Active Learning in a Flipped Classroom

By Hyun-Ju Kim

Since 2016, I have taught "Language and Culture" as an undergraduate core course in the English department. The students in this course are all EFL learners who want to acquire the knowledge about the relationships between language and culture while improving their debating skills as well as English proficiency. Over the past few years, I have realized that three hours a week is not enough to teach this course for one semester. As a result, I have felt challenged to teach this course in a totally different way, which is called a ‘flipped classroom’.

Flipped learning is generally used to overcome the existing teaching and learning methods. The students in this method learn the content of the lesson outside the classroom, online. In the classroom, discussion on the topic and enrichment learning are done based on the degree of the students' understanding of the online lectures. The role of the instructor is absolutely important in this flipped classroom. Teachers in a traditional teaching method are faithful to their role as one-way communicators, and learners passively acquire knowledge that the teachers deliver in the classroom. However, in flipped learning, students try to understand the concepts by watching the online lectures and then sharing in the classroom what they have understood or, if they haven’t fully understood the concepts, they can solve the problems with the help of an instructor or classmates through discussion. In addition, students can watch online lectures as many times as they need before the class.

The concept of flipped learning was originally developed from the idea of "backward learning" and refers to teaching and learning methods that overturn existing classroom activities and those outside the classroom. In this teaching and learning method, students are taught how to interact with other students more naturally and effectively (Bergmann & Sams, 2012; Rivero, 2013). This teaching and learning process positively affects individual learners' Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and enables individual learning for various levels of learners. Therefore, flipped learning is less likely to have negative learning attitudes in the learning process which can appear in traditional teaching methods, and the possibility of maximizing learning comprehension increases by changing the role of teachers who can help learners in the classroom.

Based on these theoretical backgrounds, I examined the effect of flipped learning in an English major course at a university in S. Korea in the spring semester of 2018. The class activities were performed for one and a half hours a week as student-organized symposiums consisting of students’ presentations and discussions. The weekly online lectures were open to the students for 10 days so the students could preview and review the lectures as many times as they wanted. In order to help the students to understand better, I included the links to YouTube or TED lectures related to the relevant concepts. In this learning process, students study the contents repeatedly before the class, in the class, and after the class, so that they were able to understand the contents fully through these kinds of scaffolding strategies. In addition, students were able to easily check their understanding by taking the online quizzes after class and by listening to online lectures again. Based on the results of the quizzes, the instructor also could prepare supplementary materials to help them understand the difficult concepts.

Flipped learning is often applied in math or science classes, but as in this study, it can also be successfully applied in university English major courses. I believe that the most significant effect of the flipped classroom is students’ self-directed learning and improvement in their autonomy.

REFERENCES

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

Rivero, V. (2013) Tools for learning: Flipping out: a new model to reach all students all ways. Internet@Schools Magazine. http://www.internetatschools.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/Tools-For-Learning-Flipping-Out-A-New-Model-to-Reach-All-Students-All-Ways-86947.aspx

Hyun-Ju Kim is a professor of English at Dankook University in South Korea, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in TESOL, language testing, and applied linguistics. She has recently accepted visiting scholarships in the US where she has worked on several research projects on SLA and Language Testing. She received her PhD in the program of Foreign Language and ESL Education at the University of Iowa. Her research interests are in World Englishes, L2 assessment, and the integration of World Englishes perspectives into the non-native speakers’ English language proficiency tests.


Active Learning in a Flipped Classroom By Hyun-Ju Kim Since 2016, I have taught "Language and Culture" as an undergraduate core course in the English department. The students in this course are all EFL learners who want to acquire the knowledge about the relationships between language and culture while improving their debating skills as well as English proficiency. Over the past few years, I have realized that three hours a week is not enough to teach this course for one semester. As a result, I have felt challenged to teach this course in a totally different way, which is called a ‘flipped classroom’. Flipped learning is generally used to overcome the existing teaching and learning methods. The students in this method learn the content of the lesson outside the classroom, online. In the classroom, discussion on the topic and enrichment learning are done based on the degree of the students' understanding of the online lectures. The role of the instructor is absolutely important in this flipped classroom. Teachers in a traditional teaching method are faithful to their role as one-way communicators, and learners passively acquire knowledge that the teachers deliver in the classroom. However, in flipped learning, students try to understand the concepts by watching the online lectures and then sharing in the classroom what they have understood or, if they haven’t fully understood the concepts, they can solve the problems with the help of an instructor or classmates through discussion. In addition, students can watch online lectures as many times as they need before the class. The concept of flipped learning was originally developed from the idea of "backward learning" and refers to teaching and learning methods that overturn existing classroom activities and those outside the classroom. In this teaching and learning method, students are taught how to interact with other students more naturally and effectively (Bergmann & Sams, 2012; Rivero, 2013). This teaching and learning process positively affects individual learners' Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and enables individual learning for various levels of learners. Therefore, flipped learning is less likely to have negative learning attitudes in the learning process which can appear in traditional teaching methods, and the possibility of maximizing learning comprehension increases by changing the role of teachers who can help learners in the classroom. Based on these theoretical backgrounds, I examined the effect of flipped learning in an English major course at a university in S. Korea in the spring semester of 2018. The class activities were performed for one and a half hours a week as student-organized symposiums consisting of students’ presentations and discussions. The weekly online lectures were open to the students for 10 days so the students could preview and review the lectures as many times as they wanted. In order to help the students to understand better, I included the links to YouTube or TED lectures related to the relevant concepts. In this learning process, students study the contents repeatedly before the class, in the class, and after the class, so that they were able to understand the contents fully through these kinds of scaffolding strategies. In addition, students were able to easily check their understanding by taking the online quizzes after class and by listening to online lectures again. Based on the results of the quizzes, the instructor also could prepare supplementary materials to help them understand the difficult concepts. Flipped learning is often applied in math or science classes, but as in this study, it can also be successfully applied in university English major courses. I believe that the most significant effect of the flipped classroom is students’ self-directed learning and improvement in their autonomy. REFERENCES Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2012) Flip your classroom: Reach every student in every class every day. International Society for Technology in Education. Rivero, V. (2013) Tools for learning: Flipping out: a new model to reach all students all ways. Internet@Schools Magazine. http://www.internetatschools.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/Tools-For-Learning-Flipping-Out-A-New-Model-to-Reach-All-Students-All-Ways-86947.aspx Hyun-Ju Kim is a professor of English at Dankook University in South Korea, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in TESOL, language testing, and applied linguistics. She has recently accepted visiting scholarships in the US where she has worked on several research projects on SLA and Language Testing. She received her PhD in the program of Foreign Language and ESL Education at the University of Iowa. Her research interests are in World Englishes, L2 assessment, and the integration of World Englishes perspectives into the non-native speakers’ English language proficiency tests.
Spring 2019 - Spring 2019