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Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 16. Number 2, June 2025 Pp.153-167
School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
This research adopts a quantitative-qualitative mixed-methods approach to examine the role of flipped classroom pedagogy in fostering critical thinking skills in English argumentative essays among Chinese EFL undergraduates. Specifically, the pilot study compares the mean scores of the pretest and posttest, focusing on the performance in English argumentative essays between the experimental group (N=32) and the control group (N=28). It investigates the impact of the flipped classroom on developing critical thinking skills in argumentative essays. It explores the experiences and perceptions of Chinese EFL learners regarding how the flipped classroom enhances their critical thinking skills in such essays. The ultimate goal is to assist these students in improving their writing quality, achieving better academic outcomes, and enhancing their competitiveness in future job markets. The significance of this research lies in its potential to promote the adoption of the flipped classroom as an effective pedagogical tool for supporting Chinese EFL undergraduates. The findings indicate that the experimental group’s mean scores steadily increased throughout the intervention, providing robust evidence of the effectiveness of the flipped classroom approach in fostering critical thinking skills in Chinese EFL undergraduates’ argumentative essays writing. We hope this study will inspire more researchers to propose meaningful pedagogical implications and recommendations to improve teaching and learning processes within EFL contexts.
Qi, H., Kamal, S. S.L. A., & Lahlou, H. (2025). Impact of Flipped Classroom on Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Chinese EF Undergraduates’ Argumentative Essays: A Pilot Study. Arab World English Journal, 16(2):153-167.
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Huang Qi is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and concurrently serves as a lecturer in the English Department of the Foreign Language School at Shaoguan University, Guangdong Province, China. Her research focuses primarily on TESOL. She has over 16 years of teaching experience in English in Chinese higher education.
ORCID ID：https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7271-1431
Siti Soraya Lin Abdullah Kamal obtained her doctorate in education from the University of Sheffield, UK. Her dissertation explored the social, cultural, and contextual factors influencing struggling readers of English as a second language among young learners in Malaysian classrooms. Her research interests include TESOL, language learning (early childhood and primary education), e-learning, educational technology, distance learning, and qualitative studies.
ORCID ID：https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2848-7039
Hicham Lahlou (PhD) is a senior lecturer at the English Language Studies Section of the School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia. He holds a doctorate in applied linguistics and has over two decades of experience teaching English and linguistics. His research interests include English linguistics, semantics, morphology, cognitive linguistics, and education.
ORCID ID：https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2796-9877