dc.description.abstract | Abstract
Despite the favorability the flipped classroom approach (FCA) has received over the past decades, certain drawbacks have emerged and sometimes overlooked. In response, this study identifies problems that have received less attention, such as students demonstrating poor study skills due to not fully viewing the pre-assigned video lessons and course material, resulting in coming to class unprepared, as well as educators using online technology ineffectively to overcome these drawbacks. To address these issues, an adaptation to the existing flipped model was created to enhance the out-of-class component of the FCA by using online video-chat technology in a more efficient way. To determine if this adaptation was effective, this study investigated three groups to determine which teaching method would yield the most favourable results regarding oral EFL learning performances. The three groups consisted of two experimental groups (EG1 and EG2) and one controlled group (traditional class = GC) in order to provide a more comprehensive investigation. EG1 consisted of a regular flipped group, and EG2 was the enhanced flipped group. The out-of-class component of the EG2 was adapted to become a more synchronous learning environment, allowing the participants to watch weekly preassigned video-course lessons and collaborate together face-to-face online (in real-time) out-of-class to therefore come to class well-prepared. During the fourteen-week study, all participants received a pre- and post-oral mock IELTS, and the results revealed that both the enhanced EG2 and, unexpectedly, the CG significantly outperformed the EG1 in terms of overall oral performances. Furthermore, an analysis conducted on all EG2 and EG1 participants out-of-class online learning activities revealed that the more time participants spent log-on online viewing and collaborating on the pre-assigned course materials, the more positive and significant influence this had on their objective outcomes. Finally, a quantitative survey investigating the participants’ perceptions for both experimental groups, followed by individual qualitative interviews, revealed that the effects of implementing and boosting online Community of Inquiry (CoI) social, cognitive, and teacher presences had both substantial positive and negative influences on their overall objective performances and perceptions. Although the EG2 participants on average significantly outperformed the other two groups, in contrast, the EG2 participants’ overall reported level of perceptions indicated less favourable satisfaction with the adapted experimental method in comparison to the EG1 participants perceptions towards the regular FCA. In short, the results of this study support implementing all three CoI elements (TP, SP, and CP) and using online technology effectively to create a more synchronous and collaborative out-of-class online learning environment, which can significantly enhance EFL students’ overall learning outcomes, such as oral objective performances, learning motivation, and satisfaction.
Keywords: Flipped classroom approach, online technology and environment, objective performances and perceptions, synchronous/collaborative learning, EFL speaking skills. | en_US |