The Effect of Flipped Model of Instruction on EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension: Learners’ Attitudes in Focus

The present study aimed at investigating the effect of flipped model of instruction on EFL learners’ reading comprehension ability. Moreover, this study aimed at identifying EFL students’ attitudes toward flipped model of instruction. To this end, 60 EFL learners studying at an accredited private language institute in Isfahan were first conveniently sampled and were homogenized through a sample of PET. 50 EFL learners within age range of 19 to 25 were selected for the study and equally assigned into two groups-experimental and group. A researcher-made reading comprehension test was given to the participants as the pretest of the study. The experimental group received flipped model of instruction, whereas the control group received traditional model of instruction. At the end of the study, the researcher-made reading comprehension test was administered to the two groups of the study as their posttest. Moreover, in order to identify the EFL students’ attitude towards the flipped model of instruction, the participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on flipped model of instruction developed primarily by Elfatah and Ahmed (2016). The results of ANCOVA revealed that flipped model of instruction had a significant positive effect on the reading comprehension ability of EFL students. Moreover, the results of frequency analyses indicated that EFL students in the experimental group had positive attitude towards attitude flipped model of instruction and agreed that it was helpful to them in many ways. The results and implications of the study are discussed in more detail in the paper.


Introduction
Reading comprehension is the process of obtaining and constructing meaning from written text.The reader has to create a mental representation of the text, or, a model which is the combination of text information and the reader's prior knowledge (Kintsch, 1988(Kintsch, , 2012;;Van Dijk & Kintsch, 1983).According to Nasri and Biria (2016), reading plays a pivotal role in language learning and is an essential skill for successful functioning of EFL learners in the tertiary level of education.Moreover, Yee (2010) believes that the ability to read helps readers to feel confident when they are reading an English book.Also, reading aids learners to feel successful in accessing information from the targeted sources used in educational contexts.On the other hand, according to Celce-Murcia (2001, p. 187) "not being able to either read or comprehend will result in a deep sense of detachment and uselessness".
Reading comprehension is a complex process between identifying printed symbols and interpreting the meaning behind the symbols.Some factors affect reading comprehension skill such as complexity of the reading text, environmental influences, anxiety during reading comprehension, interest and motivation, decoding or word recognition speed, and medical problems (Dennis, 2008).One of the newest trends which is set to assumed to have an impact on reading comprehension in language learning is flipped instructional strategy.
The flipped classroom is known by various names including the inverted classroom, blended learning and more simply, the flip (Bergmann & Sams, 2013).In this model, the traditional practice of spending class time which was devoted to direct instruction and doing content related activities for homework is "flipped", so that students receive instructional resources at home, and class time is freed up for other instructional activities.As pointed out by Milman (2012, p. 85) The idea is that rather than taking up valuable class time for an instructor to introduce a concept (often via lecture), the instructor can create a video lecture, screencast, or vodcast that teaches students the concept, freeing up valuable class time for more engaging (and often collaborative) activities typically facilitated by the instructor.

Flourishing Creativity & Literacy
Flipped model of instruction is a relatively new teaching strategy attempting to move the lecture outside of class, usually delivered through some electronic means, and transferring the application assignments, formerly homework, into the classroom (Educause, 2012).The main focus of this strategy is to expand students' engagement, fortifying of group based aptitudes, personalized student guidance, classroom discussion, and creative freedom of faculty while maintaining a standardized modules (Millard 2012).Using this inductive approach, Tucker (2012) stated class becomes the place to "work through problems, advance concepts, and engage in collaborative learning" (p.82).Such use of class time could potentially provide students with the opportunity to learn how to think for themselves by being actively engaged in the learning content.
According to Baker (2000), Toto, and Nguyen (2009), the delivery of the "lecture" prior to coming to class is the first step in the flipped classroom model.In class, students are prepared to take part in the collaborative situation the teacher has designed because the background knowledge has been created before the class.In 2010, Cherry suggested that blended learning involves a shift in strategy in three areas: from teacher-centered to student-centered learning, from limited to high interactions between students and resources.The concept is gaining popularity, due to the widespread use of technology in education which provide the opportunity for teachers to accomplish the flip such as iTunes, YouTube, and Learning Management Systems (LMS).
Just as twenty-first century students are comfortable with electronic devices, they also keen on learning in social contexts and collaborative activities.Shroff and Vogel (2009) believed that it is important to look for clues as to how elearning technologies can influence greatly on learning process and increase collaborative learning as well as tools for redesigning our learning and instructional systems.(Songhao, Saito, Maeda, & Kubo, 2011).Many theoretical and empirical support has been found for the benefits of collaborative, learning activities (Jarvela, Volet, & Jarvenoja, 2010).Collaborative learning makes students to work together.From many teachers' vantage point, A common obstacle to the implementation of collaborative learning activities in the classroom time limitation (Barak & Shakhman, 2008).The flipped classroom model frees up class time by moving instruction from class to home so that the teacher is able to supervise collaborative learning experiences (Songhao et al., 2011).
Todays, a growing number of higher education individual faculties have begun using the flipped model in their courses due to its many advantages.Instructors of all kinds tout the benefits of the flipped model, including efficient use of class time (Cole, 2009), more active learning opportunities for students (Gannod, Burge & Helmick, 2007), more interaction between student and teacher (Lage, Platt, & Treglia, 2000).Moreover, Fulton (2012) notes that Flipped Classrooms allow students to move at their own pace, access instruction at any time, benefit from better used classroom time, and etc.According to Boucher, Robertson, Wainner, and Sanders (2013), the issue of using time differently in this model is associated with many potential benefits: having more time for interaction and clarification , more time to understand concepts deeply, and more time for additional learning purposes.
Another often cited merits of flipped classrooms have been presented by Educause (2012) who believed that such classrooms bring a change in emphasis from instructor responsibility for student learning to increased student responsibility.In fact, students in this model generally have a more active role and ultimate responsibility for their learning (Gallagher, 2009).Indubitably students would be able to direct their own learning in the very near future.Flipping the classroom can help students learn to take more responsibility for their own learning (Laman, Brannon, & Mena, 2012).This autonomy also means that student learning diversity can be supported.Therefore, students who need time to review information or to pause and process can do so, while students who are ready to move on to the next concept can do so right away.
Meanwhile, not all teachers who flip find success and there are critics to this approach.Milman (2012) notes several concerns with the Flipped Classroom, such as poor quality video production, conditions in which the students view the video, inability to monitor comprehension and provide just-in-time information when needed, and use with second language learners or students with learning disabilities.Moreover, teachers concern that their role will be diminished, the students engage with the out-of-class instruction will not be interactive anymore, a lack of responsibility for students to complete the out-of-class instruction, and more cost and time needed to create instructional materials (Mull, 2012).
It is interesting to note that the flipped classroom model in EFL contexts and its impact on learning have often been the focus of research in many studies in recent years.As an illustration, Basal (2015) conducted a research to investigate the perceptions of prospective English language teachers at a state university in Turkey on flipped classrooms and to introduce the implementation of a flipped classroom into an English language class.To this end, 47 English teachers participated in the study.A qualitative research design was used and data were collected via an open-ended question.Findings of the study showed the positive perceptions of teachers toward the use of flipped classroom as an integral part of face to face courses.Finally, it was concluded that flipped classroom had some advantages in terms of 4 categories based on the content analysis of the responses: learning at students' own pace, advance student preparation, controlling the limitations of class time, increasing the students' engagements in the classroom.
In a different study, Al-Harbi and Alshumaimeri (2016) conducted a research to investigate the impact of flipped classrooms strategy in teaching English grammar on secondary school students' performances, perceptions, and attitudes toward learning English independently.In this way, the researcher made avaialble instructional videos on the Edmodo site prior to each lesson to provide active learning interactions.The total 43 students were divided into 2 groups as experimental and control groups.the experimental group (n = 20) were asked to watch the videos to learn by themselves before the class.They also practiced what they had learned under the instructor's supervision by completing their tasks in groups or pairs.Meanwhile, the control group students received in-class only traditional teaching.Finally, the post-test was administered and the results showed that the flipped classroom strategy play a key role in improving the students' grammar performances, but this difference was not statistically significant.The obtained results from students' responses to a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews revealed that their attitudes' towards flipped classroom in the EFL class were positive.Enfield (2013), applied flipped classroom in two classes at California State University Northridge to investigate the effectiveness of this instructional approach.To this end 50 students in total participated in this study during the spring 2013 semester.Also, 40 lessons were created for students'instruction outside of the classroom.At the end, a survey data was collected from all students to investigate any relationships between students' performance in class and their survey responses.Based on the findings, most of the comments made by students about the course were generally very positive.Several students expressed that they learned Much better and it appeared that students benefitted from the flipped classroom approach.Most students found instructional videos helpful, engaging, and appropriately challenging.
In another study, Abaeian and Samadi (2016) examined the effect of flipped classroom on Iranian EFL learners' L2 reading comprehension with different Proficiency level.In this regard, the study was carried out among 100 females EFL learners.The participants were divided into experimental and control groups.Firstly, a pre-test was administered and after 18 sessions of treatment, the post test was given to learners.Finally, by comparing the results, it was inferred that the experimental group performed significantly better than the control group.Also, the intermediate learners benefit from flipped technique more than upper intermediate learners.
Samah and Saka (2016) explored the effect of flipped classroom instruction on EFL freshman university students' listening comprehension.To this end, 25 university students participated at this study as experimental group and a pre/post listening comprehension test was administered.After pre-testing the participants in listening comprehension, they were taught listening through the flipped learning based model.To this end, some listening strategies were taught through the flipped learning instruction.Finally, statistical analysis indicated learners' level of listening comprehension significantly improved after receiving the flipped model of instruction.Hsieh, Wu, and Marek (2016), explored the benefits of the flipped classroom model for learners of English as a Foreign Language.The participants were 48 sophomore majored in English in two required English Oral Training classes for learning various English idioms.inthis regard a mixed research method was used including a pre-and post-tests on idioms, two questionnaires, the teachers' in-class observations, and semi-structured focus-group interviews.Finally, the results revealed that flipped classroom motivated the participants to learn English idioms and improved their oral ability.Moreover, it enhanced the participants' idiomatic knowledge and oral ability.At last, it engaged the participants in the learning tasks, making them more active in the classroom Similarly, Wu, Hsieh, and Yang (2016), conducted a research to examine the impact of an online learning community in a flipped classroom, specifically via mobile platforms, on EFL learners' oral proficiency and student perceptions.Fifty sophomores at the university in central Taiwan participated in this study.Data were collected via different tools including, pre-and post-test, questionnaire, interview.After analyzing the data, the results revealed that the online learning community encoureged meaningful and positive collaboration as well as enhanced the participants' oral proficiency, which result in more active engagement in highly interactive learning activities, such as storytelling, dialogue collaboration, class discussion, and group presentations.
In general, studies suggest that the flipped classroom strategy positively affects students' performance and proficiency levels in various areas of English language.According to Hung (2015), flipped instructional model in English classes develops students' academic performance in general.However, being a relatively new trend, there seems to be little rigorous research done to measure the effects of this pedagogy (Goodwin & Miller, 2013) especially on four essential skills in language learning including: writing, listening, reading, and speaking.In this vein the purpose of the present study is to investigate the impact of flipped learning on reading skill.Also, this study aimed at exploring the perceptions of Iranian EFL learners toward filliped instructional model.On this basis the main research questions of the present study were: RQ1: Does flipped model of instruction have any statistically significant effect on EFL learners' reading comprehension?RQ2: What are Iranian EFL learners' perceptions on implementing the flipped model of instruction?

Participants
Initially, a total number of 60 EFL learners studying at an accredited private language institiute in Isfahan took an English proficiency test (PET).The results of the standardized English proficiency test led to the deletion of 10 of the participants whose test scores surpassed one standard deviation above and below the mean.Therefore, 50 EFL students within age range of 19 to 25 participated in the study.Afterwards, the subjects were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups, with 25 students in each group.

Instruments
The first instrument used in this study was a Cambridge Preliminary English Test (PET) as an English general language proficiency test.It was applied to homogenize the participants in terms of their general language proficiency at the beginning of the study.This instrument covers the four main language skills, namely, reading (35 items), writing (7 items), listening (25 items) and speaking (an interview including four parts).This test is mostly used for intermediatelevel learners and is compatible with language proficiency level of most Iranian English learners (Rahimi, 2009).
Secondly, a reading comprehension test administered to the participants twice, once as a pre-test before embarking the study to ensure the homogeneity, and comparability of the learners' reading comprehension ability in each group prior to the treatment and another time as a post-test at the end of the study.The test was constructed by the researchers and related to the topics of the students' textbook taught in the class during the semester.The test consisted of 30 multiplechoice items included 4 passages with average readability index 0.89 through KR-21 method which shows the consistency of the test.In addition, in order to measure the validity, a reading comprehension section of the TOEFL was given to the participants.Students' scores of this test and the pre-test were correlated and the validity index was 0.84.It was understood that the test also was in an acceptable level of concurrent validity.
Finally, a questionnaire was used to evaluate the students' perceptions on flipped model of instruction.The questionnaire was previously used by Elfatah and Ahmed (2016) to measure the students 'attitude toward flipping and whether flipping can improve writing skills or not.The researchers revised the questionnaire according to the requirements of the study.The questionnaire is consisted of 22 items and each item has a five-point-Likert format: (5) Strongly Agree (SA), ( 4) Agree (A), ( 3) Neutral (N), ( 2) Disagree (D), and (1) Strongly Disagree (SD).In order to preserve face validity, the items on the questionnaire were given to three experienced researchers to check for lack of ambiguity.Using Cronbach alpha, the reliability of this instrument in the present study was estimated to be 0.91.

Materials
For the purpose of this study, the reading section of one English textbook, that is, Four Corners, Book 2 (Richards & Bohlke, 2012) was utilized which contains 12 units.Each unit in Four Corners contains four subsections: "A, B, C, and D" -each subsection has its own learning objectives.Each unit in Four Corners ends with a Wrap-up page that the authors claim that consolidates the grammar, vocabulary, and functional language from the unit and encourages learners to use different sources from the real world to learn more about a topic of interest.The authors also uphold that integration of skills has been considered.

Procedure
The total sessions of the study were 15 sessions (two days a week).One session was devoted to PET proficiency test, one to pre-test, and one to post-test and finally 12 sessions were devoted to treatment of the study.In conducting this study, the following procedures were followed: A total number of 60 EFL students in an accredited private language in Isfahan were given an English general language proficiency test adopted from a Cambridge Preliminary English Test (PET) in order to homogenize the participants in terms of their general language proficiency.Ten learners whose scores fell one standard deviation above and below the mean were deleted.Afterward, the random selection procedure initiated with assigning 50 Iranian EFL learners randomly into two groups of 25, namely experimental and control groups.
Secondly, a reliable and validated pre-test was administered on control and experimental groups and their scores were recorded for later analysis.The test was constructed by the researchers and related to the topics of the students' textbook taught in the class during the semester.Its admibistartion took approximately an hour.
The experimental group received the treatment condition for their reading instruction.The treatment condition comprised of 4 reading instructional videos created by the instructor in which the instructor covered 4 reading passages that was going to be taught during the semester.Instructional videos were made available to students in advance.First, prior to class, students were expected to watch one video lesson (approximately 1 hour of video).Second, during class, students were provided in class activities to reflect on, discuss, and practice what they had learned.Because students were expected to already know the content, the instructor was able to rely on students to explain what to do to complete the task.
The control group did not receive any treatment.The instruction in the control groups followed traditional way of reading instruction.Finally, in last session, the posttest was administered to both the experimental and control groups in order to see whetehr flipped model of instruction had any statistically significant effect on EFL learners' reading comprehension.In addition, using a separate questionnaire, the participants in the experimental group were asked to give their opinions about the use of flipped learning.Using SPSS Version 20, the dataanalysese were carried out.

Results
The present study aimed at examining the effects of flipped model of instruction on reading comprehension of Iranian EFL students.Moreover, this study attempted to identift EFL students attitudes towards flipped mode of instruction.In the present study, the independent variable was the flipped model of instruction and the dependent variable was reading comprehension.Moreover, participants' pretest scores on reading comprehension were used as the covariate in this analysis.
Concerning the first research question 'Does flipped model of instruction have any statistically significant effect on EFL learners' reading comprehension?',ANCOVA was run.Table 1 showes the descriptive statestices of the obtained scores of both gropus in the posttest.As is evident in Table 2 above, the main treatment effect has been significant [ (1, 47) =114.98,=0.00, <0.05, =0.71].So, it can be concluded that the group (independent variable, i.e., flipped model of instruction) had positive effect on the dependent variable (Iranian EFL students' reading comprehension).
Regarding the second question of the study 'What are Iranian EFL learners' perceptions on implementing the flipped model of instruction?',frequency analyses were run.Table 3 shows the descriptive statistics of EFL students' attitude on the flipped model of instruction.As is evident in Table 3, the means of the questionnaire's directional items ranged from 3.60 to 4.20 which indicates that most of the EFL students had positive attitude towards flipped model of instruction, and agreed that flipped model of instruction would be helpful in improving their reading comprehension ability.With reference to item 9 (Item 9: I understand more when the teacher explains in class), which was a non-directional item, the findings also showed that 35% of the students strongly disagreed, and 50% of them disagreed.Moreover, concerning another non-directional item of the questionnaire (Item 17: The best way to learn reading is to have my teacher lecture on it in class), the findings also showed that 40% of the students strongly disagreed, and 55% of them disagreed.In other words, the findings in this regard also indicated the positive attitude toward the flipped model of instruction.

Discussion
This study sought to explore the impact of flipped model of instruction on EFL learners reading comprehenstion along with exploring the EFL learners' attitude toward the mentioned model.The first research question intented to examine whether flipped model of instruction have any statistically significant effect on EFL learners' reading comprehension.The findings of the study indicated flipped model of instruction had a significant positive effect on EFL students' reading comprehension development.
This significant finding might be due to different reasons.One of the possible explanations for the observed results is that flipped classrooms enable students to benefit more from classroom time and have more time for intraction, learning, assessment, and exploration ( Fulton,2012& to Boucher, Robertson, Wainner, & Sanders 2013).The findings of the present study in this respect are in accordance with those of Hung (2015) who found that flipped instructional model in English classes develops students' academic performance in general.
This result is also consistent with some of the empirical studies which was mentioned before (e.g., Abaeian & Samadi, 2016;Samah & Saka, 2016).As an illustration, Samah and Saka (2016) explored the effect of flipped classroom instruction on EFL freshman university students' listening comprehension and the results indicated learners' level of listening comprehension significantly improved after receiving the flipped model of instruction.Moreover, Abaeian and Samadi (2016) examined the effect of flipped classroom on Iranian EFL learners' L2 reading comprehension with different Proficiency level.Finally, it was inferred that the experimental group performed significantly better than the control group.
The second question of the study aimed at identifying EFL learners' attitude toward flipped model of instruction.The results of frequency analyses revealed that EFL learners had mostly positive attitude towards flipped model of instruction, and agreed that flipped model of instruction would be useful in improving their reading comprehension skill.In general, flipped learning received the most positive remarks from students in the survey.
In terms of students' engagement in classroom, it seemed most students were satisfied with this model since the majority of them agreed that the quality of their communication skills in English had improved due to more intraction.Moreover, they felt more engaged in this class than in other classes.Furthermore, the flipped classroom model helped them feel more comfortable speaking English during class and provided them more opportunity than other classes to communicate with other students.
Regarding students' opinions of the effectiveness of the flipped classroom strategy on improving their reading comprehension ability and fostering their self-learning opportunities, students rated the in-class activities highly and availability of videos outside the classroom as one of the factors that improved their learning.Moreover, they had more and more time to brainstorm their minds and jot down their ideas at their own pace since most of them agreed that through the videos, they had enough time to acquire the sentence structures and their performance on reading tests were better as they had more time to apply the learning in class.Finaly, it was found that a considerable number of students felt more confident and independent because of the flipped model of instruction.
The yielded results confirm the findings obtained by Al-Harbi and Alshumaimeri (2016) that showed students' attitudes towards using the flipped classroom strategy in the EFL class were positive based on students' responses to a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews.Similarly, Enfield (2013) exprssed most of the comments made by students about the flipped course were generally very positive.Several students expressed that they learned much better and it appeared that students benefitted from the flipped model of instruction.Most students found instructional videos helpful, engaging, and appropriately challenging.

Conclusion
Evidently, flipped model of instruction and EFL learners' reading comprehension proved to be interactive variables and the link between the two and their impact on language learning are considerably crucial in second language teaching and learning.Flipped learning is especially important since it enables the learning session to go beyond the four walls of the classroom.On the other hand, as Cockrum (2014) states, this model provides a student-centered learning environment to enhance their learnering.The results of this study indicated that not only did flipped model of instruction improves students' performance in reading but also it improved their overall attitudes and beliefs towards the reading comprehension and boosted students' motivation and class engagement.
Based on the findings of the present study, some implications are can be formulated.First and foremost, EFL teachers can develop new and customized ways to improve the flipped model effectiveness in their teaching environments and they can modify it based on their students' needs and interests.A flipped classroom may bring many benefits for teachers.It liberate them from the traditional ways of teaching and effectively apply the new approaches of teaching.Moreover, as pointed out by Enfield (2013), this model "was effective in helping students learn the content, and increased self-efficacy in their ability to learn independently" (p.14).
As a limitation to this study, it may be argued that flipped classrooms are dependent on student participation, and one must trust students to watch the lectures at home.Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee students will oblige or cooperate with the flipped model and students who do not complete the videos or study at home may come to class unprepared.In addition, inequities in students' home lives can also cause a barrier for the flipped model.Many students don't have access to the technology needed for viewing or interacting with lecture material.Moreover, this study was confined to a limited number of EFL students (N=50).
In conclusion, there is still much work to be done and seen from this perspective, First and foremost, this study can be replicated to find out whether the same results would be obtained.Moreover, it certainly paves the way for more thorough studies in future to investigate the effect of flipped model of instruction on other language skills such as writing, listening, and speaking.Furthermore, some attempts are needed to modify this model for higher education levels in academic contexts.It might be also rewarding to investigate how can teachers learn to implement a truly flipped classroom, since it is unclear whether teachers can reasonably be expected to implement true flipped classrooms at all.Finally, a large-scale research of both a quantitative and qualitative nature comparing a broad spectrum of student success criteria in flipped and non flipped classrooms is needed.

Table 1
clearly indicates the two significant measures of central tendency, that is, the mean scores and the standard deviations of the groups.As is obvious in Table1, the mean and standard deviation of the experimental group were 21.20, and 3.58, respectively.However, the mean and standard deviation of the control group were 12.72, and 1.98, respectively.

Table 3 .
Descriptive Statistics for EFL Students' Attitude on the Flipped Model of Instruction