The use of a «flipped classroom» approach in teaching foreign languages to technical university students

Abstract

With the development of modern technologies, a flipped classroom approach is gaining popularity. The idea of «flipped classroom» approach is that the main stages of the teaching and learning process, such as classroom activities and homework, change places. It means that the theoretical material is studied by students on their own by watching videos and listening to audio lectures recorded by the teacher, or preformed materials downloaded from websites on the Internet, while in the classroom the students are involved in fulfilling practical tasks and discussion of problematic issues. Goal. The purpose of the article is to determine the potential of the flipped classroom approach in teaching foreign languages to university students. Methodology. The flipped classroom approach assumes that students have an unlimited access to electronic resources. There are the following advantages of the technology: learning at one’s own pace, advance student preparation, overcoming the limitations of class time, increasing the participation in the classroom activities. Among the disadvantages are students’ being lack of equipment and unlimited access to the Internet resources. Another disadvantage of the technology is an extra workload on teachers who have to develop, record and upload lectures, which take time and skill, as well as carefully integrate them into the classroom work. Results. The data of the university students’ interview on the benefits and disadvantages of the approach are given which reveal conflicting points of view though the majority mentioned the availability of the e-learning materials always at hand as the key benefit of the approach. Originality of the study is the revealing of the potential of the flipped classroom approach in teaching foreign languages to university students, emphasizing its pros and cons, exploring the ways of its further development. Practical value. Despite some of its disadvantages the technology can be widely used in teaching foreign languages, especially in the frames of distance learning as it gives the students an opportunity of learning languages on their own with the teacher’ role of being the facilitator.