Out-of-class support for the flipped language classroom: using VoiceThread microlectures to boost active teaching and learning

Microlectures have been extensively applied in flipped second language (L2) classrooms, but most of them stand alone as self-study materials with loose connection to classroom activities. Little is known about how teachers guide student learning before and after class in addition to in-class activities as well, particularly in less commonly taught L2s other than English. Therefore, taking an ecological approach to agency and affordances for active learning, this study explored how teachers developed out-of-class microlectures on radicals and stroke order to reinforce students' character knowledge and handwriting in flipped Chinese language classrooms. VoiceThread, a digital platform, was used to deliver microlectures for students to study outside class hours, whose content was consolidated via classroom practice. Action research methods were employed over three years of remote and hybrid instruction to conduct six rounds of teacher interviews and student surveys, involving 21 intact Second-Year Chinese classes with four teachers and 176 students, on teaching and learning strategies for character microlectures. Thematic analysis of interview and survey answers coupled with vocabulary test results identified four aspects of agency and affordances on cognitive, affective, metacognitive, and resource management strategies. The findings highlight the necessity of reviewing and practicing flipped, self-study materials in class as well as adjusting and adapting them to class progress. The spiral processes of action research also signify the importance of self-reflection at intellectual, emotional, and technological levels to student engagement and teachers’ professional development in digital education.