For my teaching unit, I chose to create a Flipped Learning (FL) unit for adult ESL learners. I chose to focus on this style of digital learning because I believe it to be the most beneficial and valuable to my current adult ESL students. The technology involved is by no means cutting-edge or futuristic but is instead very well-grounded in the present use of technology. In other words, I am not trying to create and implement a novel or pioneering digital teaching unit. The goal of the FL unit is to take something that already exists and make it slightly better for practical reasons. This may appear less daring and forward thinking, however, it can also be seen as a reasonable refinement of current technologies. At the speed technology advances, it will become necessary to create more material in the future, which is exactly what I intend to do when that technology becomes more widely used, tested, and accepted. My goal is to produce educational material that is immediately applicable.

For my FL unit, I recorded three videos of grammar lectures that I would regularly have to give in class. These are lectures about the simple present, the present progressive, and the simple past verb tenses. By making these videos, I eliminate the use of necessary class time required to give my lecture, which can then be used for more communicative and oral practices (Shebansky, 2018; Mehring & Leis, 2018). In ESL, it is important for students to learn both form and function (Kumaravadivelu, 2006). Traditionally, teachers would have to undertake both within the classroom. The focus on form requires introduction of a point of English grammar and an associated exercise. This can take up to half the class and does not help the student internalize or implicitly learn the use of the form. Internalization happens through communicative practices (Kumaravadivelu, 2006). Interestingly, many ESL education stakeholders decided to use digital technologies to transfer curriculum and written grammar exercises to digital forms (Sailsman, 2020). By doing so, they did not alleviate the necessity of teachers providing in-class grammar lectures. In some instances, I was even asked to use digital grammar exercises within a one-hour class. This took about half of the class and left no time for oral communication exercises, which are usually viewed as the most important. It was a huge waste of the learners’ time.

In the FL ESL class, students would watch a short grammar video before the in-person or online class. In class, they would discuss what they understood from the grammar lecture and would be able to ask any questions (already this would give more opportunity to the learner to speak interactively with their cohort and teacher versus passively listening to a lecture). After the students felt comfortable with the grammatical form, they could use the remaining time to engage in oral communication activities, such as role-play, problem-solving, or tasked based exercises. Finally, as homework, the students would be assignment relevant writing or gamified exercises to reinforce the grammatical structure or vocabulary they had learned. One of the shortcomings of gamified language apps is that they do not provide opportunities for oral communication practice (Hyunh et al. 2016; Munday, 2016). However, in the FL class, the gamified exercises work in conjunction with a full language learning program.

The FL ESL class checks many boxes. Students learn grammar forms, they practice oral communication, and they complete complementary written/gamified exercises. The videos introduce, the practices help internalize and make it their own, and the exercises help solidify and test knowledge.

There may be unforeseen drawbacks, such as the videos may create more confusion than clarity, but these are lectures I have been giving for five years and have been refined over time. The question period may take as long or longer than the grammar explanation, but at least this would be time students spent discussing and problematizing what they had learned, which is key to language internalization. The videos may not be captivating and entertaining enough for some. However, the target student is an adult ESL learner who may be more concerned with clarity and professionalism in their education than entertainment. The videos may not be recommendable for younger learners. There is also the issue of connectivity and access, though presently all of my students require these for work and their classes, so it is a non-issue. There will surely be issues or recurrent questions that arise in the future, but that is the case with most new technology implementation. As issues arise, they can be addressed, and videos can be remade or edited.

One of the side benefits of the FL ESL videos that does not directly relate to my classes, is that they will be available for free on YouTube. The hope is that more people are able to learn from them outside of my classes. People will also be encouraged to ask questions and communicate online, which may lead to the creation of an online learning community. Perhaps it will help clarify a point which someone did not understand. As well, teachers can be overwhelmed by the quantity of digital resources available online and not know which to choose from (Sailsman, 2020). With my experience, education, and willingness to support teachers and students in their goals, I hope to positively contribute to providing high-quality resources grounded in theory and application.

Class Breakdown

1. Students watch online grammar video lecture prior to class.

2. In class, students discuss the point of grammar and ask questions.

3. Students participate in an associated communication activity

            – Simple Present: Interview Activity

            – Present Progressive: Providing Progress Report

            – Simple Past: Discussing Company’s Previous Year

4. Teacher Provides Oral Corrective Feedback

5. Homework: Gamified Duolingo Lesson

            – Students are sent a link to join class

            – Teacher sends corresponding grammar unit

References

Hyunh, Duy, Iida, Hiroyuki, Zuo, Long. (2016). Analyzing Gamification of “Duolingo” with Focus on Its Course Structure. GALA 2016, pp. 268-277.

Kumaravadivelu, B. (2006). Understanding Lnaguge Teaching: From Method to Post-Method. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Mehring, Jeffrey & Leis, Adrian. (2018). Innovations in Flipping the Language Classroom: Theories and Practices. Springer Nature: Singapore.

Munday, Pilar. (2016). The case for using DUOLINGO as part of the language classroom experience. RIED, 19(1), pp. 83-101.

Sailsman, Sonique. (2020). ESL Students Learning Online: A Review of Literature. The   Quarterly Review of Distance Education. (21:1). Pp. 45-51.

Shebansky, William. (2018). Blended Learning Adoption in an ESL Context: Obstacles and Guidelines. TESL Canada Journal, 35(1), 52-77.