Examining the impact of flipped learning on second language development: A quasi-experiment in higher education

Abstract

This article reports on a study that examined the impact of a flipped English as a Foreign Language (EFL) course on college students’ second language (L2) development. Specifically, an 18-week quasi-experiment was administered in a general English course at a Chinese university, with a total of 612 first-year students randomly assigned to the treatment (n = 137) and control (n = 475) groups. Using the propensity score matching and difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) model, we analyzed norm scores on high-stakes assessments administered on the entry and completion of the intervention. The results revealed a causal link between flipped learning (FL) and improved L2 language performance though the impact of FL had substantial heterogeneity as greater gains were found in reading than in writing and listening. Quantile regression analysis suggested the effectiveness of FL varied greatly by proficiency level in that students in the lowest quantiles achieved high improvement in reading and listening but moderate improvement in writing. We discuss the pedagogical implications of these findings to college L2 flipped instruction and recommend that future research be conducted in a more rigorous experimental design to obtain robust and accurate estimates of the effectiveness of FL.