Exploring pre-class and in-class activities in English language teaching: A systematic review of the flipped classroom approach

Abstract

Flipped classroom is considered an effective teaching approach, and numerous systematic reviews and meta-analyses have been conducted to highlight its trends. However, there are very few review articles focusing on the perspectives of its pre-class and in-class activities in English language teaching. Thus, this paper presents a systematic review of the flipped classroom in English language teaching from the perspectives of its pre-class and in-class activities. Meanwhile, the trend of focus of the flipped classroom approach in English language teaching, the technological platforms used, and the level of education and language skills in a flipped classroom are reviewed systematically. A total of 69 published articles were analysed through content analysis. The results indicate that various activities were conducted for pre-class (e.g. watching videos, answering comprehension questions and reading tasks) and in-class (e.g. discussions, question and answer sessions, collaborative and group activities). Different technological platforms used and their features, as well as the trend of the flipped classroom, are also discussed in this paper. Lastly, it is recommended that more studies on primary learners are essential for future studies.