UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA

Centro Universitario de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades

Departamento de Lenguas Modernas
Maestría en la Enseñanza del Inglés como Lengua Extranjera
 Research question
How can Flipped Classroom Model and speaking activities lead students to
speak English as a Foreign Language?

 How Flipped Classroom allows the integration of interaction

opportunities to develop and practice speaking production skills in
the target language?
 How to integrate flipped classroom into communicative approach to
develop speaking skills?
 If students’ textbooks have different activities to learn and to practice
the target language, why not all the students use English when they
are required to do it?
 Hypothesis

Flipped Classroom may be a viable option to attain one of the most fundamental

objectives when developing communicative competence in a target language

(speaking) considering that students learn at different paces and that technology

offers a wide range of options to understand, practice and produce.

 Context

The context of study is the Centro Escolar Juana de Asbaje in Zamora;

Michoacán in Mexico. The school has thirty classrooms, three computer

labs, a library, an auditorium, biology and physics laboratories, physiologic,

medical and pedagogic support the average age is 16 years old; the group is

mostly formed by women, the institution is private and students have access

to technology.
 Context

Our context of study is the Centro Escolar Juana de Asbaje

in Zamora, Michoacán, Mexico. In the morning, the school
offers Junior High School, high school. In the afternoon the
school offer B.A.s in teacher`s formation for kindergarten,
primary and junior high school. Zamora is recognized for
being an important producer and exporter of strawberries;
some people work in the fields or in companies dedicated to
this fruit. For Young people who do not have a degree or do
not speak another language, they usually a job packing the
product or at the fields; in consequence, salaries are
considerably lower.
 Action Research
The researcher is interested in using action research as a method to collect, analyze
and use the information to make some modifications in order to prove a hypothesis.
Wallace (1999) claims that as professionals, most teachers accept that our expertise
should progressively develop as we continue in service. He proposes a particular
strategy to accelerate such a process of development. The strategy consists on a way
of reflecting on our teaching practice. It can be done by systematically collecting
data on our everyday practice related to some decisions about what our future should
be.
Learning a foreign language has created a great controversy..
The researcher is interested in implementing an action research to intervene in the

detected problem in his teaching practice which arises from the necessity of

promoting the use of English in some of his students who have studied English at his

institution for four years, they have passed exams and levels without developing the

ability of speaking English,

Wallace (1999) holds that it is assumed that most teachers are or should be

researchers and this method has been proposed as an empowering procedure. The

most important value of action research is that teachers get involved in a self-

reflection process. Unfortunately teachers do not apply action research, they just

stay with the empiric knowledge without analyzing what happens in the classroom
These students have not developed communicative abilities, the researcher

attempts to probe that by making some adjustments in his teaching practice, the

students will develop the intended competencies. This lack of communicative

competence is due mainly to the lack of speaking opportunities and because

students learn at different paces.

 Activities implemented during the research:

• Universities

• “Coco” Movie

• Netflix series

• Life project

• Etc.
• Questions were given to students previously

• Students searched for information at home, they could use the sources suggested by

the researcher or other options.

• In class, the topic was discussed.

Almost all the activities had different arrangements like pair work, small

groups, round table, etc. The topics were all different, students’ preferences

were considered and everything was recorded with students’ consent so that

the researcher could analyze the videos later. In the first interventions, the

researcher’s role was to conduct the sessions; however; since the third

session, the researcher devoted the time to observe the students’ behavior, in

several cases, students took control of the activities giving instructions,

asking the questions, promoting speaking, therefore the outcomes were more

significant.
Once all the activities were applied; a questionnaire designed by the

researcher, to obtained quantitative and qualitative information, the question

included open questions and cloze questions, the questions were made to

know about the students perceptions about the activities, the researcher

decided to use a questionnaire to collect information about the students

points of view.
The questionnaire was given to students to know their impressions about this

class modification, the researcher recommended them to be very honest

considering that this research could be the beginning of a new syllabus design

for the institution attempting structure a more effective program to develop

speaking abilities.

The questionnaire’s responses show a clear students’ conviction for maintaining

this class organization in which more time was devoted to speaking and less to

grammar or activities in the textbook, students expressed their conformity

towards a method which allows them to learn faster, to use the language and to

gain self-confidence, it was funnier, entertaining and meaningful.

The questionnaire had seventeen questions. It was made in Spanish. It was
anonymous.

• Yes / no questions.
• Open questions.
• Multiple choice questions.

Based on the students’ feedback which was obtained through questionnaires and
personal conversations state that most students have positive perception towards
the use of the flipped classroom in language teaching. Learners notice that this
approach allows them to use their own learning styles and strategies when dealing
with the course content before the class, and to use classroom time for more
engaging and productive activities. Furthermore, being able to work at their own
pace and being exposed to a variety of supportive materials and instructions
students with a lower level of English feel more confident and prepared when
they come to the traditional class.
Question 15 What did you discover you needed more to participate: vocabulary,
good pronunciation or grammatical structures?
Nine students expressed that they needed to know more about grammatical
structures.
Traditional way of perceiving how a language is learned or they really think that
when speaking they did not have the structural elements to build up their
opinions.
However, this response seems to be logical considering that to possess a
communicative language competence is essential to know how the language is
structured.
Mackay (1999) cites Swain (1995) who argued that it is having to actually
produce language that forces learners to think about syntax.
Question 16 (open question): How did you feel in general during the activities
(more anxious, less anxious, did you acquire more confidence?
Eighteen expressed that at the beginning they felt anxious; however, as time
passed and they participated in the activities they started feeling more confident.
Tsiplakides (2009) explains that certain sort of anxiety is normal when students are
asked to use the target language and that some teachers confuse this state with
unwillingness of participation. However, it is a students’ response to the insecurity
to use the language which can be reduced by establishing a learning community
and a supportive classroom atmosphere, by creating a learning community which
provides the environment for “optimal motivation”
 CONCLUSIONS

Teacher’s development implies a continuous analysis of the teaching and learning

process. The world is changing thus educators should go in the same direction. It is

true that literature about education is important and helpful; nonetheless; knowledge

is and ought to be built with experience and research. Otherwise, teachers would be

supporting their assumptions with empirical knowledge and self-perceptions.

First of all, the researcher finds relevant this first experience about attempting to

make changes in his teaching practice in order to prove his hypothesis. It was a

great experience because it was possible to find out if some changes in the classes

can make a significant impact in students’ learning and if by providing students of

acquisition spaces and activities would be possible to enable them to develop

competent communicative abilities which were the main purpose of this research.
The Flipped Classroom Model which gave them the opportunity of collecting the
necessary data in order to participate in the activities, the topics were interesting
and engaging for the students.

From the researcher’s point of view, students gained competencies and confidence
and enjoyed the classes which are fundamental as a motivation to communicate in
a foreign language.
Technology played also an important role, The Flipped Classroom Model offered
them the opportunity of consulting videos, electronic documents, etc.