Reducing general foreign language classroom anxiety through flipped instruction: An experimental study in EFL contexts

Abstract The main aim of the present research was to examine the potential of flipped classroom teaching in reducing general foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCAS) among first-year EFL students in Algeria. It also aimed to explore the moderating roles of gender and learner motivation in the impacts of flipped teaching. While flipped classrooms have been increasingly popular in terms of facilitating learners' engagement and reducing anxiety, empirical studies on their differential impact based on gender and motivation type are quite limited. A pre-test–post-test quasi-experimental control group design was employed with 120 undergraduate EFL students at Nour Bachir University Center, stratified by gender and level of language proficiency. Students were assigned to a flipped or traditional instruction group and multivariate analyses were conducted. Mixed-design ANOVA showed significantly greater anxiety reductions for the flipped group, particularly for integratively motivated and female students. Johnson-Neyman analysis showed a motivation threshold (score = 66.7) beyond which the anxiety-reducing effect of flipped instruction became statistically significant. The findings bear witness to the instructional promise of flipped teaching for resolving affective challenges and call for greater effort in synchronizing teaching approaches with students' motivational and demographic profiles.