THE EFFECT OF FLIPPED INSTRUCTION ON DEVELOPING PARAGRAPH WRITING ABILITY OF EFL LEARNERS

Abstract

The present study was an attempt to examine the effect of flipped instruction on writing ability by Iranian
intermediate EFL learners. To perform this study, 132 Iranian EFL learners studying English in Safir
Language Institute in Tehran were selected. They took the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) and 74
intermediate-levels were non-randomly assigned into two equal groups (one experimental and one control
group). Then, the whole population of the present study was asked to write a descriptive paragraph to show
their writing ability before the treatment sessions. During the treatment, in order to implement flipped
instruction to the experimental group, video lectures were recorded ahead of time by the researcher and
uploaded for public viewing on Telegram and Instagram. On the other hand, the learners in control group
received the institute instruction of paragraph writing. In other words, they did not receive any flipped
instruction on paragraph writing. Having finished the treatment, the whole population was supposed to write
a descriptive paragraph to show their writing ability after the pre-designed instructions. Data were analyzed
through a series of paired and independent samples t-tests. The obtained results revealed that flipped
instruction did have statistically significant effect on developing writing ability of Iranian intermediate EFL
learners. In other words, flipped instruction was more effective than conventional instruction in improving
the EFL learners' paragraph writing ability.