21st Century Language Skills

Flipped Learning in TESOL:

Definitions, Approaches, and
Implementation
CHRISTINE BAUER-RAMAZANI
Saint Michaels College

JOHN M. GRANEY
Santa Fe College

HELAINE W. MARSHALL
Long Island University

CHRISTINE SABIEH
Notre Dame University
As the use of flipped learning spreads throughout educational
disciplines, TESOL educators need to consider its potential for
our field. This article, based on a computer-aided language
learning (CALL) interest session at TESOL 2015, first looks at
how best to describe and define flipped learning and examines
the factors needed to make it effective in promoting language
acquisition in a classroom setting. Next, the authors discuss the
role of assessment and how flipped learning provides opportunities for increased informal assessment measures. Then, a
flipped learning project is presented as an example of how
flipped learning can take shape using project-based learning in
an intensive English program (IEP) course. The article concludes
with a consideration of both the benefits and the challenges pertaining to this approach for TESOL.
doi: 10.1002/tesj.250

Flipped learning has emerged in the past few years as an

innovation in instructional technology that promises to produce
results in the form of both increased motivation and increased
TESOL Journal 7.2, June 2016
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mastery (Jamaludin & Osman, 2014; Kong, 2014). Initially

implemented primarily in math and science (e.g., Bergmann &
Sams, 2012; Hamden, McKnight, McKnight, & Arfstrom, 2013), the
potential for the field of TESOL has become evident with the
increase from three presentations at the 2013 TESOL Convention to
more than 30 in 2015. In 2015, for the first time, the Electronic
Village Online (EVO) ran a session on flipped learning with nearly
300 participants from over 70 nations. This article reports on a
computer-aided language learning (CALL) Technology Showcase
Hot Topics session at the 2015 TESOL Convention with a
discussion of the characteristics of flipped learning, the factors that
make it successful, the role of assessment in a flipped classroom,
and a description of a flipped classroom in action in an intensive
English program (IEP).

WHAT IS FLIPPED LEARNING?

The Flipped Learning Network defines flipped learning as
a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from
the group learning space to the individual learning space, and
the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students
as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject
matter. (Flipped Learning Network, 2014a, p. 1)

This broad definition provides educators with a shared

understanding for creating their own flipped learning
environments. It should be clear that flipping ones classroom
cannot simply be achieved by exchanging what was done in class
with what was done at home. Rather than doing the homework
in class, the classroom becomes the center of collaborative
activities and project-based language learning (Marshall, 2014).
When participants in the 2015 EVO session were asked how
flipped learning lessons differed from conventional lesson
planning, they emphasized the shift from their role as central
figures in the classroom to becoming more like facilitators of
learning, focusing on creating tasks to help students use language
rather than on covering the curriculum.

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How Simple Is It to Flip?

Many educators are transforming their educational spaces into
flipped classrooms. Reversing traditional instructional
methodologies, introducing blended learning, and/or enriching
endeavors by introducing technologies into a system makes new
settings sound like a miracle fix. The question remains: How
simple an endeavor is it to flip, be it a classroom or learning?
Simple, if educators have the set-up or mindset to do so;
not simple, if elements in the teaching/learning equation are not
present.
The Flipped Learning Network (2014b) has articulated four
pillars of flipped learning: flexible environment, learning culture,
intentional content, and professional educators. If these four pillars
are present, then we can be confident that we have implemented
this approach.
Flexible environment. Tools and resources, whether
technology-based or not, may be custom designed or created by
others for use in the blended setting to promote the language
communication as the intended outcome. The physical elements of
an effective teaching/learning equation support the methodology
to promote flipped learning and provide the space for it.
Learning culture. According to Honeycutt and Garrett (2014),
the true essence of the flip is really to focus on the student.
Teachers need to consider the type of learners present in a
classroom and their socioeconomic status, personalities, cognitive
abilities, and language proficiency, as well as facilities available
in/outside the classroom in choosing an instructional
methodology.
Intentional content. The teaching, lesson, and assessment
plans are to maintain a supportive yet dynamic relationship,
focusing on planning the before-class and during-class activities,
as well as the learning act. The teacher intentionally selects content
for the out-of-class portion and leverages that content for the inclass portion in a seamless flow that fosters connections between
the students and what they are learning.
Professional educator. Teachers should know the teaching
material and their students in order to develop a plan to move
learners forward, scaffold activities, and facilitate rather than
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control learning. Thus, they must be confident planners, managers,

guides, facilitators, mentors, coaches, challengers, teachers,
assessors, discussants, problem solvers, researchers, and
practitioners.

WHY USE FLIPPED LEARNING?

Here we look at two opportunities created by establishing a
flipped learning approach for English learners: (1) the introduction
of multiple informal assessments, and (2) the incorporation of
project-based learning.
Ongoing Informal In-Class Assessment
In flipped learning, as in most active learning approaches,
assessment involves a more individualized approach. Formative
assessment has been defined as the frequent, interactive checking
of student progress and understanding in order to identify learning
needs and adjust teaching appropriately (Centre for Educational
Research and Innovation, 2008, p. 1). With the emphasis in flipped
learning on what is happening in the group space (i.e., the
classroom), classroom formative assessment is crucial.
In the flipped learning definition, the professional educators
pillar includes the description: I conduct ongoing formative
assessments during class time through observation and by
recording data to inform future instruction (Flipped Learning
Network, 2014a, p. 2). The use of formative assessments reinforces
the dynamic nature of flipped learning instruction as students
involved in activities need guidance from an informed perspective.
Since multiple nonintrusive formative assessments can be
performed during the flow of an activity, the activities proceed
without interruption, and teachers can make adjustments within
the class time or for the next class. These formative assessments
along with quizzes, tests, papers, and projects provide information
for the teacher to continue to target instruction toward student
needs as they are identified.
Classroom formative assessment involves three elements:
observation, diagnosis, and feedback. The teacher uses the
observations made in the flow of classroom activities as
information for the second step, diagnosis. Diagnosis involves the
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teacher in using knowledge about students and the activity to

determine whether the students are proceeding successfully. If
something occurs outside expectations, the first determination
needed is whether the unexpected occurrence is a mistake (Oh, I
know that! sometimes accompanied by a head slap) or an error
(I cant figure out what the best answer is). The teacher uses the
information from the diagnosis regarding both the affective state
of the student and the cognitive problem faced by the student to
provide feedback to foster learning.
With the use of classroom formative assessments, the flipped
learning teacher responds to immediate problems and makes
needed instructional adjustments. Formative assessments provide
teachers with information needed for more complex classroom
activities such as project-based learning.
Incorporation of Project-Based Learning
An intermediate to high-intermediate level intensive English
program class at Saint Michaels College (Vermont, United States)
can illustrate the flipped classroom in action. It contained elements
of blended learning (BL), m(obile) learning (ML), and project-based
learning (PBL). Students accessed content outside of class and then
interacted in class with the instructor and peers, thus combining
face-to-face learning and working online in a BL mode. The students
used mobile devices, mainly smartphones and tablets, as well as
laptopsa mixture of devices known as BYOD (bring your own
device) (Hockly & Dudeney, 2014; New Media Consortium, 2015).
The expected outcome was a 3-minute, videorecorded newscast
project with student pairs playing news anchors interviewing
experts in particular fields. Typical for PBL (Why Project-Based
Learning, n.d.), the activities included analysis of research results,
synthesis through co-construction of meaning, and creation in the
presentation of the newscastall higher order thinking skills
along the lines of Anderson and Krathwohls (2001) revision of
Benjamin Blooms taxonomy (see Table 1). Finally, teams practiced
the delivery, then recorded their newscasts and uploaded them to
YouTube. In class, we watched the recordings and used the mobile
app Polleverywhere to vote on the best newscast (Amazing Facts
about the Brain; http://bit.ly/flipnewscast). Projects were assessed
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TABLE 1. Activities in a Flipped Classroom ExampleNewscast Project

In-class
Discussion of project components

Out-of-class
Google Drive for collaborations; topic
research; examples of newscasts

Analysis of newscast elements

Creation of storyboards (= outlines) for Synthesisstoryboards completed
newscast project
Collaborations/Google Drive
Collaborations/Google Drive
(analysis/synthesis)
Revising/pronouncing/practicing
Discussing/composing/revising/
see http://bit.ly/teamsworking and
practicing/creatingvideo-recording
http://bit.ly/flippronounciation
of newscasts
Viewing and voting on recorded
newscast projects

with a rubric reflecting elements of the creation process as well as

content and language.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF

FLIPPED LEARNING FOR TEACHERS AND LEARNERS?
Although both the teacher and students in the previous example
found the flipped classroom process and final outcome to be
effective, several advantages and disadvantages of the experiment
became evident. A major benefit for teachers is to free up time and
increase student engagement outside the classroom by moving
delivery of content to the out-of-class portion of the course, so that
they can devote their energy to observation, feedback, and
assessment (Marshall & DeCapua, 2013). Students, for their part,
can take ownership of their learning, as well as receive immediate
support and guidance in class (Anderman, Andrzejewski, & Allen,
2011; Bergman, 2010). Finally, flipped learning enhances
meaningful input and interaction (Gillies, 2006; Krashen, 2014) by
ensuring that students control the out-of-class content individually
and apply this new content in communicative activities during
class (Brinks-Lockwood, 2014; Han, 2015).
However, challenges of flipped learning include increased time
needed to set up the tools and equipment for technology support,
developing appropriate language and assessment activities,
finding online resources to support language and content
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activities, and designing tasks for critical thinking and projectbased learning. In general, flipped learning works best with
students who are motivated and able to spend additional time
completing online activities at home.

CONCLUSION
From this brief analysis, we can ascertain that flipped learning is
more than a passing fad and has many clear benefits for both
teachers and learners. As more research is conducted in language
classrooms, we will be better able to state what flipped learning
needs to look like for our profession. One promising direction is to
establish researchpractitioner partnerships so that language
teachers can offer their classrooms for second language acquisition
studies that focus on the role of flipped learning in facilitating the
process of learning a language in a classroom setting.

THE AUTHORS
Christine Bauer-Ramazani is an instructor and teacher trainer. She
has designed and taught online courses for Saint Michaels College
and TESOL, co-founded the Electronic Village Online (EVO) of
TESOL, and chaired the CALL Interest Section of TESOL, receiving
the D. Scott Enright Award for her service.
John M. Graney is the ESL coordinator at Santa Fe College in
Gainesville, Florida. He has been an English language teacher and
teacher trainer since 1979 in the United States, Africa, and Asia.
Helaine W. Marshall is an associate professor of education and
Director of Language Education Programs at Long Island
University Hudson and co-author of Making the Transition to
Classroom Success: Culturally Responsive Teaching for Struggling
Second Language Learners (2013). She serves on the boards of the
Flipped Learning Network and the NYS TESOL Journal.
Dr. Christine Sabieh, professor at Notre Dame University, is a
TESOL CALL IS Steering Committee member and a TESOL Arabia
Testing SIG Member-at-Large Committee member. A former
President of ASIACALL and Editor-in-Chief of ASIACall, a
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refereed journal, she continues to be an advocate of computerassisted learning and a certified online instructor/trainer.

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