Flipping EFL Reading Comprehension Classes: Students’ Learning Achievement and Perceptions

Abstract

Recent English as a foreign language (EFL) research has focused on flipped learning as one of the innovative teaching methods for enhancing language learning quality. Given this recent attention, this study examines the impact of the flipped classroom method on EFL students’ reading comprehension. With the use of quasi-experimental mixed method design, a total of 211 EFL students from a Vietnamese university were randomly divided into groups engaged in flipped learning (n = 111) and traditional learning (n = 100). A variety of data sources were used to triangulate the findings. These included a reading comprehension diagnostic test, pre- and post-reading comprehension tests, EFL flipped questionnaire, an institutional feedback survey, and focus group discussions. The post-reading comprehension test results showed that student learning with the flipped classroom method significantly outperformed their counterparts in the traditional group. The students also had positive perceptions of the flipped classroom, increasing their learning motivation, learning autonomy, learning engagement, satisfaction, and effectiveness.