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)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
ÁP DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP HỌC ĐẢO NGƯỢC TRONG DẠY VÀ HỌC TIẾNG ANH Ở VIỆT NAM: LỢI ÍCH VÀ
THÁCH THỨC BÙI THỊ MINH THU
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 TÓM TẮT
Bài viết bàn lợi ích thách thức việc áp dụng phương pháp học đảo ngược việc dạy tiếng Anh Việt Nam qua việc tìm hiểu nguyên tắc hoạt động phương pháp phân tích đặc điểm người học Việt Nam Qua phân tích, phương pháp học đảo ngược mang lại lợi ích cho việc dạy tiếng Anh Việt Nam việc tối ưu hóa hiệu học tập lớp, hỗ trợ việc học cá nhân thu hẹp khoảng cách giáo viên học sinh Tuy nhiên, việc áp dụng phương pháp gặp phải thách thức làm để thay đổi tư tồn từ lâu vai trò giáo viên học sinh lớp học khối lượng công việc giáo viên phải đảm nhiệm để thiết kế hệ thống giảng theo phương pháp đảo ngược Bài viết kết luận với vài gợi ý hỗ trợ việc bước đầu áp dụng phương pháp việc dạy tiếng Anh Việt Nam
(2)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
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
(3)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 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
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
(4)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 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
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
(5)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
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./
References:
1 Bergmann, J., & Sams, A (2012), Flip you classroom: Reach every student in every class every day Washington, DC: International Society for Technology in Education
2 Bishop, J L., & Verleger, M A (2013), The Flipped Classroom: A survey of the research Paper presented at the 120th ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Atlanta
3 Dang, T T (2010), Learner autonomy in EFL studies in Vietnam: A discussion from sociocultural perspective English Language Teaching, 3(2), 3-9
4 Hamdan, N., McKnight, P., McKnight, K., & Arfstrom, K (2013), A review of flipped learning. Retrieved from <http://www.fippedlearning.org/review>
5 Honeycutt, B., & Garrett, J (2014), Expanding the definition of a flipped learning environment In M Bart (Ed.), Blended and flipped: Exploring new models for effective teaching and learning (pp.12-13) Retrieved from <http://www.facultyfocus.com/free-reports/ blended-flipped-exploring-new-models-effective-teaching-learning/>
6 Hung, H.-T (2014), Flipping the classroom for English language learners to foster active learning
Computer Assisted Language Learning, 28(1), 81-96 doi: 10.1080/09588221 2014 967701