Converting a conventional flipped class into a synchronous online flipped class during COVID-19: university students’ self-regulation skills and anxiety

Abstract

ABSTRACT Flipped learning has emerged as an innovative teaching and learning model, in part due to the critical role it plays in transforming the nature of student-teacher interaction in and out of the classroom. With the spread of COVID-19, a new concept has appeared: online flipped learning, which essentially refers to flipping synchronous online classes. In this study, the researchers adapted the principles of the conventional flipped learning model to an online environment and amassed favorable feedback from students. Data on students’ perceptions gathered through semi-structured interviews revealed that the flipped learning model facilitated speaking practice. However, the results of the questionnaire given to students before and after the intervention revealed that the flipped learning model was ineffective in alleviating students’ foreign language anxiety levels compared to synchronous learning, and it did not make a significant difference in students’ self-regulatory behaviors. At the end of the study, students did not report any differences between the conventional and online flipped learning models in terms of instructional practices, materials and classroom activities.