PROMOTING STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILL THROUGH FLIPPED LEARNING APPROACH IN ESP CLASROOMS

Writing skill in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has captured the attention of both teachers and students as writing develops not only students' language knowledge namely vocabulary and grammar but also sharpens their critical thinking on specific issues in each lesson. Learners in ESP writing classes are required to go through various stages that engage them in deep learning to create their final products. However, there is always a time constraint in every classroom meeting. This circumstance often leads to many obstacles that have hindered students from writing by themselves. This research is aimed to investigate the effectiveness of flipped learning approach in ESP classrooms. Eighty students in two different ESP classes at ULIS (VNU) received one written material and one audio or video based on the writing topic set for them each week during the past semester. These students were required to summarize the key ideas and make a glossary of new vocabulary items from these sources before their in-class writing session. During the writing session, the students were invited to partake in a number of activities prepared by the teacher so that they can revise the language knowledge and content from the provided materials and analyze the topic thoroughly. The data of the study through questionnaire and focus group discussions revealed that the flipped classroom approach received overall positive feedback from the students based on their experience and perspectives. Several pedagogical implications are also provided in order for other teachers to apply in their own context.