Effects of a Blended-Flipped English program on the learning of Academic and Administrative Staff in a Higher Education Institution

María Catalina Caro Torres,Diana Angélica Parra Pérez

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.8n.3p.118

Abstract

This article presents the results of an exploratory study about the contributions of a blended English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning program, with a flipped classroom instructional model, to the development of the listening and reading skills of academic and administrative staff of a higher education institution. The research followed a mixed method approach framed on variables such as the development of oral (listening) and written (reading) comprehension activities. The results present some contributions of the blended-flipped instructional model to the EFL teaching and learning processes, as well as to development of professors’ and administrative staff’s communicative competences in English. This study highlights how the combination of blended learning with a flipped classroom approach to proficiency program design opens new possibilities in the language learning instructional design field, and demonstrates the blended-flipped model’s positive effects on language learning. It is also novel in its proof of the effectiveness of creating a program based on the professional development needs of the University’s community of professors and administrative staff from various disciplines.

Highlights

The dynamics of the education sector have led teachers and researchers to focus their efforts towards getting to know needs of the main actors in language learning: students
We identified the placement test results and we used this data to measure students’ improvement in listening and reading, while taking into consideration the number of blended program courses taken by each student
The results show the correlation between the independent variable and the dependent variable: a course composed of an instructional model in flipped classroom mode affects English as a foreign language learning in oral and written comprehension

Summary

Introduction

The dynamics of the education sector have led teachers and researchers to focus their efforts towards getting to know needs of the main actors in language learning: students This allows for the creation or adjustment of pedagogical models in order to better respond to the learners’ needs and learning styles and ensure learning. The learning environments for the adjustment of teaching practices to different contexts and populations favor the personalization processes Such is the case of the flipped classroom approach which has been shown to have positive impacts on student learning and autonomy fosterage (Blau & Shamir-Inbal, 2017; El-Banna et al, 2017; Gilboy, et al, 2015; Sohrabi & Iraj, 2016; Yilmaz, 2017). The flipped learning approach enhances the student’s active role by promoting self-direction, self-discipline, and motivation, which provide significant benefits for populations of adult students who are learning a foreign language

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion