MFL teachers, go no further. It is time to teach languages in a flipped classroom.
“A what?” might you ask.
No, dear colleagues, needless to turn your classroom upside down.
A flipped (or a reverse) classroom model is based on the idea that traditional teaching is inverted. Instead of students listening to a lecture in class and then going home and practicing with homework, they read or watch the lesson at home and engage in teacher-guided problem-solving, analysis, and discussions in class.
Sounds great, right? But even more so when it is backed up by evidence.
Research shows that in a college preparatory chemistry course flipped classroom, students outperformed standard lecture-based students and were more interested and felt less intimidated by chemistry.
Let’s look at this equation from an MFL perspective: less intimidated + more interested + outperforming. Yes, certainly something to consider.
Here are 3 reasons to teach languages in a flipped classroom:
1- Send the daunting grammar home
In a flipped classroom, students are exposed to the concept at home. In languages, the concept is grammar.
A student might have intellectual knowledge about a specific structure, but it does not mean he can use it spontaneously; it is the declarative/procedural dichotomy. Unfortunately, most lessons are lecture-based, and teachers can spend too much time talking about abstract concepts: modal verbs, prepositional phrases of time, and relative and subordinated clauses, thus taking time away from real practice.
In a flipped classroom, the grammar point in question is introduced via a video lesson at home; it is a prerequisite to the lesson: home work. Students are acquainted with a relatively abstract point before coming to class, and the teacher then uses the class time to clarify misunderstandings and dive into the practice.
What it looks like with a French lesson:
Let’s look at the French near future tense. It is made using the present tense of “aller” (to go) + an infinitive.
The following 2-minute video gives a clear explanation as to how to use it. It can be used as homework in a flipped classroom.
To ensure students have watched it, they are asked to come up with one question about the lesson or to complete a short online questionnaire highlighting misconceptions. Addressing these misconceptions should be first on the teacher’s lesson plan as the key is to unlock the mysteries of the concept.
Of course, nothing comes easy, and students must be trained and provided with guidance. In a flipped classroom, students are held accountable; it teaches them to own their learning and to become more independent. In the early stage of the shift to a flipped classroom, it would be worth modeling questions students could come up with.
2- An interactive lesson: a language teacher’s dream.
Then it is time to jump into practice; this is when the real work occurs. With the entire practice under your supervision, you can give instant feedback for a deeper understanding. Flipped classrooms allow the creation of engaging, interactive lessons with group learning (and why not student-led learning?).
If you have spent time traveling, you would know that a language is best learned while using it.
Learning a language is about using it, not talking about it.
Flipped classrooms pave the way for active learning strategies, for using classroom time for engaging in higher levels,2 and diving deeper into the concept.
The entire class time can be used for interactions of various sorts where students can be engaged in the target language.
Now, if the focus is to reach mastery in the near future, it is better not to divide the students’ attention; this is why they should have a bank of words available. It is necessary to emphasize that a reverse classroom gives you a chance to expose your students to a concept that requires understanding. It does not work with a list of words. In fact, words do not need to be learned in a traditional “by heart” way, but by exposure. If you hear people using a word, see it in a newspaper, force yourself to use it, and manage to write it, chances are you will remember it without having to say it a hundred times.
3- More differentiation
When a teacher delivers a lesson in class, he does so for thirty students. The pace might be too slow for some or too fast for others. A study where students’ perception of the use of flipped classrooms3 is examined shows that students appreciate learning through video material, as they can study at their own pace (with the ability to pause and rewind). Rewinding the teacher is probably what many students need, in a flipped classroom, technology is put to use to differentiate.
The same study shows that low achievers have more positive attitudes toward using video as a learning tool; they also feel that learning through flipped classrooms is more effective.
In addition, flipped classrooms free up actual class time, and teachers receive many opportunities to interact with students and assess their individual learning.
Takeaways
Languages teachers dream of classes where students are engaged and research shows that flipped classrooms increase students’ engagement while allowing for more differentiation. So it is time for MFL teachers to send the grammar home and to encourage students to own their learning.
Bonus: Better homework, less marking
Fifty hours a week is probably the minimum working time for a teacher. It wouldn’t hurt to reduce it now, would it? A flipped classroom does just that; no need to stay after 5 pm or to carry a shopping trolley with sixty books.
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