A full-flipped classroom mode from the perspective of Junior High School English teachers

Heliyon. 2024 Jan 18;10(2):e24864. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24864. eCollection 2024 Jan 30.

Abstract

Flipped classrooms have been shown to be an effective teaching mode that fosters students' self-learning, stimulates learning motivation, and improves academic performance. However, preparation work and after-class assignments take up a large portion of students' and teachers' time outside the classroom, putting enormous strain on both parties. This study explores the time spent by teachers and students under the current flipped classroom mode and its impact on them from the perspective of junior high school English teachers and then proposes a full-flipped classroom mode to solve these problems. To this end, eight junior high school English teachers who had implemented flipped classroom teaching in a specific district in China were interviewed. The collected data were processed using thematic analysis. The results showed that the current flipped classroom mode does increase the outside-classroom burden for both students and teachers. The learning burden leaves students lacking in exercise and opportunities to develop interests, which is detrimental to their physical, mental, and overall development. The out-of-class burden hinders teachers from achieving work-life balance and is detrimental to their physical and mental health, as well as their professional growth. Based on the views of the interviewees and existing in-class flipped mode, this study provides a full-flipped classroom mode that is in line with Chinese students' actual language learning to concretize the in-class flipped pattern and present its specific steps in language teaching, which integrates all preclass preparation, postclass assignments, and assignment evaluation into one class, including four teaching sessions: preview and lecture, preview tasks, consolidation assignments, and evaluation and feedback.

Keywords: Flipped classroom; Full-flipped classroom mode; In-class flip; Junior English teachers; Junior high students.