Implementing the flipped classroom: a case study of teaching ESP to the bachelors in automation and computer-integrated technologies

Among the main difficulties the students indicated: technical problems (poor Internet connection at home, some problems with laptops or other gadgets), insufficient development of digital skills (difficulties with learning applications at first, before understanding how they work, difficulties with signing in), poor motivation (difficulties in making themselves learn and doing all the required tasks at home, “If my task is not going to be checked and assessed by the teacher, I won't do it”, “I have to spend much time for preparation but I have to prepare to other courses as well”), poor time management skills (“I often fail to submit the task on time”, etc).

It was also important to understand what improvements the course required from the student's perspective. 63.04% claimed that they were satisfied with everything, others asked for more hours for learning the discipline in the classroom (“one class a week is not enough”), including more interactive tasks, trying another online platform for performing online tasks that incorporates all necessary learning tools in it without the need to sign in additionally to work with them, using this approach to studying other disciplines at the university, more use of popular applications like TikTok, etc.

Of course, the flipped classroom cannot be a universal solution for every course at university and for all teachers and students. However, its implementation in ESP teaching at university is very important, as it creates benefits for both teachers and students. Based on the results of the survey, let us highlight the main advantages of its use in teaching ESP at university.

One of the most important advantages is that its use increases students' motivation and interest in learning and encourages better processing of the material by using modern technologies and interactive tasks. The use of digital learning tools to support students' self-study gives them the opportunity to write their comments and questions, increases their interest and improves feedback.

Another advantage of the flipped classroom is the improvement of the efficiency of face-to-face sessions in the classroom. Without the need to spend much time on explaining theoretical issues assigned for self-study, teachers use classroom time to perform practical tasks and reproduce real-life communicative situations, i.e. engaging and creative activities that include higher-order cognitive processes and require practical application of acquired knowledge. By observing classroom assignments and blog posts, the teacher has a better opportunity to analyze students' mistakes to further focus on specific issues and prevent them.

The main reasons why teachers choose the flipped classroom are as follows: a better learning experience for students, ICT accessibility, increasing students' activity in the classroom and beyond, increase in the number of discussions and better cooperation among students, personalization of learning, the possibility and convenience for struggling students and those who have missed a lesson to continue learning, development of practical skills, students' involvement and increase in the efficiency of learning. The use of a wider range of means of communication helps to attract and engage more students and activate students' self-study.

However, at first, the implementation of the flipped classroom technology may cause disapproval from both teachers and students, so this process should be introduced gradually. A serious obstacle for the technology integration is the significant time spent by the teacher to create a database of materials on educational Internet platforms and prepare the relevant materials, as well as insufficient knowledge of IT, inability to work with the required tools. There is also a need to create a system for monitoring and checking students' home assignment, but this drawback is overcome with modern distance learning resources, which allow the teacher to track students' performance of course assignments. Technical equipment can also be a problem. The restraining factor is quite a low level of intrinsic motivation and the general passivity of students. The problems of plagiarism and academic dishonesty should also be mentioned, which become especially acute in the context of virtual education. Thus, the organization of the flipped classroom is a complex process that requires much preparation and proper methodological support. Efficiency is achieved only due to careful planning of the content of the course, selection of teaching methods and the use of appropriate technical tools.

Conclusions and prospects for further research

flipped classroom education digital

The flipped classroom is one of the current trends able to increase the level of students' motivation and success in case of proper organization. Using it for teaching ESP to bachelors in automation and computer-integrated technologies allowed a transfer from passive to active learning, which results in improving English proficiency. The specific features of flipped learning are that it focuses on the effective use of time in the classroom, takes into account different categories of students and their styles of learning, allows students to take responsibility for learning, increases teacher-student interaction and changes the teacher 's role from a translator to a facilitator. Student-centred learning is a basis of the effective flipped classroom with its three main phases. Such lower-order thinking skills as remembering and understanding can be developed independently during the pre-class phase. By purposely transferring some instructions online, more time in the classroom is dedicated to discussion, analysis, and application of the acquired knowledge, so this phase is characterized by developing the skills of applying and analyzing. It is followed by the development of the skills of evaluating and creating in the classroom or during the post-class phase. These higherorder thinking skills are often put aside during traditional classes because of time constraints.

The flipped classroom is organized by using digital learning tools for out-of-class activities during self-study. These tools have been classified in the paper by purpose: for learning vocabulary; checking reading or listening comprehension; improving listening, writing and speaking skills, etc. The recommended tools can be used by ESP teachers for organizing blended and distance learning. The survey has shown that the majority of students majoring in “Automation and Computer-integrated Technologies” (76.1%) consider flipped learning effective. Students' engagement in learning, increase in motivation and interest, learning at convenient pace, constant availability of the learning material, interesting interactive tasks, more time for developing communication skills in the classroom and increase in the efficiency of learning are only some advantages of the flipped classroom. However, the study has revealed some difficulties such as: technical problems, insufficient level of intrinsic motivation, organizational and time management skills. Even despite them the flipped classroom has a great potential for use in teaching ESP at university. In our future research we intend to determine the pedagogical conditions for developing students' foreign language communicative competence within the framework of the flipped classroom.

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