Flipped Classroom for Teaching English in Ecuadorian Distance Higher Education

This study is aimed at proving the effectiveness of the flipped classroom model within the context of EFL students' listening and speaking skills, namely those whose English major is taught on a distance education program in Ecuador. For this study, an experimental method was used. In addition, qualitative and quantitative information was gathered to answer the proposed research questions. The present study involves 19 students from a Listening and Speaking class, who were randomly divided into an experimental group that consisted of 10 students and a control group with 9 students. During one academic term, participants from the experimental group attended virtual flipped classes, while the rest of the students followed the traditional teaching method using the main textbook as the only resource. Based on these findings, it has been possible to conclude that students who attended the flipped lessons were more proficient at the moment of speaking and understanding the target language. Moreover, their academic achievement was also improved as they obtained higher scores and showed a positive attitude towards the flipped classroom strategy.