Kurdish EFL Students’ Perceptions towards Flipped Pronunciation Class at Salahaddin University

Abstract

Flipped classroom model is a good teaching method for contemporary students because it resonates with their preferences of using their phones and being online most of their time. This study aims at exploring Kurdish EFL students’ perceptions towards the use of flipped classroom model for improving all facets of pronunciation skills, including phonetic awareness, stress, intonation, rhythm and pacing. Additionally, it aims to further investigate the students’ perceptions of their overall experience of flipped pronunciation classes (FPC). This study employs a mixed-methods approach to achieve the aims of the study. For the quantitative part, a survey questionnaire was administered to 398 first-year students in Salahaddin University. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 30 students to collect the qualitative data. Thematic analysis was carried out to analyze the qualitative part. The findings indicate that Kurdish EFL students perceive flipped pronunciation classes as impactful for improving their pronunciation proficiency. They find FPCs as a wonderful opportunity to get proficiency in sound pronunciation, stress placement, tone, intonation, stress-time rhythm, and pacing. The findings further reveal that the students have had a good experience with FPCs.