Tersten Yapılandırılmış Öğretimin İngilizce Öğretmen Adaylarının Konuşma Becerilerinin Geliştirilmesine Etkileri

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THE EFFECTS OF FLIPPED INSTRUCTION ON PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ SPEAKING SKILLS

DEVELOPMENT

Zeynep ÇETİN KÖROĞLU

DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION

GAZİ UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES

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TELİF HAKKI ve TEZ FOTOKOPİ İZİN FORMU

YAZARIN

Adı : Zeynep

Soyadı : ÇETİN KÖROĞLU

Bölümü : Yabancı Diller Eğitimi

İmza :

Teslim tarihi :12.11.2015

TEZİN

Türkçe Adı :Tersten Yapılandırılmış Öğretimin İngilizce Öğretmen Adaylarının Konuşma Becerilerinin Geliştirilmesine Etkileri

İngilizce Adı : The Effects of Flipped Instruction on Pre-Service English Language Teachers’ Speaking Skills Development

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ETİK İLKELERE UYGUNLUK BEYANI

Tez yazma sürecinde bilimsel ve etik ilkelere uyduğumu, yararlandığım tüm kaynakları kaynak gösterme ilkelerine uygun olarak kaynakçada belirttiğimi ve bu bölümler dışındaki tüm ifadelerin şahsıma ait olduğunu beyan ederim.

Yazar Adı Soyadı: Zeynep ÇETİN KÖROĞLU İmza: ………...

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“You need to spend time crawling alone through shadows to truly appreciate what it is to stand in the sun.” Shaun Hick To my beloved family

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

“There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of life. Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget, that until the day God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words, 'Wait and Hope.”

Alexandre Dumas

First of all, there are too many people to thank for their support, patience and love in this long process.

My dear supervisor Prof. Dr. Abdulvahit ÇAKIR, knowing him is a great chance for me. I could not express my gratitude with words. Sometimes, you feel that words are not capable of expressing the feelings. I really appreciate his kindness, support, advice and good heartedness. Thank you very much my dear professor and supervisor.

I would like to thank Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cem BALÇIKANLI for his guidance, advice and support during the process. Being his student is an honor for me. Thus, I learned too much information from him. I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Gülsev PAKKAN. I really appreciate her advice and support. She is a great person with her calming voice. Thank you very much for your contribution to thesis.

I would like to thank participants of the study, who were as a whole the key component of the research. The thesis could not been completed without them.

I had chance to know wonderful people at Gazi University during my MA and Ph.D. All of them are precious for me. Dear; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kemal Sinan ÖZMEN, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arif SARIÇOBAN, Assist. Prof. Dr. Aslı Özlem TARAKÇIOĞLU, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bena Gül PEKER, Assist. Prof. Dr. Neslihan ÖZKAN, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İskender Hakkı SARIGÖZ, Assoc. Prof. Dr. GoncaYangın EKŞİ, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Paşa Tevfik CEPHE, Lecturer Ayşegül Atay ÇINAR thank you very much!

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I had lovely colleagues who were kind, good-hearted, brilliant and unique. I want to thank them one by one. Dear Res. Assist. Sibel KAHRAMAN, I am very happy to know you. You are one of my best friends that I share too much things. Thank you very much for your friendship. Dear Res. Assist. TuğbaElif TOPRAK, I am very happy to know you. I will never forget our jokes and laughters. Dear Res. Assist. Şafak MÜJDECİ, thank you very much for your great friendship and being such an honest person. Dear, Res. Assist. Betül KINIK, I am very glad to know you. You were busy bee but we shared too many things in a short time. Thank you very much Dear Res. Assist. Hande ÇETİN, Res. Assistant, Nihan ERDEMİR, Res. Assistants Dilşat GÜVEN and Ceylan GÜNDEĞER, you are great friends.

Dear Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gülay EKİCİ, it is a great chance to know you. I should say that you are really precious for me. I am grateful for your support, guidance, help and encouraging me during the whole process. Thank you very much!!!

I want to thank my family members. They supported me during the process. I could not complete this harsh process without your support. Thank you my beloved family.

Lastly, I would like to thank my husband Mehmet KÖROĞLU. I could not handle all the struggles without his help and patience. You are my luck!

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TERSTEN YAPILANDIRILMIŞ ÖĞRETİMİN İNGİLİZCE

ÖĞRETMEN ADAYLARININ KONUŞMA BECERİLERİNİN

GELİŞTİRİLMESİNE ETKİLERİ

(Doktora Tezi)

Zeynep ÇETİN KÖROĞLU

GAZİ ÜNİVERSİTESİ

EĞİTİM BİLİMLERİ ENSTİTÜSÜ

Kasım, 2015

ÖZ

İnsanlar arasındaki iletişimin ve toplumun devamlılığını sağlayan en önemli unsur dildir. Dil bireyin kendini ifade etmesinde, ifade edileni anlamasında ve o dilin kullanıldığı topluma ait olması hususunda vazgeçilmez bir role sahiptir. Dilin temel bileşenlerinden olan konuşma becerisi ise iletişimin temel yapı taşıdır. Diğer becerilere oranla daha az üzerinde durulan konuşma becerisi oldukça karmaşık bir yapıya sahiptir. Kişinin kendi çabası, çevresel faktörler ve eğitim, konuşma becerisinin geliştirilmesinde önemlidir. Günümüz toplumunda bireyler ve toplumlar arası iletişimin gelişen teknolojiler sayesinde oldukça üst düzeyde olduğu söylenebilir. Teknoloji alanındaki hızlı gelişim pek çok alanda etkili olduğu gibi eğitim alanını da etkilemiştir ve teknoloji eğitiminde bir parçası haline gelmiştir. Dil eğitiminde son yıllarda önemle üzerinde durulan Karma Eğitim modeli, Uzaktan Eğitim, Bilgisayar Destekli Yabancı Dil Eğitimi ve Ters-Yüz eğitim modelleri teknolojinin dil eğitimi alanı için önem arz ettiğini göstermektedir. Bu bağlamda mevcut çalışma ters-yüz eğitim modelinin İngilizce öğretmen adaylarının konuşma becerilerinin gelişmesine olan etkisini araştırmaktadır. Çalışma konuşma becerilerinin akıcılık ve tutarlılık, kelime dağarcığı, dil bilgisi ve doğruluk ile telaffuz becerilerini kapsamaktadır. Araştırmada yarı deneysel model kullanılmış olup karma yöntem ile nicel ve nitel veriler toplanmıştır. Çalışmada toplanan nicel veriler katılımcıların konuşma becerilerinin Ters-yüz eğitim modeline dayalı geliştirilen müfredat (Çalışmanın geri kalanında OCS1FS olarak anılacaktır) sayesinde gelişip gelişmediğini ölçmek için toplanmıştır. Sözlü İletişim Becerileri I dersi için Döndürülmüş eğitim modeline uygun olarak hazırlanan müfredat geliştirilmeden önce Sözlü İletişim Becerileri I dersine giren okutmanlara uzman görüşme protokolü uygulanmıştır. Uzmanların görüş ve önerileri ışığında ders müfredatı %70 pratik, %30 teorik bilgi bazında hazırlanmıştır. Bunun yanında, müfredat eğitimsel ödevler ve

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temalardan oluşmaktadır. Nitel veriler ise deney grubu öğrencilerin ters-yüz eğitim modeline karşı tutumlarını ölçmek için toplanmıştır. Çalışmanın nicel verilerini toplamak için deney ve kontrol grubuna ön-test ve son-test uygulaması iki değerlendirici tarafından yapılmış olup sonuçlar SPSS programında Mann-Whitney U test ve Wilcoxon W testleri ile analiz edilmiştir. Çalışmanın nitel verileri için ise deney grubu öğrencilerine uygulama sonrasında bireysel görüşme protokolü uygulanmıştır. Ayrıca deney grubu öğrencileri araştırmada çevrimiçi öğrenme öğretme ortamı olarak kullanılan Edmodo üzerinden uygulama süresince haftalık olarak dönüt ödevleri yazmışlardır. Nitel veriler içerik analizi ve örtük içerik analizi yöntemleri ile analiz edilmiştir. Araştırmanın katılımcıları Gazi Üniversitesi, İngilizce Öğretmenliği bölümü birinci sınıf öğrencilerinden oluşan ve rastgele seçilen iki sınıftır. Sınıflardan biri deney grubu diğeri kontrol grubu olarak uygulamaya tabi tutulmuş olup deney grubu 23 öğrenci kontrol grubu 25 öğrenciden oluşmaktadır. Deney grubuna Sözlü İletişim Becerileri I dersi için araştırmacı tarafından geliştirilen Ters-yüz eğitim Modeli dayalı müfredat 8 (sekiz) hafta boyunca uygulanmıştır. Uygulamada çevrimiçi öğretme-öğrenme platformu olan Edmodo sitesi kullanılmıştır. Kontrol grubu ise aynı müfredatı geleneksel sınıf ortamında öğrenmiştir. Sonuçlar deney grubu ve kontrol grubu öğrencilerinin arasında sekiz haftalık uygulama sonucunda anlamlı düzeyde farklılık olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Deney grubu öğrencilerinin Ters-yüz eğitim Modeline dayalı öğretim müfredatı ile akıcılık ve tutarlılık, kelime dağarcığı, dil bilgisi ve doğruluk ile telaffuz alanlarında anlamlı derecede gelişme gösterdikleri sonucu bulunmuştur. Çalışmanın diğer önemli bulgusu ise deney grubu öğrencilerinin Ters-yüz eğitim Modeline karşı olumlu tutum geliştirdikleri ve Sözlü İletişim Becerileri I dersi için geliştirilen müfredattan oldukça memnun oldukları sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

Bilim Kodu :

Anahtar Kelimeler :Ters-yüz Eğitim Modeli, Konuşma Becerilerinin Gelişimi, İngiliz Dili Eğitimi, Karma Öğretim Modeli.

Sayfa Adedi : 205

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THE EFFECTS OF FLIPPED INSTRUCTION ON PRE-SERVICE

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ SPEAKING SKILLS

DEVELOPMENT

(PH.D Dissertation)

Zeynep ÇETİN KÖROĞLU

GAZİ UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES

November, 2015

ABSTRACT

Language is the most important factor that provides continuation of society and communication among people. Language has a dispensable role in individual’s self-expression, understanding what is expressed and to be a part of the society in which the language is used as means of communication. As one of the basic components of language, speaking is the cornerstone of language. Speaking skill has a complex and complicated nature, which is less focused on in comparison with other language skills. Individual’s effort, environmental factors and education are important to develop speaking skills. It can be said that communication among individuals and societies is in almost peak level by means of developing technologies. The swift development in technology effects education as well as numerous area and technology has become a part of education. Blended Learning, Distance Education, Computer Assisted Language Learning, and Flipped Instruction are overemphasized in recent years that indicate technology is significant in language education. In this context, the current research investigates the effects of Flipped Instruction on pre-service English language teachers’ speaking skills development. The research covers fluency, coherence, lexical resource, grammar, pronunciation and accuracy skills. In present research, quasi-experimental design is utilized; both qualitative and quantitative data were collected through mixed method. The quantitative data were collected to investigate whether Flipped instruction based syllabus which is designed specifically for the research is effective to develop participants’ speaking skills. The Flipped Syllabus for Oral communication Skills I is called as OCS1FS through the rest of the research (OCS1FS). Before the design of the flipped syllabus, expert interview protocol is administered to Oral communication Skills I

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course’s lecturers. In the light of lecturer’s ideas and suggestions, the flipped syllabus for Oral communication Skills I is designed that comprise of 70% practice-based and 30% theoretical knowledge based syllabus. Besides, it comprises of pedagogical tasks and themes. The qualitative data were collected to examine students’ perceptions towards Flipped Instruction. Pre-test and post- tests are administered by two raters to both experimental group and control group with the aim of collecting quantitative data for the present research. The quantitative data were analyzed through Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon W tests in Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS). Individual student interview is administered to experimental group students with the aim of collecting qualitative data for the current research at the end of treatment process. Besides, experimental group students wrote weekly response papers on Edmodo which was used as online Learning Management System (LMS) in research. The qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis and latent content analysis. The participants are first graders of English Language Teaching department of Gazi University, Turkey. Two classrooms participated in study, that are selected randomly and one group is treated as experimental group, the other group is treated as control group. The experimental group consists of 23 students who are 20 female and 3 male students. The control group consists of 25 students are 19 female and 6 male students. The Flipped instruction based Oral Communication Skills I syllabus is utilized for eight week that is designed by researcher in experimental group through flipped classroom model. The control group learns the same course content in traditional lecture-based classroom model. In treatment process, Edmodo is used which is an online teaching and learning platform. The results show that there is statistically significant difference level between experimental group and control group at the end of eight weeks treatment process. It is found that experimental group students experienced significant development in terms of fluency, coherence, lexical resource, grammar, pronunciation and accuracy skills. Other important results of the current research are that experimental group students have positive attitudes towards Flipped Instruction and they are considerably satisfied with flipped instruction based syllabus.

Science Code :

Key Words : Flipped Instruction, Speaking Skills, English Language Teaching, Blended Learning.

Page Number : 205

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Comparison of class time in traditional versus flipped classroom. ... 10

Table 2. Spoken and Written Language: Typical Features ... 21

Table 3. Comparison of the Experimental and Control Groups’ Pre-Test Results ... 44

Table 4. Normality tests of Pre-Test Results for Experimental and Control Groups ... 44

Table 5. Comparison of the Experimental and Control Groups’ Pre-Test Results ... 44

Table 6. Ranks between Experimental and Control Groups ... 45

Table 7. Comparison of the Experimental and Control Groups’ Post-Test Results ... 45

Table 8. Comparison between post- test results in terms of ‘fluency and coherence’ Dim. 1. ... 47

Table 9. Comparison between post- test results in terms of ‘Lexical Resource’Dim. 2... 48

Table 10. Comparison between post- test results in terms of ‘grammatical range and accuracy’ Dim. 3 ... 49

Table 11. Comparison between post- test results for groups in terms of ‘Pronunciation’ Dim. 4 ... 50

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Model of flipped instruction compared to traditional lecture-homework ... 3

Figure 2. Second language speaking competence sub-skills ... 20

Figure 3. Speaking cycle ... 25

Figure 4. The classroom flips... 10

Figure 5. Mean Score difference between experimental and control groups for total score. ... 46

Figure 6. Comparison between mean ranks in terms of ‘Fluency and Coherence’ Dim.1. ... 47

Figure 7. Comparison between mean ranks in terms of ‘Lexical Resource’ Dim. 2. ... 48

Figure 8. Comparison between mean ranks in terms of ‘grammatical range and accuracy’ Dim. 3. ... 49

Figure 9. Comparison between mean ranks in terms of ‘pronunciation’ Dim. 4. ... 50

Figure 10. Frequency of themes in qualitative data ... 52

Figure 11. Frequency of themes in Q1 responses ... 56

Figure 14. Frequency of themes in Q4 responses. ... 63

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

BL: Blended Learning

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching

CS: Communication Strategies

ELT: English Language Teaching

FL: Foreign Language

ICT: Internet Communication Technologies

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

LA: Learner Autonomy

L1: Native Language

L2: Second Language

LMS: Learning Management System

OCS1: Oral Communication Skills 1

OCS1FS: Oral Communication Skills 1 Flipped Syllabus

Ph.D: Doctor of Philosophy

SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language

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SECTION ONE

INTRODUCTION

Section one presents general framework for the current investigation. The section comprises of problem statement, significance and aim of the study, research questions, limitations, assumptions and definitions parts.

Statement of the Problem

Technology constantly affects our lives positively or negatively. Some basic domains such as communication, interaction and education are shaped by the technology in today’s world. While, technological development continuously is in progress and its impact on our lives is considerably high, educational system in Turkey is struggling to keep pace with it. Traditional teaching methods are still used to teach foreign language in Turkey. While traditional teaching methods are still in use in Turkey the USA started to use more technological tools in their educational systems. As an example, interactive textbooks have been started used in Alabama, US since 2012 (Moseley, 2012). The replace of printed textbooks with electronic textbooks costs $100,000,000. Both the innovative change in textbook use and the cost which has been paid for this innovation has great importance in terms of education. According to Wiginton (2013) the use of electronic textbooks may help the use of flipped classroom approach. The question arises about the nature of flipped instruction. Wiginton mentions (2013) that flipped instruction is an educational instruction model that use technology to change the location of lecture and homework. When learners receive lectures by video content at home or anywhere they want, class time can be spend for productive activities with learners. Besides, flipped instruction provides individualized, student-centered learning atmosphere to language learners. The aim of the flipped classroom is to move information transfer out of the classroom and make teacher and students use class

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times on production (Charles, 2014). In flipped classrooms, teacher’s role changes significantly. Instead of presenting information, the teacher helps students to fill the information gaps in their understanding. As language learning is a complex process which is affected by socio-cultural and psychological factors, learning a foreign language is not inevitably guaranteed. However, in an EFL context language is taught inside the classroom (Tulung, 2008). As one of the basic component of a language, speaking skill development is a complex issue. As speaking is a complex skill both to learn and to teach in foreign language education, both teachers and learners should realize that speaking skill teaching is needed to change in various aspects. First of all, speaking skill teaching should be recognized as an indispensable part of teaching the language and it deserves the same emphasis with other language skills. Secondly, language teachers should create more student-centered classrooms in which learning is more personalized and collaborative. In this respect, the use of technology in speaking classrooms provides more autonomous and constructivist perspectives to language learners in technological society (Bushweller, 2011; Davis, 2011; Keefe and Jenkins, 2002). As Bergman and Sams (2012) focus that Flipped instruction is an alternative way of traditional lecture based instruction. The main difference between two instruction types is that flipped instruction divides traditional lecture into two parts. The first part takes place before the lessons through pre-prepared videos of course content that are handled by students at home. The second part takes place at school with peers and teacher by doing homework, practice and filling the information gaps in students’ understanding (Bergman and Sams, 2012). However, in traditional lecture based classrooms, the teacher presents course content through lecture format in which students are passive receiver of knowledge. In addition, students are expected to do their homework through the help of information that they received in classroom. Besides, teacher seldomly has chance to help the students in traditional lecture based classrooms. The new instruction model is called as flipped learning or Inverted classroom (Gannod, 2007).

As the name suggests, flipped instruction is diverted forms of traditional lecture based classrooms and it uses technology to present course content to students in video-lecture format or online learning materials. The following model presents the Flipped instruction in details.

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Figure 1. Model of flipped instruction compared to traditional lecture-homework (Wiginton, 2013)

As important scholars mention providing lecture content through pre-prepared videos can free class times that are spent mostly through lectures in traditional lecture based classrooms (Alvarez, 2011; Bergmann and Sams, 2012; Gannod, 2007). The developing technological tools make easier to prepare video that can be used in flipped classrooms. As Alvares (2011) and Talbert (2012) say that generally teachers explain course content in videos. The same course content is provided through these videos and valuable class times can be spent through working with peers and the teacher. Therefore, learners learn the content through videos by themselves and class time is used for production. By this way, students actively participate in learning constructive process and they become more autonomous learners. The main feature of flipped classroom is that it provides a more flexible learning environment to learners. The learning environment is not limited with stable walls of schools anymore. Thus, learners can learn the content wherever they want. Besides, learners have a chance to learn the content if they miss the class with some reasons (Bergman and Sams, 2012). Another important feature of flipped classroom is that learners are active in learning process in flipped instruction. As active learning is considered under constructivism and socio-constructivism, learners are active constructors in flipped classrooms. Besides, the learning process takes place in collaboration with other peers with the help of teacher’s guidance (Burge and Helmick, 2008; Gannod, 2007; Marlowe and Page, 2005).

In this context, teaching speaking skill in flipped classroom is quite a new and innovative way of teaching the skill. It is known that speaking skill is generally ignored and neglected

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in language classrooms. Teaching speaking is challenging even for language teachers, which requires more practice to improve. The Turkey as an EFL context, English language learners have less chance to practice their speaking skills in natural communication settings. All these reasons and the effective features of flipped instruction lead the researcher to carry out the current research that shed lights to teaching speaking skills.

Aim of the study

This research aims to find out the effects of flipped instruction on pre-service English language teachers’ speaking skills development. Besides, the current study aims to develop pre-service English language teachers’ speaking skills especially their fluency, accuracy, grammar range, pronunciation and lexical resource in L2 with the help of syllabus which has been prepared appropriate for flipped instruction, Oral Communication Skills I course.

Significance of the study

The main focus of the present study is to find an alternative way to develop speaking skill which is generally neglected in foreign language classrooms despite the fact that it is crucial in language pedagogy. As Yaman (2014) mentions that speaking skills development is considerably difficult to develop in comparison to other skills in EFL contexts. Most common problems are teachers’ transmission-based instruction culture, lack of motivation, students’ tendency to speak L1 in the classrooms and teachers’ own speaking deficiency (Kırkgöz, 2008; Nunan, cited in Lazaraton, 2001; Ozsevik, 2010,). Therefore, the current study aims to present an effective way to run speaking lessons through introducing flipped instruction based speaking skills development course.

Fewer empirical studies have carried out to investigate the effectiveness of flipped instruction in foreign language learning especially in speaking skills. Review of available research shows that empirical studies have been missing to investigate the effect of flipped instruction on language learners’ speaking skills. Besides, the current study aims to combine communicative language teaching and task-based language instruction with flipped Classroom Model. The impact of active learning and collaborative dialogue are also investigated through the research as well. Moreover, the review of research reveals that research does not exist that is investigating the impact of flipped instruction on students’ speaking skills development especially their fluency, accuracy, coherence, grammar,

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pronunciation and lexical knowledge. Besides, the effect of flipped instruction on English language teacher candidates has not been investigated in terms of their speaking skills development. In this context, the current research is significant to reveal the impact of flipped instruction on speaking skills development and language learners’ attitudes towards the innovative way of instruction. When, Turkey’s situation is considered as an EFL context, flipped instruction may provide more opportunity to develop language learners’ speaking skills. In this respect, the current research aims to find solutions the above mentioned problems.

As a recent instruction model flipped instruction provides new and innovative ways of learning experience to learners. Flipping the classrooms allow students to have more interactional classroom environments. On the contrary to traditional lecture based model flipped instruction reverses the content and homework. Thus, class times are spent with more interactional and productive activities. As a productive skill, speaking skills are fostered through practice and the nature of flipped instruction provides more practice and production opportunities to language learners. In this respect the current research is significant to provide an alternative way.

Research Questions

Current research is guided by four research questions. These questions are as follow; 1) Is there a statistically significant difference in the pre-test scores of the student teachers

in the experimental and control groups before the treatment process of the flipped Instruction based Oral Communication Skills I course?

2) Is there a statistically significant difference in the post-test scores of the student teachers in the experimental and control groups after the treatment process of the flipped Instruction based Oral Communication Skills I course?

3) Are there statistically significant differences in post-test scores of the student teachers in the experimental and control groups with regard to such dimensions of speaking skill as;

a) Fluency and Coherence b) Lexical Resource

c) Grammatical range and accuracy d) Pronunciation

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4) What are the student teachers’ perceptions towards flipped Instruction and flipped instruction based Oral Communication Skills I course in the experimental group?

Assumptions of the study

It is presumed that all of the participants in the study have same educational background before the treatment. It is also assumed that all the participants have not been exposed to flipped instruction before the investigation.

Limitations of the study

1. Current study is limited to freshman students who participate in Oral Communication Skills Course at English Language Teaching Department, Gazi University.

2. This study is limited to two classrooms of English Language Teaching Department, Gazi University in 2014-2015 academic years.

3. This study is limited to eight weeks treatment of flipped instruction for Oral Communication Skills I course.

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7 Definitions of Key Terms

Flipped instruction: Instructional model that uses technology to present course content through pre-prepared lecture videos. Besides, it changes lecture and homework in a reverse order.

Blended Learning: Learning way that is combining features of two or more instructional strategies or learning environments.

Learner Autonomy: The ability to take responsibility of one's own learning and responsibility to make decisions from all aspects of learning.

Instructional Technology: Designed to assist in the design and delivery of education.

Video Lecture & Learning Material: Materials were prepared and posted to web-based tutoring systems.

Communicative Language Teaching: CLT is an approach that aims to make speakers capabable of speaking in classroom and real-life. The main purpose is to encourage learners to talk in real life communications (Tanner and Green, 1998).

Communication Strategies: Strategies used to communicate when the learner lacks the necessary knowledge (Hedge, 2000, p. 407).

Fluency: Language learners’ ability to speak easily in communication not necessarily with grammatical correctness (Tanner and Green, 1998).

Accuracy: Language learners’ ability to communicate with grammatical correctness (Tanner and Green, 1998).

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SECTION TWO

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This section contains four parts which presents detailed information about flipped learning foreign language speaking skills and theoretical framework. The first part presents an overview of flipped learning and its features with related research. The second part presents nature of speaking skills and approaches to teaching speaking skills effectively. The third part presents detailed information about theoretical basis of educational technologies.

Part 1. Flipped Learning

Flipped classroom is a part of blended learning in which students have control over “time, place, path and/or pace” during their learning (Staker and Horn, 2012). Besides, they are active participants of the process (Arfstrom, Hamdan, Mcknight and Mcknight, 2013). However, flipped learning is different than Distance Learning or E-learning. While students learn contents completely online in Distance Learning and E-learning, students deliver the learning materials or video lectures through online delivery and they spend classroom hours to feedback and collaborative learning with teacher and peers in flipped learning. Flipping the classroom reinforces the idea that learning is not restricted with “brick-and-mortar location” establishments (Staker and Horn, 2012). Simple but clear definition is made by Lage, Platt, and Treglia (2000, p.32) “Inverting the classroom means that events that have traditionally taken place inside the classroom now take place outside the classroom and vice versa”. Bergman and Sams (2012) illustrate traditional classroom model and flipped classroom model in details. The illustration is presented below;

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Table 1. Comparison of class time in traditional versus flipped classroom.

Traditional Classroom Flipped Classroom

Activity Time Activity Time

Warp-up Activity 5 Min. Warp-up Activity 5 Min.

Go over previous night’s homework 20 Min. Q&A time on Video 10 Min.

Lecture new content 30-45

Min.

Guided or independent practice and/or lab activity

75 Min. Guided or independent practice and/or

lab activity

20-25 Min

Sams (2011) is one of founders of flipped classroom and he asserts that there is not a one way to flip the classroom. One can flip the classroom partly or as a whole. The main idea of flipping the classroom is that all active learning should be done in classroom hours and all passive learning can be done at home or wherever students want. As it is understood from the main idea flipped learning has its roots from social constructivism. As Bergman and Sams (2012) state that active learning has a key role in flipped classroom. Teacher and peers are in collaboration during active learning process. As Lambert (2013) says flipped learning is a stage in the evolution of blended learning and flipped learning is evolving continuously due to educators and students’ needs (Sams, 2011). The figure which is provided below explains the main idea of flipped classroom;

Figure 2. The classroom flips (Baker and Mentch, 2000).

As figure 4 presents flipped classroom model is an inverted version of traditional lectures. Flipped classroom model provides flexibility to both teacher and students that they tailor the curriculum and spend class time on production (Bergman and Sams, 2012). As flipped classroom model provides positive opportunities it has been used in various fields. When it is examined in related literature, it can be seen that flipped classroom approach has been

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used in various contexts successfully such as science (Bergman and Sams, 2012), math (Fulton, 2013; Johnson, 2007), in Language Arts (Fulton, 2013; Ullman, 2013) and in higher education contexts with pharmaceutical students (Ryan, 2013), statistics courses (Strayer, 2007), and cinema and TV arts students (Enfield, 2013).

According to Bergman and Sams (2012) there are various reasons to flip the classrooms. The reasons are as following;

Flipping Speaks the Language of Today’s Students

Students grew up with internet access to digital sources and able to use these digital sources whenever they want through smart devices (Bergman and Sams, 2012). Using video lectures or intelligent tutoring systems are not new for them. Moreover it is speaking the same language with the students (Bergman and Sams, 2012).

Flipping Helps Busy Students

In fact, flipped classroom provides learning flexibility to students. The students can reach the course content through videos whenever they want. Thus, students do not miss a unit or a lesson of the course because they have chance to watch the video or study the materials. Bergman and Sams (2012) state that busy students take advantage of flipped classroom. Flipping Helps Struggling Students

Bergman and Sams (2012) mention that generally most intelligent students ask questions and rest of the students stand passively and listen in traditional classrooms. However, when they started to use flipped classroom model, teachers’ role shifted to facilitator and mediator who have more time to help students in class times (Bergman and Sams, 2012).

Flipping Helps Students of all Abilities to Excel.

The flipped instruction is a very useful way to teach the students who need special education. Thus they can adjust their learning pace through the videos.

Flipping Allows Students to Pause and Rewind their Teacher.

Nearly all of the classrooms include students who have different learning and understanding pace. When the teacher lectures in traditional classrooms some students learn faster than others and they bored while other students need more time to understand. However, flipped classroom provides the chance to adjust learning pace to students. Thus they have control over the videos which represent course content.

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Flipping Increases Student to Teacher Interaction.

Teachers spend most of the class times with lectures and generally student-teacher interaction takes place in limited time. However, blended learning divides teaching-learning time into two parts. The first part provides online learning and the second part is face-to-face learning. Thus, students have chance to have more time for interaction and practice. According to Bergman and Sams (2012) flipping the classroom fosters interaction between students and teacher. Besides, they believe that teachers are cornerstone of students’ lives because they are mentor, facilitator and guide for them.

Flipping Allows Teachers to Know their Students Better.

As flipping the classroom enhances time for interaction between students and teachers, teachers have more time to know their students. Bergman and Sams (2012) states that teachers do not only teach the content at schools, they also encourage their students and to be a role model for them. A positive learning atmosphere is created through flipped classroom to provide better understanding between students and teacher.

Flipping Increases Student to Student Interaction.

Flipping the classroom increases time for overall interaction in teaching (Bergman and Sams, 2012). The interaction takes place in the form of student-student interaction, teacher-student interaction etc. As teacher’s role changed into facilitator, students interacts more in class times and they create groups to work together (Bergman and Sams, 2012). Besides, they help each other and learning becomes a culture of the learning environment.

Flipping Allows for Real Differentiation.

As it is mentioned in previous reasons that answer why we should use flipped learning in classrooms, flipped learning enables teachers to reach each and every students in the class times. The opportunity makes every student equal to interact with the teacher. Thus, teacher can communicate with struggling students in class.

Flipping Changes Classroom Management.

Teachers have to manage classroom in addition to lecture in traditional classrooms. Besides, bringing these two into balance is not an easy task for the teachers. However, in flipped classrooms disruptive behaviors decrease because teacher does not stand and lecture anymore. He/she is a guide and students work in pair of group work (Bergman and Sams, 2012).

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13 Flipping Changes the Way We Talk to Parents.

Flipping Educates Parents.

Educational videos can be watched with parents. They can get information about the course content and help the students at problematic points easily.

Flipping Makes Your Class Transparent.

In flipped classroom course contents are open to the students and their parents etc. Flipping is a Great Technique for Absent Teachers.

If teacher is absent for a private reason, students do not miss the class of the week. Thus, students can watch the videos.

Flipping can lead to The Flipped-Mastery Program.

Flipped-mastery is an advanced form of flipped learning. Thus students have the options for learning materials. Besides, they do not have to watch the video same day and they can adjust their own pace of learning.

As Bergman and Sams (2012) state flipped learning provides various opportunities for students, teachers and parents. In flipped classrooms, students learn the content at flexible, enriched and enjoyable learning environments. Teacher’s role changed into friendlier figure in the classroom. Besides, parents can support their children through the learning process because courses are more transparent than before. Stuntz (2012) mentions that flipped learning is related with time and attention concepts. As time shifted in flipped classroom, the roles of both students and teacher change. Students are not passive receiver of information anymore. On the contrary, they are active constructors of knowledge during the process. Teacher is not the information transmitter in the classroom. He/she helps students to understand the concepts better in class times. The second concept is attention which is directly related with flipped learning. As the role of students changes into more active constructor during the learning process, they have to be more attentive because they are responsible for their learning. In class time, students work in pairs or groups and it increases collaborative learning.

To sup up, related literature present positive issues about flipped learning. As it is mentioned before, it provides opportunities in terms of various aspects.

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14 The four pillars of flipped classroom

Flipped Learning Network (2013) carried out a research around related literature with flipped Learning and concluded that four pillars creates flipped classroom atmosphere and best practices for the approach. These pillars are flexible environment, learning culture, intentional content and professional educators (Hamdan, et al., 2013).

Pillar 1: Flexible Environment

As the name suggests flipped classroom provides flexible atmosphere for both students and teacher. Students learn course content at home or anywhere that they want. Thus, students have learning flexibility. According to Hamdan et al (2013) the classroom should be flexible to arrange environment for best practices. Teacher can create small group discussions, learning stations and presentation area while a group of students are discussing topic (Tétreault, 2006).

Pillar 2: Learning Culture

Flipped learning has its roots from active learning. As active learning makes learners active participants of learning process, learning becomes more permanent. As other active learning models, teacher provides immediate feedback to students, checking students’ work and brief instructions in flipped classroom culture (Bergmann and Sams, 2012). Thus, these roles that are assigned to teacher make learning environment more student-centered than teacher-centered (Tétreault, 2006).

Pillar 3: Intentional Content

In flipped classroom model, learning materials are presented through instructional videos and/or learning-teaching materials before the lesson with the help of media. However, using technology is not the main purpose of flipped classroom, it has role to support curriculum and active learning (Bergmann and Sams, 2012). According to important scholars of the field, videos should be created or selected carefully and present key points related with the course content (Sainani, 2013; Strayer, 2007). Otherwise, it will be a drawback for learning.

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Pillar 4: Professional Educators

As mentioned before, flipped classroom is based on student-centered, collaborative and active learning; educators have a significant role to design the course content, outcomes and objectives (Hamdan et al., 2013). As Headden (2013) states ‘the question is not really whether online instruction is a superior medium in and of itself. The Department of Education’s survey found that success with online-learning depended on time spent on instruction, as well as the quality of the curriculum and pedagogy. In other words, it is not just the technology that counts: it is what educators do with it (Tétreault, 2006).

Related Research with Flipped Instruction

As flipped instruction is a recent teaching and learning approach, both qualitative and quantitative research are limited in related literature. In this part, flipped instruction based research is presented that carried out in other fields and language pedagogy.

When related literature is examined it can be seen that flipped instruction is used various fields such as mathematics, engineering, statistics and language pedagogy. However, research is quite limited for each field. Firstly, Bishop (2013) carried out a controlled study of a sophomore-level numerical methods course using video lectures and model-eliciting activities (MEAs) in a quasi-experimental model research. The results show that there was no difference between sections on conceptual understanding and average exam scores. However, homework scores were significant. A Master of Education thesis has been carried out by Tétreault in 2006 that examines three case studies. The case studies investigate students’ engagement, differentiated instructions and community belonging issues in flipped classroom. The researcher states that flipped classroom model has been implemented in secondary or post-secondary education. However, implementation in primary education has not been investigated or presented (Tétreault, 2006). A doctoral dissertation is written by Strayer in 2007 that is an example for the implementation of flipped classroom in Mathematics education. Strayer uses a mixed method in his research through experimental model. The results show students in flipped classroom are less satisfied with the classroom structure (2007). Similar to Strayer’s research, Overmyer (2014) has carried out an investigation on students’ achievement in algebra course which has been taught in flipped classroom. In Overmyer’s quasi-experimental quantitative research, the results show that there is not a significant difference between groups. However, a slight difference exists.

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Another research has been fulfilled by Jhonson (2013) who focused on students’ perceptions of flipped classroom. The study covers three math classrooms students in a high school which utilizes flipped instruction in math lessons. The research uses both qualitative and quantitative data to get deeper understanding of students’ perceptions. The researcher concludes three major results at the end of the study. The first result is that students do less homework in flipped classroom, students enjoyed the learning environment and they benefitted from the video lessons. A similar research to Jhonson’s study has been carried out by Snowden in 2012. Snowden investigates teachers’ perceptions of flipped classroom. Snowden interviewed with eight core teachers who use flipped classroom in their courses and the results show that teachers have positive perceptions towards the instruction. Another research has been carried out by Davies, Dean and Ball (2013). The purpose of the research was to explore how flipping can be used to teach technological skills. The researchers utilized quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test administration. The conclusion of the study is that technology enhanced flipped classroom was both effective and scalable. It was more effective than simulation-based training. In addition, students thought that the approach was more motivating and allowing them in terms of differentiation.

Engin (2014) carried out a research in which the researcher combined flipped instruction with second language writing skills. The researcher expected students to create their own videos on second language writing skills. The aim of the research is to make students active participants of learning process. Study shows that student-created videos promoted learning and accuracy in English.

Ekmekçi (2014) investigated the effects of flipped Classroom on EFL students’ writing skills development. The researcher carried out his study during one semester with two ELT Preparatory Classes at School of Foreign Languages, 19 Mayıs University. In his research, the researcher aimed to investigate the effectiveness of flipped instruction on language learners’ writing skills development. The research had both qualitative and quantitative data and it was mixed in its nature. Ekmekçi (2014) aimed to teach how to write effectively in four paragraph types. Pre-prepared videos were used in this research. The results of the study show that Flipped Writing Class Model is more effective than traditional lecture-based writing.

Başal (2012) carried out a research about the implementation of flipped instruction into Advanced Reading and Writing I course at Foreign Languages Education Department in

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Yıldız Technical University. Başal concludes that participants have positive perceptions about the new instruction model.

Part 2: Foreign Language Speaking Skills

Communicative Competence

Communicative competence is the most essential piece of language which enables learners to speak that language. According to Shumin (1997) learning to speak a foreign language efficiently requires ones to develop communicative competence. Communicative competence is defined as the ability to “convey and interpret messages and to negotiate meanings interpersonally within specific contexts” (Brown, 1994, p. 227). Communicative competence is comprised of grammatical competence, discourse competence, socio-linguistic competence and strategic competence. Grammatical competence refers to a learner’s mastery of certain grammatical elements, such as morphology, syntax, vocabulary and mechanics (Shumin, 1997). In speaking, mechanics is associated with the sounds, pronunciation, and intonation and stress patterns of a particular language (Scarcellaand Oxford,cited in Shumin, 1997).

Discourse competence is the knowledge of conveying messages as a coherent whole (Brown, 1994).Socio-linguistic competence is associated with a learner’s ability to decide the appropriate uses of language in accordance with social context (Brown, 1994).Strategic competence is the ability of learners to keep up communication despite some insufficiencies that they may have (Brown, 1994).

Communication Strategies

Some strategies help language speakers to maintain communication effectively within a meaningful way. Communication strategies refer to output that how speaker productively convey the message and we deliver messages to others (Brown, 2007). As Tarone (1983) points out comprehension and production occur at the same time. As it was mentioned before speaking is a dynamic and complicated skill that consists of sub-skills, some strategies help to convey the message between sender and receiver. Communication strategies are defined as "potentially conscious plans for solving what an individual presents itself as a problem in reaching a particular communicative goal" by Faerch and Kasper (1983, p.36). As, the

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scholars focus that speaker use communication strategies consciously. Communication strategies are presented below which are presented by Brown (2007, adapted from Dörnyei, 1995, p.58). Avoidance strategies means incomplete message because of language deficiency. There are two types of avoidance strategies. These are message abandonment and topic avoidance. The message is left incomplete because of language deficiency in message abandonment. In other strategy, the speaker refrains from some topics because of language difficulty. Compensatory strategies include circumlocution, approximation, use of all-purpose words, word coinage, prefabricated patterns, nonlinguistic signals, literal translation, foreignizing, code-switching and appeal for help strategies. Circumlocution strategy means describing or exemplifying an action or object. Approximation is using alternative terms that have similar meaning with the targeted word. Use of all-purpose words is using empty lexical items such as "thing". Word coinage is making none existing L2 words such as vegetarianist for vegetarian. Prefabricated patterns is using memorized stock phrases, usually for "survival" purposes for example "Where is the, or Comment allez -vous?" where the morphological components are not known to the learner. Nonlinguistic signals include body movements, mimics or facial expressions. Literal translation is transfering L1 words into L2. Foreignizing is using L1 words with L2 phonology. Similar to foregnizing code-switching is using an L1 word with L 1 pronunciation. The last strategy is appeal for help that is asking for help from the interlocutor either directly or indirectly. Stalling or time-gaining strategies are using fill error hesitation devices to fill pauses and to gain time to think such as using well, now let's see, uh, as a matter of fact etc.

The Nature of Speaking Skills

Today, knowing a language refers to being able to speak in that language (Ur, 1996), and thus, speaking seems much more important than the other skills such as listening, reading and writing skills in second language learning (Egan, 1999; Ur, 1996). As one of the important component of language, speaking skill has a great role in use of language. In general, speaking skills may be defined as “the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts” (Chaney and Burke, 1998, p.13). More concrete description of speaking skill is provided by Valette (1977) that speaking is a social skill which requires a speaker, a listener and interaction. Valette (1977) gives the example that one can read and write alone, or listen to a radio, however, cannot talk. In this context;

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...The teaching and learning of speaking are vital part of any language education classroom; not only does the spoken language offer ‘affordances’ for learning the main communicative medium of the classroom, but it is also important component of syllabus content and learning outcomes (Burns, 2012, p.165).

As Nunan (1991, p.39) states that “according to most people, mastering the art of speaking is the single most important aspect of learning a second or foreign language, and success is measured in terms of the ability to carry out a conversation in the language”. However, developing speaking skills in a foreign language is highly complicated and complex process which comprises of various issues. According to Shumin (2002) learning to speak a foreign language is more than knowing its structure or semantic rules. Besides, a more complicated factor is that when the spoken language focuses on language classroom activities, teacher aims to help students to practice some aspects of linguistic knowledge such as application of a phonemic regularity. Furthermore, teacher may also focus on production skills, socio-linguistic or pragmatic point (Hughes, 2002). All in all, speaking is complex and dynamic skill that includes simultaneous processes such as cognitive, physical and socio-cultural – and a speaker’s knowledge (Burns, 2012). In this respect, speaking is called as “combinatorial skill” by Johnson (cited in Burns, 2012). Regarded as a “productive skill”, (Celce-Murcia, 2001; Harmer, 2007; Torky, 2006), speaking skill is comprised of sub-skills that are classified and emphasized in different categories by scholars. Bygate (2001) categorizes sub-skills into three categories as 1) interaction skills, 2) negotiation skills and 3) production skills. Interaction skills refer making decisions about communication. Second sub-skills are categorized as negotiation skills. Negotiation skills are divided into two categories, negotiation of meaning and management of interaction. The third skills are production skills that are related with produced language pieces in spoken form. Another categorization is made by Goh and Burns (2012) that includes three dimensions. Goh and Burns (2012) point out that second language speaking competence is comprised of knowledge of language and discourse, core speaking skills and communication strategies. They schematize the components as follows;

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Figure 3. Second language speaking competence sub-skills (Goh and Burns, 2012) Each sub-skill is explained in details;

...The first component, Knowledge of Language and Discourse, requires mastering the sound patterns of the language (in English and Swedish, this refers to being able to pronounce the language intelligibly at segmental and suprasegmentally levels), knowing the grammar and vocabulary of the language (spoken structures, grammatical features, lexis) and understanding how stretches of connected speech (discourse, genre) are organized, so that they are socially and pragmatically appropriate (register). Core Speaking Skills means developing the ability to process speech quickly to increase fluency (e.g. speech rate, chunking, pausing, formulaic language, discourse markers). It also involves being able to negotiate speech (e.g. building on previous utterances, monitoring understanding, repairing communication breakdown, giving feedback), as well as managing the flow of speech as it unfolds(e.g. initiating topics, turn-taking, signaling intentions, opening/closing conversations). The third component, Communication Strategies, involves developing cognitive strategies to compensate for limitations in language knowledge(e.g. circumlocution, paraphrasing, gestures, word coinage, approximation, avoidance), meta cognitive strategies (e.g. planning in advance what to say, thinking consciously about how you say something), and interaction strategies (e.g. asking for clarification/repetition, reformulating, rephrasing, and checking comprehension) (Burn,2012, pp.167-168)

Similar to Goh and Burns’ categorization, Florez (cited in Torky, 2006, p.15) focuses on following skills which are underlying speaking skills;

 Grammar rules should be used in an accurate way.

Second

language

speaking

competence

Knowledge of

language and

discourse

Core speaking

skills

Communication

strategies

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 Evaluating the characteristics of interlocutors, including shared informations, relations or perspectives.

 Using appropriate words in appropriate settings that interlocutors can understand in communication settings.

 Using communication strategies to ensure understanding of message that is conveyed by rephrasing, checking the receiver’s understanding and drawing attention to interaction.  Adjusting speech components such as rate of speech, grammar structures and vocabulary

to maximize audience’ comprehension.

Another classification of sub-skills in speaking skill is made by Burkart (1998). According to Burkart speaking consists of three areas of knowledge. As the first area, language learners need to know how to use the right words in the right order with the correct pronunciation. Secondly, they should be aware of the openness of message while speaking for information exchange and that precise understanding is not required while speaking for relationship building. Thirdly, language learners need to know social and cultural rules and norms that is essential to carry out appropriate communication.

As it is clear from the each categorization that scholars focus on knowledge areas which are essential for speaking skill in different words but all of them state the same sub-skills. Johnson (1996, p.155) emphasizes that speaking “involves doing various things at the same time”. So, it is obvious that spoken language is quite different from written language. The differences between spoken and written language is presented by Burns (2012) as follows;

Table 2. Spoken and Written Language: Typical Features

Spoken language Written language

Basic unit is the clause (utterance) Basic unit is the sentence Clauses linked by conjunction(and, but, so etc.) to

build the text

Clauses linked by subordination (who, which, when etc.) to build the text

Frequent use of formulaic chunks (I was lucky enough)

Little use of formulaic language Informal language preferred (we used to get

together)

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Table 2. (continued). Spoken and Written Language: Typical Features

Spoken language Written language

Range of noticeable performance effects(hesitations, pauses, repeats, false starts, incompletion)

Few/no noticeable performance effects Frequent use of ellipsis (omission of grammatical

elements, started at the same time)

Little use of ellipsis

Frequent use of personal pronouns (I, we) Little use of personal pronouns (Burns, 2012, p.170)

Despite, speaking skill’s major importance, it has been neglected in schools and universities (Egan, 1999). Besides, teaching speaking still remains a challenge for many teachers (Burns, 2012). In related literature, it is possible to see various reasons for ignoring and neglecting speaking skills in foreign language classrooms. According to Ur (1996) speaking skill is neglected due to teachers’ focusing on other skills, difficulty of designing and administering speaking activities. Shumin (2002) states difficulty of speaking a language is the reason for the ignoring speaking skills. According to Dörnyei (2005) anxiety and motivational factors are the reasons for ignoring. Yılmaz Yakışık (2012) mentions lack of testing and evaluation of speaking can be counted among reasons. Considering Turkey as an EFL context, teaching speaking skill is often neglected by language teachers. According to Ozsevik (2010) English language teachers’ own speaking deficiency is one of the reasons for neglecting speaking skill. Besides, Özkan (2013) mentions limited teaching hours within academic year and limitation of time that is devoted to preparing speaking tasks and its administration in language classrooms. In addition Kırkgöz (2008) mentions teachers’ transmission-based educational culture and large classrooms are the reasons for the lack of communicative activities in foreign language classrooms. As it is mentioned, there are various reasons for neglecting and ignoring speaking skills in language classrooms. Belhan Dursun (2014) focuses on the problems with speaking instruction that are obstacles to develop speaking skills. According to Belhan Dursun (2014) there are five major problems exist in speaking instruction. These problems are provided below;

 Mixed ability classes: mixed ability students study at same class.

 The arrangement of the classroom: sitting arrangement does not provide the possibility of communication with other peers.

 The lack of material: lack of well-prepared materials with enriched contents.

 The effect of the mother tongue: teachers’ and students’ use of mother tongue in language classrooms.