The Application of Flipped Classroom in English Teaching

【Abstract】The paper examines the potential of the application of flipped classroom in English teaching. The author looks back at the history of flipped classroom， analyses its advantages compared with traditional approach. Simultaneously， the paper describes the teaching design of flipped classroom aiming at providing several suggestions for English teaching at home.

【Key words】Flipped Classroom； English Teaching

1. Introduction

A variety of researchers endeavor to explore an effective approach in English teaching， flipped classroom is the most popular pedagogical model because of the combination of knowledge and technology. Flipped classroom has several synonyms such as blended learning and inverted classroom. Nowadays， flipped classroom is considered as a great chance to help students to reach higher levels of studying aims. There are a great variety of variability in both the definition and application of flipped classroom， but several common denominators of flipped classroom are as follows： （1） a variety of lecturing tasks are moved out of class； （2） more active activities are carried out in the class time； （3） students are required to complete pre-class tasks aiming at benefiting from in-class activities.

2. Teaching Design

There are three phases included pre-class， in-class and after-class. The steps are depicted as follows：

（1） In pre-class， the teacher needs to record key knowledge points by micro videos. Meanwhile， personalized helps should be offered by platform to students if required. For students， basic knowledge and skills should be required aiming at solving the target problems.

（2） In class， students prior knowledge and skill should be activated by the teacher by the method of presenting storyboards of the problems. The teacher shows the way he or she solves the problems such as a think-aloud way aiming at cultivating students initiative thinking patterns. Simultaneously， students are divided into several groups to engage in the in-class learning activities， in which they can access the provided scaffolding， resources and tools. At the end of the in-class， students should finish the related activities and hand in their assignments， as well as share work in group or peer review.

（3） After class， a large number of self-assessment items are delivered to students through the platform so they could get immediate feedback， aiming at helping students consolidate and assess what they have learned. Meanwhile， the teacher should make reflection on teaching based on assessment results， as well as give related suggestions to students according to self-reflection reports.endprint

3. Advantages

Compared with the traditional teaching method， a variety of advantages of flipped classroom should be recognized. Firstly， it increases the interaction between the teacher and students. That is to say， for traditional method， students just listen to the theory in the class and do their homework at home， so the teacher doesnt have free time to check it in the classroom. But for the flipped classroom model， all the students doubts and mistakes can be corrected in the classroom with the help of the teacher. Secondly， it increases students responsibility and autonomy. Thirdly， it gives students an opportunity to catch up with their classmates if they had to miss the classes for several unavoidable reasons. Fourthly， it offers an excellent chance for students to study at their own paces. Fifthly， it provides a personalized approach to each student. Last but not least， it improves the atmosphere of the classroom， making classroom more comfortable and welcoming.

4. Conclusion

Flipped classroom includes a variety of approaches， both traditional and innovative. This model demands more new skills from teachers such as the ability of operating micro videos， as well as for students， they should own the high autonomy and responsibility. On the whole， flipped classroom leads to an important shift from the teachers simple delivery to work on students improvement.

References：

[1]Bergmann，J.，&Sams，A.（2012）.Flip your Classroom：Reach Every Student，in Every Class，Every Day.Oregon：Courtney Burkholder.

[2]Lage，M.，Platt，G.，&Treglia，M.（2000）.Inverting the classroom：A gateway to creating an inclusives learning environment.Journal of Ecnomic Education，31（1），30-34.

[3]The author：Xu Jin，female，Han，Qingyang in Gansu，master， College of Foreign Languages in Northwest Normal University， research orientation：English Subject Instruction.

作者簡介：許進，女，漢族，甘肅慶陽人，碩士，西北師范大學外國語學院，研究方向：學科教學英語。endprint