Impact of critical thinking instruction through flipped teaching on Iranian EFL learners’ listening comprehension

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of critical thinking instructions through a flipped teaching method on English Language learners’ listening comprehension. The sample consisted of 80 Iranian intermediate English language learners that were divided into two experimental and two control groups. The two experimental groups that experienced flipped classrooms were given listening materials before the start of the class. Then cooperative learning took place in a face-to-face learning environment. The two control groups were taught in conventional language classrooms. Besides, one class from each group received instructions during the treatment phase on critical thinking. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) was used to collect listening comprehension data on pretest and posttest. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25 was used to run statistical analysis and t-tests on the data. The results of the study revealed that the flipped approach was more effective when language learners were given instructions on critical thinking. Language teachers can benefit from critical thinking instruction in flipped teaching to enhance the learners’ listening comprehension ability by activating higher-order mental capacities such as critical thinking.