The Flipped Classroom Approach for Teaching Cross-cultural Communication to Millennials

ABSTRACT A general direction in higher education has been to move away from lecture-based instruction toward more active and student-centered learning. Even though much research has been done regarding digitalization in instructional contexts, there is not much research on applying a flipped classroom (FC) approach to teaching cross-cultural communication in the international business field. Therefore, this study applies an FC pedagogical approach and the principles of sales communication education (SCE) to teaching cross-cultural communication to millennial international business and sales management students. Data regarding student satisfaction, students’ perceptions of elements of an FC course, as well as learning outcomes and meaningful learning experiences were collected using a mixed methods approach. The results show that overall student satisfaction with the FC course was very high. The millennials found the FC course to be a highly enjoyable way of learning cross-cultural communication. They particularly valued the pre-learning materials (video lectures), interactive in-class meetings and the teacher’s supportive actions. The learning outcomes included cognitive, behavioral and affective learning. Meaningful learning experiences included interviewing a CEO or international seller and engaging in practical negotiation exercises. Pedagogical improvements, theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed.