Computer Assisted Language Learning

ISSN: 0958-8221 (Print) 1744-3210 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ncal20

Flipped classroom in English language teaching: a

systematic review

Zeynep Turan & Birgul Akdag-Cimen

To cite this article: Zeynep Turan & Birgul Akdag-Cimen (2019): Flipped classroom in
English language teaching: a systematic review, Computer Assisted Language Learning, DOI:
10.1080/09588221.2019.1584117

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COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING
https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2019.1584117

Flipped classroom in English language teaching:

a systematic review
Zeynep Turana and Birgul Akdag-Cimenb
a
Department of Computer Education & Instructional Technology, Ataturk University, Erzurum,
Turkey; bThe School of Foreign Languages, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
The aim of this study is to examine the trends and main find- Flipped classroom; flipped
ings of the studies concerning the flipped classroom method learning; English language
in the field of English language teaching (ELT). For this pur- teaching; EFL;
systematic review
pose, databases including Web of Science, Eric, Taylor &
Francis and the Educational full text EBSCO were reviewed,
and a total of 43 articles were analysed. Systematic review
was used as the research methodology. The articles were ana-
lysed utilising a content analysis method. The findings of the
study revealed that the flipped classroom method in ELT
gained popularity among researchers after 2014, and the
number of the studies in the field rapidly increased in the last
two years (2016–2017). In addition, the most commonly used
research methods in flipped classroom in ELT studies were
found to be mixed and quantitative methods. In the exam-
ined studies, speaking and writing abilities were the most
commonly studied language skills. Further analysis revealed
challenges, as well as benefits related to the use of the
flipped classroom method in English as a foreign language
(EFL) classroom. Additionally, in studies reviewed concerning
the effectiveness of the flipped classroom methods, the find-
ings mostly pointed to the benefits of the flipped classroom
method. On the basis of the review, various suggestions are
made for practitioners and future research.

1. Introduction
English language teaching (ELT) has been of significant importance and
of top priority worldwide (Chen Hsieh, Wu, & Marek, 2017). The advan-
ces in technology have led to changes in student profiles and instructors,
and researchers have been searching for new educational methods that
suit the new student profile (Chuang, Weng, & Chen, 2018; Hao, 2016;
Wu, Chen Hsieh, & Yang, 2017). In English as a foreign language (EFL)
teaching, in this sense, active learning approaches are now considered to

CONTACT Zeynep Turan [email protected]; [email protected] Department of

Computer Education & Instructional Technology, Ataturk University, Erzurum 25240, Turkey
ß 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 Z. TURAN AND B. AKDAG-C_IMEN

be more effective when compared to teacher-centred approaches. The

flipped classroom is one of the many active learning approaches that
emerged as a result of a quest for a method that serves the changing
needs of the new age and has been readily welcomed by instructors and
researchers. The literature review reveals the use of the flipped classroom
method in various fields including engineering (Karabulut-Ilgu, Jaramillo
Cherrez, & Jahren, 2018), mathematics (Lo, Hew, & Chen, 2017), statis-
tics (Strayer, 2012), teacher education (Turan & G€ oktaş, 2018), and
health education (Hew & Lo, 2018). In addition, the flipped classroom
has become a hot topic in the field of foreign language teaching (Wang,
An, & Wright, 2018; Çetin K€ oroglu & Çakır, 2017).
The flipped classroom, in the most general sense, is an educational
method in which homework and instruction are swapped and learning
takes place beyond the classroom (Adnan, 2017; Bergmann & Sams, 2012;
Chen Hsieh, Wu, & Marek, 2017; Karabulut-Ilgu, Jaramillo Cherrez, &
Jahren, 2018). In a flipped classroom, new information is transferred to
students when they are out of school, mostly through videos. In the class-
room, students engage in hands-on activities and practices under the
teachers’ guidance (Chen Hsieh, Wu, & Marek, 2017). A flipped class-
room makes room for active student participation and encourages the
development of an interactive learning environment (Chuang, Weng, &
Chen, 2018). Videos are given to students prior to the courses allow the
students to learn at their own pace due to being able to pause, rewind,
and replay the videos (Chen Hsieh, Wu, & Marek, 2017; Yu & Wang,
2016). A flipped classroom offers flexible instructional time, creates a
dynamic and interactive learning environment, and allows for a deep
investigation of concepts (Amiryousefi, 2017; Chen Hsieh, Wu, & Marek,
2017; Francl, 2014). To date, studies have shown that a flipped classroom
contributes to academic achievement (Turan & Goktas, 2016), increases
student engagement (Chen Hsieh, Wu, & Marek, 2017), and decreases
learners’ cognitive load (Turan & Goktas, 2016).
It is a well-known fact that language acquisition requires time,
patience, and practice. For effective results in learning in foreign lan-
guage classrooms, students should be able to engage in as many activities
as possible to gain a better grasp of the new target language. However,
due to restricted classroom time, thus a limited opportunity for practice,
teachers may be forced to skip vital aspects of effective foreign language
teaching. The flipped classroom method can contribute to language
learning outcomes by restricting the instruction to outside the classroom
and providing room for additional practices and activities in classroom
(Han, 2015). The flipped classroom model is considered to be beneficial
in foreign language teaching as it promotes two key points to success:
 COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING 3

student-centred learning and autonomy (Amiryousefi, 2017; Çetin

K€oroglu & Çakır, 2017; Han, 2015). Chen Hsieh, Wu, and Marek (2017)
argued that the flipped classroom method prepares a suitable learning
environment for ELT and provides certain benefits. According to the
qualitative study by Basal (2015) based on 47 pre-service English teach-
ers’ perceptions, the flipped classroom method in foreign language class-
rooms is believed to allow for learning at one’s own pace and enhance
student preparation, removing time-related issues in the classroom and
increasing student engagement. Boyraz and Ocak (2017), on the other
hand, studied foreign language learners’ academic success, retention of
knowledge and opinions regarding the flipped classroom method and
reached conclusions that suggest the superiority of this method over
traditional instruction. The participants of the study were also positive
about the implementation of this method. Likewise, the study by
Amiryousefi (2017) into the impact of the flipped classroom method on
language learners’ speaking and listening skills, out-of-class participation
and engagement revealed that the method positively influences the stu-
dents’ learning process of EFL. In the mixed-methods study by Chen
Hsieh, Wu, and Marek (2017), conducted with the participation of 48
sophomore students, the conclusions suggested an increase in idiomatic
knowledge, student engagement, as well as higher motivation levels
among students in flipped classrooms. In another study by Ekmekci
(2017), the impact of the flipped classroom method on foreign language
learners’ writing skills was investigated. This research, in line with many
of the studies in the field, yielded results in favour of the flipped class-
room method. Different from the other studies mentioned above, the
quasi-experimental study study by Hung (2015) compared a structured-
flipped classroom, semi-structured flipped classroom, and non-flipped
classroom methods and concluded that semi-structured and structured-
flipped classroom methods are more effective.
Despite the growing interest in the flipped classroom method, there is
still a lack of comprehensive research on the effectiveness of this method
in the field of foreign language education. Although there are a number
of review articles about the flipped classroom method, none focuses on
the use of flipped classroom method in ELT (Betihavas, Bridgman,
Kornhaber, & Cross, 2016; Chen, Lui, & Martinelli, 2017; Karabulut-Ilgu,
Jaramillo Cherrez, & Jahren, 2018; Lo, Hew, & Chen, 2017; O’Flaherty &
Philips, 2015; Presti, 2016; Seery, 2015). The present study is of import-
ance in the field because a systematic review of the findings yielded by
the previous studies in the literature can pave the way for future studies
and provide an insight for researchers. In addition, of the many studies
into the flipped classroom method, only a few were conducted in EFL
4 Z. TURAN AND B. AKDAG-C_IMEN

courses, which requires more research to be undertaken in that area

(Amiryousefi, 2017; Çetin K€ oroglu & Çakır, 2017; Ekmekci, 2017;
Mehring, 2016). Finally, overall the literature review suggested that there
was a lack of research into the advantages and challenges of flipped
classrooms in foreign language courses. Therefore, for the purpose of the
study, responses to the following research questions were sought:
Research Question 1 (RQ1). What are the trends in flipped classrooms in
ELT research?
Research Question 2 (RQ2). What were the main findings from the
available literature?

2. Method
This study used a systematic review method, which is a literature review
based on an explicit research question that determines, through system-
atic methods, which studies of the existing literature need to be taken
into account (Uman, 2011). From systematic reviews, the findings of pre-
vious research can be checked for consistency and generalisability to other
fields or samples (Mulrow, 1994). The main difference between a system-
atic review and literature review is the method followed. The former
starts in a way that is well-organised in detail (Kowalczyk & Truluck,
2013) with the search for the articles to be reviewed following a precise
path and including various available databases. In contrast, literature
reviews are generally carried out in a less systematic way and the articles
are retrieved from only a few databases (Robinson & Lowe, 2015).

2.1. Data collection

On 2 February 2018, a systematic search was conducted in the databases
Web of Science, ERIC, Taylor & Francis and Education Full Text EBSCO.
These databases were selected since they contain the highest number of
education-related studies. The search terms used included ‘flipped class-
room and English’, ‘flipped learning and English’, ‘flipped and English’,
‘flipping and English’, ‘flipping classroom and English’, ‘inverted classroom
and English’, ‘flipped EFL classroom’, ‘inverted EFL classroom’, ‘flipped
classroom and foreign language teaching’, and ‘flipping EFL courses’. Of
the results returned, only research studies were taken into account.

2.2. Data analysis

All the studies examined in this paper were coded and analysed by two
researchers. For the analysis, the researchers followed content analysis
 COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING 5

Table 1. Subcategories of research questions.

Research question Subcategories
RQ1. What are the trends in Distribution of the studies by years: The reviewed articles were analysed
flipped classrooms in in terms of their indicated publication year in order to determine
ELT research? the number of the studies per year.
Research methods used in articles: The reviewed articles were analysed
with the aim of defining the research methods used. The method-
ology sections of the articles were examined and their methods
were categorised under the headings of qualitative, quantitative,
mixed and literature review.
Education levels of samples: The articles were found to be categorised
as K-12 students, university students, teachers, and EFL and ESL
learners with various backgrounds.
Countries of articles: The country of each publication was determined
through a detailed analysis of the abstract and methodology sec-
tions. The workplace of the authors and the location of the study
treatment were also taken into consideration.
RQ2. What were the main find- Studied basic language skills: The reviewed articles were analysed in
ings from the avail- terms of their focus on the basic language skills (speaking, reading,
able literature? listening, writing etc.). Each article was read from start to finish, with
the abstracts, research questions and results sections being exam-
ined in detail.
Advantages and challenges of flipped classrooms in ELT: To determine
the advantages and challenges, the results, discussions and conclu-
sion sections were analysed thoroughly. An open coding strategy
was adopted and the codes found in the reviewed articles were ana-
lysed through content analysis.
Flipped clasroom effectiveness in ELT: The first step was to determine
the articles which compared the flipped classroom method with
other methods. Then the abstract, results and discussion sections
were examined in detail. To determine the effectiveness of flipped
classroom method, the criterion was whether the results were statis-
tically significant.

method, which is commonly used for textual analyses and allows for
comparing, contrasting and categorising the data (Fraenkel & Wallen,
2000). Firstly, a form to record the results of the analysis were created
using Microsoft Word. This contained categories related to the research
questions, such as the year/place of the study and the advantages and
challenges of the flipped classroom method. The form was filled with
related information after a careful reading of each article. After complet-
ing the form for each study, Microsoft Excel was used for analysis by
organising codes and categories. As seen in Table 1, the first research
question (RQ1) and related subcategories included descriptive informa-
tion which is directly stated in the reviewed articles. The second research
question (RQ2) and related subcategories, on the other hand, sought
detailed information about the reviewed articles. To define the advan-
tages and challenges, the first step was to read all the studies after which
the codes and categories were identified.
Our search for articles to be reviewed returned 153 articles from four
different databases (Figure 1). Upon removing the duplicates, there were
103 articles to be reviewed. After an examination of the titles and
abstracts, 42 of those 103 articles were removed since they were not
6 Z. TURAN AND B. AKDAG-C_IMEN

Figure 1. Diagram of systematic review process (adapted from Liberati et al., 2009).

relevant to ELT and the flipped classroom method. Another three were
excluded from the study since they were not written in English. The
remaining 58 articles were reviewed for eligibility, and the results
showed that four of the studies were not related to ELT. In addition,
other four articles included only descriptive information about the
flipped classroom method and were not scientific research studies. In
seven of the articles, the flipped classroom was not the focus of the
research, and thus they were removed from the present study. After the
above-mentioned process, there finally remained a total of 43 studies to
be reviewed.
To ensure inter-rater reliability, 20 randomly chosen articles were
separately coded by the two researchers. Two code sets were then ana-
lysed through SPSS to determine Cohen’s Kappa coefficient value,
which was found to be 0.73. According to Viera and Garrett (2005),
 COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING 7

Figure 2. The number of articles by year.

Figure 3. Research methods used in the reviewed articles.

values between 0.61 and 0.80 indicate optimal agreement between

researchers.

3. Findings
3.1. Trends in flipped classroom and ELT literature
In response to RQ1, the subcategories examined by the authors included the
distribution of the studies by year, research methods used, education levels
of the participants, and the distribution of the countries where the studies
were conducted. The following section covers descriptions of each category.
Distribution of the studies by years
The distribution of studies referring to the flipped classroom method
in ELT by years is shown in Figure 2. The first research into area was
published in 2014 (n ¼ 1), after which there was an increase in the num-
ber of the studies. Since the cut-off date was 2 February 2018, only 1 art-
icle was included.
Research methods used in the reviewed articles
As shown in Figure 3, the most commonly used research method was
the mixed method (n ¼ 19), closely followed by the quantitative method
8 Z. TURAN AND B. AKDAG-C_IMEN

Figure 4. The education levels of the samples of the reviewed articles.

Figure 5. The countries of articles.

(n ¼ 18). The least commonly used methods were the qualitative method
(n ¼ 3) and literature review (n ¼ 3).
The education levels of the samples in the articles
Figure 4 reveals that the vast majority of articles (85%) selected univer-
sity students as the sample, followed by K-12 students, (10%) and the
remaining groups were teachers (2%) and EFL and ESL learners with
various backgrounds (3%).
Countries of the reviewed articles
Most of the studies investigating the flipped classroom method in ELT
were conducted in Taiwan (n ¼ 12) and China (n ¼ 9), with a number of
studies carried out in Turkey (n ¼ 5) and Arabia (n ¼ 4) (Figure 5).
There was a good range of countries in which studies into flipped class-
room method in the ELT field were implemented.
 COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING 9

Figure 6. The studied basic language skills.

Table 2. Advantages of the flipped classroom in ELT environments.

Advantages f Sample article
Enhancing engagement of learners 11 Amiryousefi (2017)
Enhancing learner’s speaking skills 7 Çetin K€ lu and Çakır (2017)
orog
Enhancing peer interactions 6 Zainuddin and Perera (2017)
Increasing learning achievement of learners 6 Hung (2015)
Boosting learners’ motivation 5 Boyraz and Ocak (2017)
Providing learning environment at learners’ own pace 5 Basal (2015)
Enhancing preparedness of learners 4 Choe and Seong (2016)
Improving writing skills of learners 3 Ekmekci (2017)
Improving grammar skills of learners 3 Webb and Doman (2016)
Enhancing learners’ obtaining immediate instructor’s feedback 3 Zainuddin (2017)
Improving listening skills of learners 2 Ahmad (2016)
Decreasing learners’ speaking nervousness 2 Chen Hsieh, Wu and Marek (2017)
Enhancing learners’ English reading comprehension 2 Mo and Mao (2017)
Enhancing use of deep learning strategies 2 Gasmi (2016)
Enhancing positive attitudes to the language learning experience 2 Doman and Webb (2017)
Improving vocabulary knowledge of learners 2 Kang (2015)
Enhancing students’ higher order thinking skills 2 Alsowat (2016)
Enhancing learner’s ICT skills 1 Huang and Hong (2016)

3.2. The main findings of the flipped classroom and EFL

teaching literature
For the purpose of answering RQ2, the following subcategories were
defined and examined by the researchers: studied basic skills, advantages,
challenges, and the effectiveness of the flipped classroom method in ELT.
In the following section, the subcategories are described in detail.
Studied basic language skills
Of all the 43 articles, only 23 directly stated which language proficiency
skills they investigated which were speaking (n ¼ 8), writing (n ¼ 6),
grammar knowledge (n ¼ 5), listening (n ¼ 4), reading (n ¼ 3), vocabulary
knowledge (n ¼ 1), and idiomatic knowledge (n ¼ 1) (Figure 6).
Advantages of the flipped classroom in ELT
Table 2 reveals the advantages of flipped classroom method in EFL
courses. The most commonly mentioned include enhancing engagement
10 Z. TURAN AND B. AKDAG-C_IMEN

Table 3. Challenges of the flipped classroom in ELT environments.

Challenges f Sample article
Extra workload for learners 7 Yang (2017)
Technology/Internet related problems 6 Egbert, Herman, and Lee (2015)
Extra workload for teachers 2 Zhang (2017)
Writing anxiety 1 Ekmekci (2017)

Table 4. Findings of the articles about the effectiveness of the flipped classroom method
in ELT.
Findings f Articles
Flipped is more effective 18 Ahmad (2016), Alsowat (2016), Amiryousefi (2017), Boyraz and
Ocak (2017), Chen Hsieh, Huang, and Wu (2017), Chen Hsieh,
Wu, and Marek (2017), Çetin K€
oro
glu and Çakır (2017),
Doman and Webb (2017), Ekmekci (2017), Huang and Hong
(2016), Hung (2015), Hung (2017), Kang (2015), Melendez
and Iza (2017), Mo and Mao (2017), Webb and Doman
(2016), Wu, Chen Hsieh, and Yang (2017), Yu and
Wang (2016)
Flipped is more effective and / or 1 Zainuddin and Perera (2017)
makes no difference
No difference 2 Al-Harbi and Alshumaimeri (2016), Suranakkharin (2017)

of learners (n ¼ 11), enhancing learners’ speaking skills (n ¼ 7), enhancing

peer interactions (n ¼ 6), and increasing learning achievement of learn-
ers (n ¼ 6).
Challenges of implementing the flipped classroom in ELT
Although numerous advantages were attributed to the use of the
flipped classroom method in the ELT field, the process might not be as
smooth as expected, and Table 3 reveals the most commonly reported
challenges as extra workload for learners (n ¼ 7) and technology/Internet
related problems (n ¼ 6).
Flipped clasroom effectiveness in ELT
As shown in Table 4, a total of 21 articles measured the effectiveness
of the flipped classroom method by comparing it with traditional teach-
ing or through pre-test and post-test. Eighteen of 21 studies found out
that the flipped classroom method is an effective teaching method in
ELT. One of the studies was inconclusive since both positive and nega-
tive results were obtained, and two studies concluded that the flipped
classroom method makes no difference in ELT.

4. Discussion
In this study, 43 articles retrieved from Web of Science, Eric, Taylor &
Francis and Education Full Text EBSCO were analysed in terms of their
trends and main findings. The analysis showed a rapid increase in the
number of the articles on the use of the flipped classroom method in
 COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING 11

ELT since 2014. The rising number of studies might be attributed to the
growing popularity of this method and certain advantages it offers. It can
be seen that there has been an intense interest in the topic particularly in
the last two years, which suggests increased popularity in the coming
years. In the analysed articles, the most commonly used research methods
were found to be mixed and quantitative methods, which might be due to
the impetus to thoroughly examine the effects of the flipped classroom
method. Although the proportion of the mixed methods and quantitative
studies is high, such studies are scarce in the literature. For instance, our
search retrieved 43 available studies that fulfilled the criteria for review in
the current research. However, 21 of the 43 reviewed studies provided
empirical data pertaining to the effects of the flipped classroom method,
which suggests that there is still a lack of research in the field.
In the examined studies, the most common sample group consisted of
university students, with a lower number of studies undertaken with K-
12 students and other participants. Parallel to this finding, Lo and Hew
(2017) also commented on the lack of flipped classrooms research with
K-12 students not only in ELT but also in other fields. The review stud-
ies in the literature also indicate that in research into educational tech-
nologies the participants are generally chosen from university-level
students (Kucuk et al., 2013; Wu et al., 2012). The reason for this might
be the fact that university students are easier to access and are expected
to show greater abilities in self-regulation.
However, the effect of the flipped classroom method which is believed
to be beneficial in the field of ELT needs to be further investigated in K-
12 EFL classrooms. This systematic review revealed a number of studies
into the flipped classroom method in ELT in a wide range of countries,
with Taiwan hosting to the highest number of studies. Conducting more
studies on the use of flipped classroom method in EFL courses in coun-
tries with different cultures and educational trends can offer valuable
insight into the topic.
By removing the lecturing part of teaching from the classroom, a
flipped classroom naturally allows for extra time for application and
interaction facilities in the classroom. Thus, this may lead to greater
opportunities to enhance learning, particularly with the help of add-
itional feedback provided to the learners (Hall & DuFrene, 2016). In the
systematically reviewed articles in the current study, the most commonly
investigated language skills included speaking and writing. Such studies,
however, are still rather scarce in in the literature. Future research may
provide valuable insight into the effective use of the flipped classroom
method by reporting on the improvement of the basic language skills in
flipped classrooms.
12 Z. TURAN AND B. AKDAG-C_IMEN

This review revealed various benefits provided by the flipped class-

room method in the field of foreign language learning and teaching. The
most commonly reported benefit is increased student engagement, which
can be attributed to the nature of the flipped classroom method that
encourages active learning (Roehl, Reddy, & Shannon, 2013; Jensen,
Kummer, & Godoy, 2015).
The flexible nature of the flipped classroom method allows diverse
needs in the classroom to be met by providing learners with extra time
out of classroom and helping teachers understand the aspects in which
their students need further reinforcement (Marks, 2015). Therefore, posi-
tive outcomes of flipped classrooms come as no surprise. The reviewed
articles in this study also confirm that flipping in EFL classrooms boosts
the courses from several aspects, with the main findings indicating that
this method helps learners improve their speaking proficiency, peer
interaction, and overall learning achievement.
However, the process of flipping EFL classrooms might incur difficul-
ties. In the reviewed studies, the reported challenges include extra work-
load for students and internet/technology related problems. These
findings are in line with the results of the study by Karabulut-Ilgu,
Jaramillo Cherrez, and Jahren (2018). Other reported challenges and dis-
advantages include extra workload for teachers and increased writing
anxiety among students.
The examination of the studies comparing the flipped classroom
method and traditional teaching revealed the superiority of the flipped
classroom method. The studies measuring the impact of the flipped
classroom method on students’ learning through pre and post-test also
concluded that the method enhances EFL learning process. In this study,
the effect of the flipped classroom method was only qualitatively investi-
gated. A meta-analysis could have led to more conclusive and informed
findings. However, in the reviewed comparative studies different lan-
guage skills were analysed, which prevented a meta-analysis. Therefore, a
meta-analysis can be conducted in the future when the number of stud-
ies in the field increases.
The findings of this study can help teachers and researchers develop
ideas regarding the practices of the flipped classroom in education. First,
based on the findings, a flipped English classroom can enhance engage-
ment, thus may offer benefits by increasing the engagement rate in the
classroom, particularly where attendance is not compulsory. Students
have a higher chance of developing autonomy when they take the
responsibility to learn the content of the course before coming to the
classroom. Flipping the classroom also paves the way for differentiated
education since all learners can be exposed to the content prior to
 COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING 13

courses as they wish. Therefore, instructors can opt for flipping their
courses, particularly if there is a wide range of diverse student needs in
their classrooms (Siegle, 2014). In addition, by maximising the quality
time spent in the classroom, the flipped classroom method is likely to
positively influence learners’ overall achievement (DeRuisseau, 2016).
However, making sudden changes in the way learners are taught may
receive initial resistance (Homma, 2015). The curriculum should be rede-
signed to incorporate a smooth transition from conventional teaching
methods. Furthermore, the teachers who introduce flipped EFL class-
rooms should know how the method works and what should be accom-
plished prior to the start of flipped courses. For the best learning
outcomes among students, the recorded flipped course videos should be
interesting and interactive so that learners do not get bored (Schmidt &
Ralph, 2016).

5. Conclusion
Briefly, this study is significant in that it is the first review study on the
use of the flipped classroom method in ELT. This study is also expected
to guide researchers who want to conduct studies into the flipping EFL
classroom. Finally, based on the findings of the study, the following sug-
gestions are given.

5.1. Recommendations for future research

 Further experimental studies on the effect of the flipped classroom
method on EFL education should be undertaken. In addition, qualita-
tive studies are necessary to provide insight into the use of flipped
classroom method in EFL classrooms.
 There need to be more studies into implementing flipped EFL class-
rooms with K-12 student participants.
 In future research, the effect of the flipped EFL classroom on EFL
learners’ grammar knowledge, listening skills, reading skills, and
vocabulary knowledge should be examained.

5.2. Recommendations for practitioners

 Instructors who are willing to transit from a traditional classroom to
a flipped EFL classroom should gather information as to how this
method works before starting their application.
 Flipping EFL courses might put an extra burden on instructors;
therefore, cooperation with other instructors acquainted with the
14 Z. TURAN AND B. AKDAG-C_IMEN

flipped classroom method can reduce extra time and energy

being expended.
 Instructors are advised to maximise the benefits of flipped EFL class-
rooms by taking learners’ needs into consideration before engaging in
the detailed planning of their courses.
 The flipped classroom method requires the use of technological tools.
Therefore, instructors need to ensure that both instructors and stu-
dents have access to the needed technology.

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