A Content Analysis of the Studies on the Use of Flipped Classrooms in Foreign Language Education

Abstract

Teaching foreign languages via flipped classrooms, in which the typical elements of a course are reversed, has been a
popular pedagogy recently as the modern digital technology is flourishing unprecedentedly. The aim of this study is
to review a selected sample of 50 studies on flipped classroom instruction in foreign language education published
from 2014 to 2018 in Turkey and abroad. A content analysis was conducted for each study in terms of study years,
study types, study locations, foreign languages taught, language skills taught, research methods, sampling, data tools,
data analysis procedure and variables through a ‘Research Classification Form’. Results showed that studies were
done mostly as articles in 2016 in 14 countries mostly in Turkey using quantitative research designs commonly. In
these studies, flipped classroom instruction was implemented for teaching all skills of English as a foreign language.
Samples generally consisted of higher education students with lower than 50 as a sample size. In these studies, as
quantitative data collection tools, achievement tests were utilized and as for analysis procedures, mean and standard
deviation were used predominantly. Additionally, the variables of Attitudes towards Foreign Language Lessons,
Academic Performance, Perceptions, and Writing Performance were frequently researched. The findings obtained
from this study are expected to contribute to future studies conducted on flipped classrooms in foreign language
teaching.