Flipped Arabic Language Classes: The Learner's Perspective

The flipped classroom approach – it is often claimed – marks a fundamental change in pedagogic perspective. It reverses conventional teaching practice, aims to maximize one-to-one interactions and minimizes direct instruction. A number of studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and utility of the approach. Yet studies that focus on the learner perspective are limited, the outcomes inconsistent and generally inconclusive.
In the study that is the subject of this paper, the flipped classroom model is employed as an intervention to enhance student learning with a particular focus on speaking performance in advanced Arabic language classes. Specifically, the model is utilised to address the challenges students face in practising their speaking skills. These challenges include the problem of limited class contact time, how to build confidence and how to encourage learner autonomy.
Against this backdrop the perspective and attitude of learners is of particular interest. The study examines how students understand and engage, or disengage, with the flipped classroom model. It reports on what students think about their flipped classroom as a method of instruction, drawing on the results of a focus group and interviews conducted with students learning Arabic in the Higher Education environment