Prospective English language teachers’ perceptions towards a new paradigm in foreign language education: Flipped classroom model

Abstract

A current pedagogic approach is ‘‘Flipped classroom model’ which depends on the use of asynchronous video lectures and practice problems as homework at home, and active, group-based problem solving activities in the classroom. As a new paradigm in educational settings, flipped classroom model promotes student engagement and active learning with an emphasis on the development of problem solving skills and discovery-based learning. However, the role of flipped classroom model in foreign language teaching remains relatively unexplored in literature. In the present study, we aimed to take traditional lecture instruction one step further and integrated flipped classroom model into “Advanced Reading and Writing” course. In this context, a special website was designed to teach advanced reading and writing skills through videos and power point presentations at home, while students made practice in the classroom with the guidance of the teacher. With an aim to shed light on prospective English language teachers’ perceptions towards the use of flipped classroom model in language teaching, we carried out semi-structured interviews with 30 participants studying at English Language Teaching department at a university in Turkey. The results suggest that the flipped model has the potential to bring radical changes to language teaching and learning practices in future. Keywords: Prospective English Language Teachers, Flipped Classroom Model, Foreign Language Education