The Flipped Classroom in Foreign Language Learning

A study on the effects of the flipped classroom on introductory foreign language learners was carried out at a small liberal arts college in the Midwest of the US. The study consisted of a control group, taught via the traditional lecture format, and the experimental group, taught via the flipped classroom. The study ran for one year and the results were analyzed for results in language proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Participants were also surveyed on their opinions about, and satisfaction with, the flipped classroom format for learning a foreign language.

The flipped classroom, as conceptualized in this study, is defined as flipping what is traditionally done at home and in the classroom. For the experimental sections of these German 101 and 102 courses the students watched videos at home in order to learn new vocabulary and grammar concepts. Face-to-face class time was then freed up for more practice, consisting of input in the target language, interaction with the instructor and peer learners, and output through speaking and writing. The control group learned new concepts through lecture during face-to-face class time and practiced the concepts at home with written homework assignments. Research into second language acquisition (SLA) has shown that interaction combined with feedback is a key component to increasing proficiency in introductory foreign language learners. Another key concept in SLA is learner affect, meaning how comfortable students are with the learning process. Embarrassment, anxiety, and poor preparation can be especially debilitating for introductory foreign language learners, who must "perform" in their new language on a regular basis. The research questions of this study looked at whether the increased interaction during class time would increase the flipped learners' language proficiency to a greater extent when compared with the traditional section. The second RQ asked whether the ability to learn new material at home on their own time and at their own pace would improve learner affect and therefore lead to higher proficiency levels, greater student enrollment, and higher retention rates.

Historically, studies in blended vs. F2F courses have shown no significant difference in the proficiency levels of the students enrolled in those courses and this study was no different. The results found that the students in the flipped section performed an average of 5 percentage points higher on the post tests than those in the traditional section. However, because of small sample sizes, this difference was not statistically significant. The data showed interesting information about differences in the types of language produced by the learners in the two sections. Those language samples are still being analyzed and the results will appear in the completed dissertation in May, 2016. There have been very few studies in the area of foreign language learning with blended vs. F2F courses and this appears to be the first controlled study on the flipped classroom and foreign language proficiency.

As for the question of learner affect, this study found that students, who were exposed to the flipped classroom for a minimum of one semester were significantly more likely to choose a flipped course over a traditional course when choosing their future language courses. Students listed continuous access to the materials and the target language, the flexibility of the flipped format, the engagement of learning via video, and the extra practice time during class as advantages of the flipped format. In general the vast majority of the students preferred the flipped format with a small minority choosing the traditional model. These results are similar to those found in studies on the flipped classroom in other subject matter areas.

For this presentation I would like to: 1)Briefly outline the format of the flipped and traditional sections, which were used in this study 2)Explain the rationale for conducting the study based on previous research 3)Give the results and implications for further study on the flipped classroom in general and its use in computer-assisted language learning specifically. The goals of the presentation would be to provide information for others already using, or considering using, the flipped classroom in any subject matter area and to connect with other researchers, who are working in areas of blended and online course design, second language acquisition, and the flipped classroom.