Flipped Learning in an EFL Environment: Does the Teacher's Experience Affect Learning Outcomes?

In this paper, the authors discuss the findings of a quasi-experimental study of the flipped learning approach in an EFL environment. The authors investigated the composition-writing proficiency of two groups of Japanese university students (n = 38). The teacher of one of these groups had had much experience teaching with the flipped learning model, whereas the other teacher had had no experience. The first aim of the study was to discover if improvements in writing proficiency could be observed within each group. The results indicated that statistically significant improvements were seen both for students studying under a teacher with experience conducting flipped classrooms, t(16) = 4.80, p < 0.001, d = 1.27, and a teacher without flipped classroom experience, t(20) = 7.73, p < 0.001, d = 1.61. The second aim of the study was to investigate whether any differences in improvement between the two groups occurred. The results suggested that students in both groups improved at similar degrees: F(1, 36) = 0.087, p = 0.77. These results suggest that regardless of a teacher's experience with the flipped learning approach, it appears to be a successful way of teaching in EFL environments. The authors conclude that, regardless of the teacher's experience with the model, the flipped learning approach is an ideal way to increase the amount of individual coaching possible in the classroom, bringing about more efficient learning.