Innovation in Language Learning

In the arena of foreign languages, authorities affirm that the time of exposure is crucial to achieve a certain level of expertise. Since high-quality education and the face-to-face lessons are not sufficient to learn the target language, an approach as Flipped Learning surfaced to provide learners with the independent study time, often needed for better results. Therefore, this paper focuses on the experience of implementing the Class Preparation Session (The CPS hereafter) as a Flipped Learning strategy in an EFL university program in Colombia. The study looks at about 3,000 students a semester who have participated during the last three years. Participants were exposed to the CPS, and, as a result, increased their self-direction in language learning. When comparing the previous strategies with the CPS, in a sample of 430 participants, preliminary results showed that the students’ independent work increased by 33%, under the same conditions of evaluation. Similarly, teachers state that classes are now more student-centered, promoting active learning.  Besides, considering the large-scale coverage of participants, the academic team has created about 600 resources such as videos, online quizzes, audios, reading passages, and other scaffolded activities throughout the three-year implementation. In the session, attendees will be provided with examples of the institutional made materials, as well as the procedures that English level Coordinators and teachers follow to plan their classes. Finally, some key points, best practices and successful strategies will be shared as to why Flipped Learning is an efficient approach to implement in higher educational language programs. 

Keywords: flipped learning; blended learning; active learning; Independent work; learner autonomy; student-centeredness;