Flipped Learning in English Language Teacher Training Classes

ABSTRACT

As a technology-based approach to learning, flipped classrooms have lately stood out on various stages and fields of education. As opposed to the traditional education, the flipped classroom enables learners to watch the content videos presented by the course teacher in advance, and to come to classes with some preliminary work to engage in collaborative activities guided by the teacher. A majority of language-related studies of flipped learning adopted both quantitative and qualitative data to indicate the differences of conventional versus flipped instructional treatments, generally conducted in relation to specific language skills or language aspects such as speaking and grammar. Due to the scarcity of research in teacher training filed and the differing findings on the model’s effects from the previous studies, the present research aims to obtain further evidence of the influence of flipped learning and to extend the existing literature by delving into the field of language teacher training. This study tries to understand whether the flipped classroom approach leads to improvements in the trainee teachers’ course achievements. Additionally, the research will comprise the trainee teachers’ views regarding their flipped learning experiences. A total of 114 learner scores were statistically compared, and voluntary English Language Teacher trainees provided survey (n=72) and interview (n=18) data from the flipped Linguistics and Teaching English Vocabulary courses in the education faculty of a state university. It was found that the difference between the scores of the two instructional modes was not statistically significant but the participants generously contributed to our understanding of the interactions in the flipped mode of education in the Turkish culture. This pilot study, with its constructive and practical implications, yields significant insights into the nature and administration of teacher training in the flipped model, and will form the basis for a more detailed action research to be conducted in the following term.