them may be unaware of the role they can play in the modern classroom

4.2 Extra efforts from the teachers

The second challenge is that opting for flipped learning also means more efforts from the teachers

to deal with new technology and design new lesson formats For one thing, teachers have to update themselves with innovative technological tools for the new lesson designs, which requires further training (Webb et al., 2014) For another thing, creating instructional videos might take more time than design traditional learning materials (Webb

et al., 2014) For example, non-flipped teachers may merely have to make changes to one or two PowerPoint slides if mistakes are detected but flipped teachers may have to record the whole video again, which is clearly time and energy consuming (Roehl, Reddy, & Shannon, 2013, as cited in Webb et al., 2014)

4.3 Recommendations

The above-mentioned challenges have raised substantial issues to be tackled so that the application

of flipped learning in the Vietnamese EFL context can yield initial progress Some of the recommendations

to mitigate those issues are discussed forthcoming First of all, there should be a change in teachers’ mindset towards the new role of the students in

the classroom What is more, teachers should not

merely think about making changes, but they should

take prompt actions to make the change come true

(Honeycutt & Garrett, 2014) The changing process

should take place in various forms such as in the

lesson planning stage, in the procedures of in-class

and out-of-class activities as well as be manifested

in the assessment stages Teachers should create

favorable conditions for students to be exposed to

the new learning methods by means of scaffolding

Students should be given the power to control their

own learning gradually but firmly This change in

perspectives is crucial in creating initial successful

flipping experience for the language class

Furthermore, to make flipped lessons a successful

experience for both the teachers and students,

instructional videos and other learning materials

should be well-planned, and made ready at the start

of the semester (Webb et al., 2014) This can help

teachers avoid excessive workload and tension during

the implementation of flipped learning and ensure the

good quality of the learning materials as well as foster

students’ positive response towards the approach

Participating in training workshops on the

implementation of this learning approach can also

keep teachers up-to-date with the new technological

tools that could be applied for their language class

In addition, joining research conferences where

teachers can share their own experience of using

innovative teaching methods and learn from others

is another helpful way to help them dig deeper into

this learning approach and implement it successfully

in their own classroom practices Such professional

development activities are useful for all language

teachers who want more learning and sharing for the

improvement of their teaching techniques as well as

for the successful implementations of new lessons

5 CONCLUSION

The aforementioned discussion has led us to a belief

that flipped learning could be a promising approach in

the Vietnamese EFL context To make flipped learning

a reality in Vietnamese EFL classrooms, there should be

a transition period for teachers and students to adopt

this approach The adjustment period is necessary for

teachers’ exposure to this new teaching method as well

as to allow time for teachers and students to rearrange

routine classroom practices As a result, carrying out experimental flipped learning to evaluate its strengths and drawbacks in our EFL context is a good way to get started with this approach

In addition, more empirical studies are needed to investigate the use of this approach in the Vietnamese EFL context as well as offer elaborate guidelines on how to successfully implement a flipped EFL class

in the Vietnamese setting All things considered, embracing flipped learning by fitting it into our own context is a good way to help Vietnamese EFL teachers make initial progress while applying this new teaching model./

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