The Potentials of "Flipped Learning" in EFL

I've been seeing this "Flipped Learning" movement evolve over the last year or so.

I think I blogged on the TED video about Khan Academy, which is one of the leaders in this movement to move INSTRUCTION OUTSIDE of the classroom, and move APPLICATION (like homework problems) and INTERACTION INSIDE.



I believe this change in education is positive and that this flipping trend is going to grow. It just makes sense. This should be the same in EFL.

One-size fits all lectures or monologue explanations by the teacher should be moved online in a movie or interactive form so that students can access them at their convenience, play them over and over, and watch them at their own pace while checking resources for words they don't understand. Interactive quizzes to pre-test their understanding before they come to class should be helpful as well. Lectures in class, where students are forced to come and listen in a non-interactive, not self-directed form, are going to become extinct.

A monologue in person, frankly, has no value over a video. The video is superior because it allows replay and convenient access. The video is superior because it allows annotation, subtitles, and other production techniques to develop understanding.

The value of school/class time is 1) interaction, 2) pressure/atmosphere to be challenged to apply knowledge to a higher level, and 3) opportunities for personal expression-asking questions, stating opinions, making presentations. Students should come to the physical school to interact with the teacher and classmates.

In EFL, lectures about grammar, vocabulary, how to do assignments, and other videos about how to communicate well, format essays etc., the that things that have been traditionally communicated by explanations by the teacher should basically be moved online. Students should access them outside of class at a certain schedule, or at their own pace, and come to class ready to ask questions and work in groups to apply the knowledge.

So, in my current courses, in my current English language program, where do we begin the flipping. I realize that I spend a good 10~20 minutes or so of my class time explaining skills the students may need, or explaining assignments such as how to prepare for the next discussion or how to prepare a writing assignment. Those explanations, ideally, and hopefully, can be moved to a YouTube video...right? Need to give it a try.