Personalized Learning in English Flipped Classrooms: Exploring ESL Learners’ Decision-Making Styles in Academic Reading

Abstract

This concept paper attempts to explore how Personalized Learning opportunities within a Flipped Classroom model can be enhanced by understanding the decision-making styles of English as a Second Language students during academic reading activities. Flipped classrooms – where initial content exposure occurs outside of class via recorded lectures and readings have potential to facilitate more tailored, self-paced instruction. However, limited research has examined students’ use of decision-making skills in reading academic materials during asynchronous learning, especially in developing English literacy skills essential for academic success. Utilizing a qualitative case study approach, this study attempts to investigate how ESL undergraduate students who are advanced English readers, make decisions while engaging with reading materials during asynchronous learning for flipped classrooms, including factors influencing choices of texts and materials, and their decision-making styles as proposed by Janis & Mann (1977). Triangulated data from semi-structured interviews and class observation in this study could provide rich insights into ESL students’ in-class engagement and decision-making priorities. Exploring connections between ESL learners’ approaches to self-regulated learning through decision-making skills in academic reading and how they experience flipped classroom instructions have practical implications for designing pre-work class that cultivates autonomy and stronger personalized outcomes. The study provides opportunities to derive key design principles and guidelines for flipped English classroom materials in a way that responds sensitively and systematically to the unique decision-making needs of ESL learners in higher education contexts.