Why Flip Your Classroom?

   By studying the given topic at home, flipping the classroom gives students more of an opportunity to collaborate with peers in the classroom. This gives students more opportunities to practice their language skills which helps to further the second language acquisition process. Rather than the class time being focused on a teacher delivering a lecture, the time is now more focused on student to student interaction and second language usage. 

     Flipping a classroom is a term I was unaware of until just recently. For those of you who have also not heard of it, according to "Flipping Your EL Classroom: A Primer" written by John Graney, classroom flipping is the idea of having students prepare for a lesson or topic before class rather than being instructed by the teacher in class. This instruction can take place by assigning videos, textbook readings, going through a slideshow, etc. The students then come to class with the material being learned and then practice applying their new knowledge in the classroom with the guidance of the instructor. This gives students who usually struggle on homework the opportunity to work more closely with the teacher in order to better understand the material and the practical application of it. If the instructor finds that students are struggling with a particular skill, a mini lesson or lecture can be given in class and long with a small homework assignment to further cement the students' knowledge of the topic.

     Besides helping students who generally struggle on homework, classroom flipping can be beneficial for ESL students in a few other ways. As mentioned in "Three Reasons to Flip Your Classroom" written by Helaine Marshall, three of the main reasons to flip your classroom include: comprehension, interaction, and critical thinking. With regards to comprehension, This learning method gives ESL students the opportunity to learn at their own pace rather than trying to follow along in a classroom. This in turn would definitely increase their comprehension. Providing students with various mediums to learn also gives them a structure for both new content and language. 

     The last reason mentioned in the article for flipping the classroom involves critical thinking. Once, a student has learned the material, and mastered and applied their new knowledge in class, students are then ready to take one step further and think more critically about what they have learned. By doing so, students can reach their full academic potential and the class can move on to more complex topics. As an end result, ESL students can then focus less on comprehending material in class but rather they can use the material they have learned and mastered at a much higher level of cognition. 

     Considering the multitude of ways that this method can be applied with regards to the distribution of learning materials and the options for classroom interaction and practice, flipping the classroom is a great way to help students learn better, master material, and do so in a more fun, engaging and personal way. This is teaching method that I am very happy to have discovered and will surely be using with my future ESL students!