The Impact of Flipped Online Kanji Instruction on Written Vocabulary Learning for Introductory and Intermediate Japanese Language Students

Abstract

This study explored the pedagogical benefits of flipped online kanji (i.e., Chinese characters used in Japanese) instruction integrated into college‐level introductory and intermediate Japanese language courses. Using a quasi‐experimental mixed design, the investigation looked at the effects of two instructional approaches: (1) a flip approach in which students learned new characters using online materials prior to class, and (2) the conventional (nonflip) approach in which in‐class lectures were followed by printed exercises. During the 2014–2015 academic year, a total of 46 students who were enrolled in introductory or intermediate courses learned 9 to 12 sets of 10 new kanji characters per semester through one lesson per week. Half of the lessons were taught in the flip format, and the other half were taught in the nonflip format. The results showed that introductory students scored better on postlesson tests in the flip condition than in the nonflip condition only for fall 2014 but not for spring 2015, whereas no statistically significant difference was observed for intermediate students. However, the students in both courses reported that online exercises helped them improve their kanji knowledge. Consequently, a substantial portion of kanji instruction can be shifted to self‐paced, semi‐structured online learning with no negative impact on instructional quality.

Managing cognitive load with a flipped language class: An ethnographic study of the student experience

“…In contrast, Mori, Omori, and Sato (2016) showed more ambiguous results from their controlled comparisons of flipped and traditional learning of written vocabulary for introductory and intermediate Japanese language students. They reported student use of online supplementary materials to be determined more by course requirements than by the availability of those materials, concluding that students needed to be held more accountable for their own learning if flipped strategies were to be successfully implemented.…”

Using Flipped Learning to Facilitate Cross‐Cultural Critical Thinking in the L2 Classroom

“…To date, relatively little research has been published on the efficacy of flipping language courses (Bell, ; Boovy, ; Burgo, ; Hao, ; Hojnacki, ; Hsieh, Wu, & Marek, ; Kim, Park, Jang, & Nam, ; Mori, Omori, & Sato, ). In keeping with the focus on instructional technology and the more fluid, evolving functions of the instructor, much of the practical discussion of L2 flipping is available as internet resources in the form of notes, blogs, vlogs, and brief reports (Bell, ; Buitrago, ; Buitrago & Díaz, ; Chevalier, ; Estes & Ingram, ; Fausto, ; Jensen, ; Marshall, ; Muldrow, ; Witten, n.d.; Witten, ).…”

Perceptual differences about kanji instruction: Native versus nonnative, and secondary versus postsecondary instructors of Japanese

“…Knowledge of the regularity and irregularity of phonetic elements should be useful in teaching how to estimate the sounds of new characters. The teaching of kanji may present countless challenges to many teachers of Japanese, but it also provides them with an opportunity to reconsider knowledge and skills that L2 Japanese students must acquire and reflect upon their own instructional practices (Mori, Omori, & Sato, 2016). Such reflections and use of varied instructional strategies, in turn, should enable them to deepen their understanding of the value of kanji and enhance self‐efficacy as language educators.…”