encounter an unfamiliar task or challenge. It’s not really a change in method as much as
it’s a change in mindset: instead of focusing on the teacher during classroom lectures and lessons, flipped learning puts the focus on students’ needs, and what works best to help them absorb and retain new material.
Why flipped learning?
For adult learners in the workplace, flipped learning can be especially effective. That’s because they – as well as the instructors – tend to be more pressed for time and are expected to meet multiple other demands in addition to learning. Employees looking to improve their English
skills benefit from flipped learning because they are able to make the most of their classroom time to fine-tune their abilities in relevant, productive ways rather than simply parroting lessons from a textbook. Workplace instructors, meanwhile, can offer more personalised attention according to each learner’s needs, rather than having to focus on rote lessons and lectures. That’s a far cry from traditional education,
which was designed for another age (the industrial revolution) where factory-like classroom instruction, standardised tests and mass-production-type curricula were the rule. By contrast, a flipped-learning-focused approach like the Minerva Project, a new San Francisco- based university, emphasises independent work, outside-the-class education and one-on-one support to prepare students for lifelong learning and ‘jobs that don’t exist yet’.
Why flipped learning for language learning?
Flipped learning enables workplace teachers to provide their students with more engaging and conversation-led instruction. More routine tasks such as vocabulary lessons and practice exercises, meanwhile, can be handled through online, interactive and on-demand instruction when it’s most convenient for each individual student. Learners used to a more traditional educational
approach might need a bit of help at first to get the greatest benefits from flipped learning. One public school in the US that adopted flipped learning, for instance, found that it helped when teachers spent the first few classroom sessions discussing the approach with students and teaching them how to take effective notes during online lessons.
Flipped learning – real-world results
While it’s been proving its effectiveness for a number of decades now, flipped learning has
seen something of a renaissance lately as new technologies like the cloud have made such instruction even easier to deliver on an anywhere, any time basis. Companies can now easily find – or develop on their own – interactive, multimedia content for a wide variety of learners in different business roles, departments or sectors, and can quickly update or revise materials as needed. This is helping to move adult language education
far beyond the one-size-fits-all approach that was all too common (as well as ineffective) in the past. Today’s technology-enabled, often cloud-based, flipped learning curriculum can deliver a more personal form of instruction that’s able to satisfy many different types of learning styles. It can also provide tailor-made education for very specific, even niche, English-language skills. Flipped learning has shown that it can deliver
significant, tangible results. For example, Michigan’s Clintondale High School, which started offering an all-flipped curriculum in 2011, saw the percentage of students failing classes drop from 30 per cent to under 10 per cent after making the switch. The approach has helped the school prevent ‘silent failers’ who tended to avoid seeking extra help in class, and has also boosted the number of students pursuing further education in college. A University of Delaware study that compared flipped and traditional classrooms for Spanish language education found that students in flipped classes with just two days of classwork a week were just as proficient as those in traditional courses who came to the classroom four times a week. The study also found that teachers reported that students in flipped classes seemed more confident in their spoken language skills. A 2014 Israeli study on flipped learning found
that, ‘The students reported that watching videos between lessons enhanced interest, alleviated boredom, and enriched the learning. To a lesser extent, they reported it increased their involvement in learning, understanding of the learning material, and confidence in their ability to understand it.’
Conclusion
Approaches towards flipped learning and language education are likely to keep evolving as new technologies such as real-time translations and artificial intelligence emerge and advance. However, the flexibility it already provides for today’s adult learners is already helping many businesses develop the workforce skills they need to compete in today’s competitive global environment. The beneficial results that flipped learning can
deliver are undeniable. It’s a workplace education approach that’s not only proven but is here to stay.
Andy Bailey
is CMO at EF Education First Corpo- rate Solutions visit www.
ef.co.uk/cor- porate to find out more
www.trainingjournal.com September 2015
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