Flipped Classroom for Writing Skills: Views from Pre-University Students’ Lens towards Effective Writing

The emergence of technology has paved the way for 21 st century learning the world over. Education empowered by technology has shaped Malaysian ESL Sixth Form pre-university students to become autonomous learners. Technology related approaches such as the flipped classroom has allowed better preparations for classroom lessons in writing skills among form six students. Despite the various research done on the use of flipped classroom to improve writing skills among secondary students, very few studies have been conducted on enhancing ESL Sixth Form pre-university students’ skills in writing through the use of flipped classroom. Therefore, this study aims to explore the Malaysian Sixth Form students’ perception towards the use of flipped classroom in enhancing writing skills. A quantitative approach which involves a pre-test, a post-test and a survey research design was chosen for this study. 21 Form Six students from a Form Six college in Klang, Selangor has been selected as respondents through purposive sampling. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the data and the results of the survey indicates that the use of flipped classroom is able to enhance the effectiveness of writing skills among ESL Sixth Form pre-university students.


Introduction
The emergence of technology has paved the way for 21 st Century learning in the field of language across the globe.According to Chin et al (2019) this has been called for in a 2011-2011 review by UNESCO on the curriculum development which focuses on the need for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education.Pazilah (2019) mentioned that the ability of technology to influence has impacted the world in ways like never before.As stated by Amin (2019) without the assistance of emerging technologies in present day language teaching, there may be little virtual or artificial language learning experience that may not be able to cater to the learners needs in achieving the desired outcome.According to Mendoza (2019) it is a widely thought upon decision to implement the use of technology in an English as Second Language (ESL) classroom.Therefore, the Malaysian Education System continuously strives in its endeavor to be at par with the rest of the world in the field of education and of technology.The Malaysian students are highly encouraged to be technology savvy and to be well informed of the latest and current digital trends in education.Students' exposure to knowledge in ICT is deemed as a great potential to enhance their learning capacity with an array of knowledge and thinking skills (The Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025).The Ministry of Education (MoE) focuses on the learning of language as one of the vital components as highlighted in Shift 1 of the Malaysian Education Blueprint (2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019)(2020)(2021)(2022)(2023)(2024)(2025) in preparation for an all-rounded student equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills and values of the 21 st century.This leads towards the need for mastery of the English language among Malaysian students with relation to the prerequisite of the Common European Framework of Reference or generally known as the CEFR which focuses on the four language skills being listening, speaking, reading and writing.This brings us to the importance of integrating technology in writing lessons which has proven to have many benefits.It is widely advocated for and highly encouraged for both teachers and students of English as a second language to keep up with the current trends of technology in an English as a second language learning environment.This leads towards the need to have a blend of technology with one of the most prominent yet challenging skills of the English language which is the writing skills among sixth form pre-university students.In relation to this, Akthar et al (2019), mentioned that writing is a complex and important language skill to learn as students are expected to progress in their academic writing skills through formal classroom pedagogy.Learners require a certain form of mastery, technique and practice especially in regards to form six students.Moses and Mohamad (2019) further argued that students attribute poor performance in writing to reasons such as limited vocabularies, poor control of grammar and spelling, students' readiness and less exposure to books while teachers state students lack of motivation, difference in levels of proficiency, challenging materials and insufficient time as challenges towards mastery of writing skills.Besides students, many Malaysian teachers find teaching writing skills as a daunting task as well (Hassan et al., 2021;Moses and Mohamad, 2019).Therefore, as stated by Arif et al (2020), it is imperative for educators to adopt new teaching approaches in order to attract students learning attention in writing skills which include Web 2.0 and the use of smart phones in the classroom to complete writing tasks which gives rise to autonomous learning.Besides the use of smartphones, digital learning tools which are the trend setters of today's digital education are referred to as a set of available online tools such as Google Classroom, Edmodo, Kahoot and even popularly used online streaming videos in flipped classrooms such as You Tube.To further emphasise, Ramamuthie & Aziz (2022) stated that teachers are encouraged to use digital learning tools to amplify the teaching and learning process.In regards to the challenges mentioned above, Ngah and Yunus (2021) stated that introduction to the flipped classroom as a new instructional tool in an ESL context is imperative to keep up with the current trends of technology assisted learning as to capture students' learning interest and to be autonomous learners in enhancing their writing skills.Hsieh et al (2016) argues that the flipped classroom which is also referred to as the inverted classroom has materialized as a noteworthy approach in learning, whereby the role of homework and classroom activities are being inverted with the aim of assisting students to build self-motivation in learning writing skills.In relation to this, it is of utmost importance to highlight the contribution of this study at a pre-university level between the use of flipped classroom and ESL sixth form pre-university students' learning process in enhancing their writing skills through student centred learning which strongly correlates with motivation, active learning and peer collaboration.Therefore, the objectives of this study is to investigate sixth form ESL students' perception towards the effectiveness of flipped classroom in enhancing writing skills.

Literature Review Writing Skills and its Importance in ESL
The English language is one of the core subjects of 21 st century learning and students are required to acquire the four skills which are the listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.In relation, while all four skills are deemed important, writing is seen as the most prominent of all (Jusun and Yunus, 2016;Zakaria and Abdul Aziz, 2019;Saravanan et al., 2021).In relation to this, writing can be defined as a skill by which writers are able to put forth their ideas, feelings and thoughts in the form of words, sentences and paragraphs.Ahmed (2019), defines writing skill as a graphical symbol of speech which translates to the process of putting together letters and characters in a skillful manner to make way for the expression of ideas which is deemed as an essential part in language learning.Pheng et al (2021) further stresses writing as a process which involves three predominant stages namely, the pre-writing stage which includes drafting and brainstorming, the during writing stage and the post-writing stage in which the editing and revising process takes place.Therefore, the need to master writing skills should start from primary and into secondary level in pursue of tertiary education among Malaysian ESL students.Writing is an important skill especially in sixth form pre-university level, as it enables learners to express their ideas, develop critical and creative thinking skills, state their opinion on different issues and to critique matters on various aspect.It is also a vital skill in the working world as employees are expected to be skilled at writing.Besides, Durga (2018), stresses that writing is a vital part of language and that good writing skills is fundamental for all ESL students to be able to achieve success in education as well as in the working world.Yunus et al (2019), states that in Malaysia, English is known to be the second language in use for teaching and learning in both primary and secondary schools.Some of the reasons for students to master the English language is for the purpose of communication, job opportunities, and to further venture into the fields of science and technology.Since writing is a skill that can be used in various written contexts, it is all the more imperative for students of English as a Second Language to acquire good mastery of the writing skills.To further emphasize on the importance of writing skills, Kumar (2020), states that writing allows the writer to communicate detailed messages in a straightforward manner due to a non-face-to face interaction between the author and the reader.Also, it is important to ensure that our thoughts and perceptions are being precisely sent forth in the written form.Kumar (2020), further mentions that ESL students are required to produce concepts and thoughts in a systematic manner as we go through the cognitive process of producing productive written works.Due to its importance, writing can be seen as a set of skill which interrelates with classroom pedagogy and therefore, through the practice of writing, students can obtain valuable knowledge for one's own growth, social development and emotional power.(Mantra, et al., 2021).In light of this, the importance of writing skills in sixth form is crucial as students are required to sit for the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) as a prerequisite into Malaysian universities.According to Aziz (2019), The Ministry of Education (MOE) has always been progressive in their effort to reform the English language in Malaysia.As of the latest, the MUET has been aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) which was newly implemented in 2018 to enhance the standard of the English language in Malaysia.

The Challenges Faced in ESL Writing Skills
Students tend to face various implications in their written performance if they do not have a strong foundation in their writing skills.There are various challenges faced by the Malaysian ESL students in the mastery of writing skills especially among the form sixers.The first is on the technical aspect of writing which is a complex process that involves various techniques and approaches like planning, writing, editing and re-writing.This will eventually create a barrier in students' mind towards wanting to learn writing.In relation to this, Rahmat et al (2017) mentioned that writing is an intricate process with its own set of challenges as students with weak writing skills often struggle to form ideas therefore resulting in them having a negative impression towards writing.This brings us to the next prominent challenge which contributes to poor writing ability which is lack of vocabulary.Having limited vocabulary is often associated with poor writing skills in the English language.In reference to this, Ahmed (2019), mentioned that some of the common challenges in writing is the absence of vocabulary and unsuitable use of vocabulary.Misbah et al (2017) claims that insufficient vocabulary has resulted in difficulty of developing skills among students.Following this, Kumar (2020) stated the reason that insufficient English inventory and written creativity has resulted in students facing difficulty to impart their thoughts.An important factor highlighted by Kumar (2020), is that teachers tend to think that they need to explain the content of the textbook itself in order to teach the English language.Besides, the use of dual language which is thought to be effective could result in students limited ability to produce and to further expand their ideas and the same time limit their set of vocabulary storage.Kumar (2020), continues that this happens due to students emphasizing only on retaining and reproducing specific chosen responses from the text.Therefore, the cycle produces many challenges in writing for students as they have difficulty to cope with the situation, coordinate ideas and utilise words.Another reason argued by Fareed et al. (2016) is that many students find it difficult to gain access to adequate and credible sources of knowledge.This comes to show that, limited access to reading materials and resources also creates a negative impact towards rich reading habits subsequently limiting students' discovery of new words which leads towards poor performance in their writing skills.A widely known challenge towards better writing skills is the absence of serious reading habit.As reading is related to writing skills, Linuwih and Winardi (2020) argued that students reading habit plays and imperative role in their ability to write.Moreover, reading habit is considered to be the most influencing factor in writing as people often discover new ideas, fact, information, knowledge, and a whole lot of experience through reading.Besides that, poor writing skills tend to produce low quality written products which eventually affects students' academic results.In regards to this, Zainab et al (2017) argues that students with insufficient mastery of writing skills tend to perform poorly in their written examinations and research reports.A vital reason which directly contributes towards students' poor performance in writing is the use of first language acquisition to teach English as a second language.Another limitation faced in the teaching and learning of English as a second language is that there are many circumstances in schools where educators tend to use L1 to teach students the meaning of certain ESL words.Kumar (2020), further asserts that there exists an unfavourable condition where teachers tend to use L1 to teach the meaning of ESL words in order to make learning easier for the students.This pattern of teaching sets limitations for students to obtain vocabulary enrichment which will limit their performance in writing.Lastly, Mantra et al (2021) states that the challenges faced by students specifically in the context of descriptive writing such as their lack of interest in learning to write, poor mastery and understanding of texts, feeling bored and not having interest due to limited engagement towards reading materials given by the teacher.

The Flipped Classroom from an ESL Context
The role of educators from being a sage on the stage to a guide on the side has been popularly coined by Alison King twenty years ago in a small article which appeared in the journal titled College Teaching that represented the debate in education reform.According to King (1993), the educator still carries the responsibility to represent the course material while students are required to interact with the materials, work on the ideas and engage the ideas to their background knowledge.Here, the educators are in charge of performing their duty which is to facilitate students' interaction with both the material and each other for the reason of producing new knowledge.According to Guvenc (2018), the idea of a flipped classroom was initiated by two teachers named Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams by using recorded lectures in 2000.The flipped classroom is regarded as one of the 21 st century learning approaches which transforms students learning style to being independent learners by facilitating one's own learning at his or her own pace.As mentioned by King (1993), the 21 st century learning requires students to think for themselves, identify and work out complex problems besides not to reproduce knowledge but rather produce new ones.Popularly identified as one of the classic types of blended learning approach, the flipped classroom has been widely explored in many language skills and components to confirm its use in language learning (Yousufi, 2020).According to a study by Mohammad and Daham (2021), the flipped classroom has been highly observed as the latest trend to shape teaching where lessons shift from in-class process towards digitally enhanced lessons and practice exercises within classroom time.In accordance, Abuhmaid and Abood (2020), stressed that the flipped classroom model engages the use of digital media which is the latest trend of learning strategy that speaks for students in this age of technology.The idea is by using short instructional videos to help students to stay focused on their task and at the same time playing the role of a guide throughout the development of the lesson.This is reflected in the positive feedbacks of flipped classroom on students' motivation to learn, their academic achievement and their attitude towards learning.The most significant change from a traditional classroom to a flipped classroom is the opportunity towards self-learning.According to Singh and Harun (2021), the flipped classroom has enabled the transition from teacher centeredness to student centeredness whereby students are given the lead to become independent learners with better readiness towards future lessons.Singh and Harun (2021) further stressed that the flipped classroom transforms traditional learning ways while its content learning methods come in diverse forms.

Vigotsky's Theory and the Flipped Classroom
According to Erbil (2020), the social constructivist theory as proposed by Vigotsky represents a direct connection to the flipped classroom as an active learning approach during classroom lessons which involves students and the participation of both teachers and student's peers for a successful outcome.Erbil (2020), further highlights that Vigotsky champions a child's development to his or her social and cultural experiences as social interaction is given emphasis as a critical element in the development of cognition 1978.To capture the understanding of Vigotsky's theory in relation to the flipped classroom, there are two prominent principals in which we have to pay attention to namely, the more knowledgeable other (MKO) and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).The more knowledgeable other refers to someone who has a higher knowledge, higher level or a deeper understanding of a concept, process or task than the learner.In the classroom setting, teachers and peers could be the MKO to help assist the learner which promotes active learning in classroom engagement.The more knowledgeable other is a vital aspect that relates to the Zone of Proximal Development as Vigotsky continuously emphasises on social interaction as a way to aid learning.He states that children will still be able to develop on their own if left alone but will not reach their full potential.Therefore, Vigotsky points out the gap between actual and potential learning as the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and only by having collaboration with adults and other learners can this gap be narrowed.Erbil (2020), further explains that in relation to ZPD, students will be able to learn more effectively through peer assistance be it teachers or other students and in time become autonomous learners.This is reflected in the flipped classroom method, where students watch videos prepared by the teacher (MKO) before classroom lessons while during classroom lessons, students will learn through classroom interaction by the sharing of knowledge and information with their peers which promotes active learning known also translated as cooperative learning.

The effectiveness of flipped classroom in ESL writing skills
It is practical to note that there has always been underlying challenges to find suitable or effective methods to address the challenges faced in the teaching and learning of writing skills.According to Abdelrahman et al. ( 2017), the inadequacy of effective methods to teach ESL writing skills at both primary and secondary level is seen as the reason towards students lack of performance in writing.In light of this, Ramamuthie & Aziz (2022), mentioned that students' exposure to competitive situations through innovative methods and approaches which suits 21 st century learning is needed to reduce the lack of interest and to gain success in the mastery of writing.This can be achieved by creating awareness on technology-based approach which has subsequently resulted in the continual improvement of their writing skills in comparison to conventional skills.Furthermore, Safiyeh and Farrah (2020), stated that the availability of new technological gadgets such as smartphones, laptops and tablets have given students access towards searching for any information at any given time and place.To address this issue, the effectiveness of flipped classroom has been credited for assisting students in enhancing their writing skills.By flipping the classroom, students are given the liberty to be autonomous learners to experience learning through digital media which constitutes video related tools such as You Tube.Online streaming videos such as You Tube plays an eminent role as a powerful source of web-based learning due to its infinite supply of content which covers a broad spectrum of knowledge ranging from research to presentation and to being an educational tool.In reference to this, Michael and Shah (2020), stated that technology through the role of You Tube as a video-sharing platform to assist 21 st century learning in the classroom is known to play an integral part in assisting teachers to enhance the quality of their classroom teaching and learning process.Abdelrahman (2017), further explains that utilizing videos to assist the learning process before classroom lessons and followed by in class learning activities could help students deal with the existing challenges in writing skills.Through inverted lessons students could learn out of classroom at the flexibility of their own time by watching, listening to and interacting with video lessons as opposed to traditional classroom learning.This promotes student centeredness in the classroom through creative learning activities to enhance learning and improve their writing skills.According to Abedi et al (2019), by flipping the classroom, students were able to show improvement in their writing skills from the aspect of ideas, content, organization, voice and style.Abedi et al (2019) further stated that students were able to activate higher order thinking skills in writing skills as they feel more engaged, having greater perceived quality in learning, able to brain storm and write down ideas at their own pace and most prominently acquire informed learning as key to feeling comfortable in learning through their sense of acceptance and understanding of the task and by learning from it in authentic ways which gives them the confidence in learning to write which reflects active learning.Another imperative aspect of the flipped classroom is the interactive communication which takes place between peers in the classroom.Rasheed et al (2020) highlights that the flipped classroom gives students the benefit of two worlds as they will be able to engage in their own self learning as well as in-group learning activities.Using digital related lessons such as the flipped classroom as prelessons is deemed critical as it requires students to be sufficiently prepared for active participation during face-to-face interaction in the classroom.

Methodology
This study employs a survey design to investigate the effectiveness of flipped classroom on writing skills.A total of 21 Form Six students from a form six college located in Klang, Selangor were selected as participants for this study.They comprise of 7 males and 14 females with mixed English language proficiency (average CEFR B1-B2) .They will seat for the Malaysian University English Test which is aligned to the Common European Framework of Reference as a prerequisite into Malaysian universities.Data was collected using a questionnaire adopted from Ping (2020) which includes 15 items with a 5-point Likert scale.Other forms of instrumentations were two sets of essay questions, each one administered during a pre-test and a post-test, a writing skills CEFR aligned band descriptor to evaluate students essay writing performance based on two parts known as task fulfilment and language aspects which carries a weightage of 60 marks for each part respectively.The intervention stage involved a flipped classroom lesson for a duration of 2 weeks.An online video from You Tube was given to the students to watch and to elicit information before their classroom lesson and post-test.

Research Procedure
The students were first given an essay topic to complete as a pre-test and data was collected to be analysed.Next, as an intervention, the students were given a short online YouTube video titled "How social media makes us unsocial" to watch at home during their leisure time a few days before their classroom lesson and to gather information which are related to their upcoming essay topic for better understanding.Next, in the classroom, the students were asked questions by the teacher based on the previous videos watched in order to recall information and to test the general prior knowledge.The students were then requested to have a pair discussion to further engage in better understanding of the content of the videos watched.This promotes student centeredness as teachers play the role of facilitators to assist when and where necessary.The students are then given the essay topic from the MUET work book titled "Social-media has made us less social".Do you agree with the statement?to complete.By now, the students should be well equipped with the information from the video watched and back ground knowledge from the peer discussion during classroom lesson to write a complete essay.Their essays were then collected to be evaluated.

Data Analysis Procedure
The data collected from the respondents for the pre-test, post-test and the Likert scale were analysed using descriptive analysis of percentage and mean count which is then presented in the form of tables.The class interval based on the Likert Scale is calculated by subtracting the given maximum score (5=Strongly agree) with the minimum score (1=Strongly disagree) which equals to 4 and by dividing them with the number of scales (4/5=0.8).Therefore, the interval of a five-point Likert scale is 0.8.The interpretation of the class interval is further shown in Table 1 below.can be shaped through writing.Next, both Band 5(C1) and Band 3.5(B1) recorded equal percentage of frequencies at 19% with (N= 8) respectively and with Band 5 users being able to score between 49-54 marks while students with an achievement of Band 3.5 had a score of between 27-35 marks.There is only (N=1) Band 3 achiever recorded in the post-test in terms of frequency at 2.4% within the mark range of 21-25 while the pre-test did not have any Band 3.0 achievers.The data above signifies that a few students with a score of C1 comes under the category of proficient users.As being asserted by Kumar (2020) writing paves the way for the writer to send across specific messages in a direct manner due to a non-face-toface communication between the author and the reader, besides ensuring that our thoughts and perceptions are being precisely conveyed in the written form.In relation to the statement made by Kumar, C1 users of the language are able to address all parts of the essay writing with relevancy besides being able to use simple and complex vocabulary with flexibility and with good paraphrasing skills.Band 3.5 and Band 3 achievers are still categorized as independent learners but as modest users of the language as they may be able to address the given task adequately but at the same time may have inaccuracies besides using more simple structures and basic use of vocabulary in their writing.This is being reflected by Yunus et al (2019) stating that writing skills is one of the most difficult skills to learn for it requires mastery in knowledge of grammar, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary usage to produce a good piece of writing as it is imperative for students to be able to acquire these necessary abilities to perform better in their writing skills.(f=106).This is probably due to them finding the flipped classroom approach as an effective way to independently practice writing at their own pace.To further support this statement, Abdelrahman (2017) states that through flipped lessons, students would have the chance to learn out of classroom context at the freedom of their own time by watching, listening to and interacting with video lessons as opposed to traditional classroom learning.The second highest chosen scale in terms of its frequency is Neutral with a frequency of (f=57) among students.This could be due to the respondents not being too sure of their own choice of response towards the flipped classroom.The third highest response by frequency chosen by respondents is to strongly agree (f=36) as they are aware of the effectiveness of the flipped classroom approach.In relation to this, a study by Mohammad and Daham (2021) highlights that the flipped classroom is highly regarded as a new trend in teaching where in-class process is being transformed towards digitally improved lessons and by practicing exercises during classroom sessions.A lower number of respondents chose the option disagree with a frequency of only (f=11) and with no number of students choosing to Strongly Disagree.This comes to show that more students are able to identify with the approach of using the flipped classroom in writing skills.

The Flipped Classroom
There are 2 tables presented below.Table 4 above illustrates the perception of 21 form six students towards the use of flipped classroom and the results from the Likert Scale is shown above.The ten items are based on a Likert scale score of 1 to 5 which stands from strongly disagree to strongly agree respectively.Overall, the results show a positive pattern towards the responses for all 10 questions in relation to The Mean Scores' Interpretation Criteria in Table 1.
For the first part, the highest mean score recorded is (M=4.285)which correlates with the class interval of Table 1 with a mean range between 4.21 to 5.00 for Strongly Agree.This shows that the highest percentage of respondents at 48% (N=10) strongly agreed to item number 2 while 33% (N=7) respondents choosing to agree and with only 19% (N=4) respondents choosing a neutral stand.This reflects that the majority of the respondents strongly agree that they are able to do more with the flipped learning, like studying and learning at their own spare time.According to Erbil (2020) as proposed by Vigotsky, providing students with the time and space to watch videos prepared by the teacher known as the more knowledgeable one before a classroom lesson starts.After watching the videos, the students will learn through classroom interaction by the sharing knowledge and information with their classmates and this paves the way for active learning or cooperative learning to take place.
The second part showcases a greater percentage of respondents choosing to agree with the majority of 9 out of 10 statements in comparison to the other four options by recording mean scores starting from the second highest mean at (M=4.095) to the lowest mean at (M=3.619).This corresponds with the class interval of Table 1 as to Agree with the mean range of between 3.41 to 4.20.The results are discussed below.
The second highest mean score recorded is for item 10 with a mean score of (M=4.095) with a higher percentage of respondents choosing to agree at 42.9% (N=9) while 33.3% (N=7) of respondents choosing to strongly agree while only 5 respondents choosing a neutral stand.This shows that the majority of students do support the statement of item 10 whereby they believe that pre-university students can benefit from the flipped classroom.
Next, the third highest mean score recorded at (M=3.809) is for item number 6 with more respondents choosing to agree at 52.4% (N=11) while 14.3% (N=3) choose to strongly agree and with 33.3% (N=7) respondents choosing a neutral stand.Despite more students choosing to be neutral in their stand, still more percentage of students chose to agree as their response indicate that they have better understanding and are more prepared for class after watching online videos.As supported by Singh and Harun (2021) the flipped classroom gives rise to changes in the traditional learning style and at the same time allowing content learning methods come in various forms.
To discuss further, the fourth highest mean score is recorded at (M=3.76)1 for item number 8 as again, more respondents choosing to agree at 57% (N=12), followed by 33.3% (N=7) respondents made a neutral stand and with only 10% (N=2) respondents choosing to strongly agree.Even by having more of neutral responses in comparison to strongly agree, nevertheless, a higher number of students still chose to agree with the statement that they are satisfied with the introduction to flipped classroom learning.In regards to this, Abuhmaid and Abood (2020) stressed that the flipped classroom model which relates to digital media is known as the latest trend of learning strategy to the advantage of students in this technological era.This is done by using short instructional videos to assist students focus towards their task and at the same time sustaining the role of a guide as the lesson continuously develops.
Item 5 which states that the flipped classroom has given students the opportunity to be more responsible for their own learning and item 7 which indicates that students are more motivated to learn writing in the flipped classroom both recorded similar mean score at (M=3.714).Item 5 recorded 33% with (N=7) respondents each choosing to agree and choosing to be neutral in their respective response, while 24% (N=5) respondents chose to strongly agree with the given statement and only 10% (N=2) chose to disagree with the statement.Item 7 recorded a higher percentage of respondents that chose to agree at 62% (N=13), followed by 19% (N=4) of respondents having a neutral stand while only 9.5% of respondents that made the choice to strongly agree and disagree respectively.Subsequently, Abdelrahman (2017) argues that watching videos to help in the learning process prior to classroom lessons and followed by learning activities during classroom could help students deal with the existing challenges in writing skills.Next, items 1 and 4 recorded a similar mean score of (M=3.666).Item 1 recorded 9 respondents choosing to agree, slightly higher than 8 respondents choosing a neutral stand.
A smaller percentage of 14.3% respondents (N=3) chose to agree with the statement while only 4.7% of respondents (N=1) chose to disagree.Overall, it can be said that a higher number of respondents agree that they have a positive attitude towards flipped classroom.Item 4 recorded a higher number of respondents choosing to agree at 57% (N=12) in comparison to 24% (N=5) respondents choosing a neutral stand followed by the options to strongly agree and strongly disagree that recorded only 9.5% (N=2) respondents for each respectively.From this it can be concluded that students do mostly agree that they find watching online video before class to be useful.According to Guvenc (2018) the flipped classroom is known as one of the 21 st century learning approaches that is able to transform students learning style to become independent learners through the opportunity to facilitate their own learning at their own pace.Lastly, items 3 and 9 recorded the same mean score of (M=3.619).Item 3 had a higher record of 62% (N=13) respondents choosing to agree in comparison to only 23.8% (N=5) respondents that chose neutral as their preferred choice.Strongly agree and disagree recorded the least percentage of responses with only 9.5%(N=2) and 4.7%(N=1) respondents respectively.Item 9 recorded a higher percentage at 62%(N=13) choosing to Agree in comparison to the rest of items.Next, 23.8% (N=5) students chose a Neutral stand while 9.5%(N=2) choosing to Disagree while 4.7%(N=1) chose to Strongly Agree.In relation to item 3, more students agree that they appreciate the fact that they are able to learn more from videos while in accordance to item 9, students find it more engaging when watching online video.This is being asserted by Safiyeh and Farrah (2020) whereby easy access to new technological gadgets in the form of smartphones, laptops and tablets have provided students with the opportunities to search for a wide range of information at any time of the day.  1.
Firstly, the highest recorded mean score is (M=4.095)for Item 1 which shows a higher percentage of respondents choosing to agree at 57.1% (N=12), while 28.6% (N=6) respondents choosing to Strongly Agree besides a lower percentage of only 9.5% (N=2) respondents and 4.8%(N=1) respondent choosing a Neutral stand and to Disagree on statement 1 respectively.This reflects that the majority of the respondents agree that having a discussion at the beginning of the writing lesson based on the online video watched is useful.Rasheed et al., (2020) stated that utilizing digital inclined lessons such as the flipped classroom during pre-lessons is to be given emphasis as students need to be thoroughly prepared in order to be able to commit to an active participation during face-to-face interaction in the classroom.
Next, Item 5 recorded the second highest mean score which stands at (M=3.761).A higher percentage of students chose the option Neutral as their stand at 42.9% (N=9), while with a lightly lower percentage, 38.1% (N=8) of respondents chose to Agree as their preferred choice of answer.19%(N=4) of the respondents chose to Strongly Agree while none of the respondents chose to Disagree and Strongly Disagree.Despite a higher percentage of responses being Neutral, still a high percentage of respondents choose to agree and are able to experience better peer-collaboration during discussions in the classroom based on the online videos watched during flipped classroom.Rasheed et al., (2020), further notes that using the flipped classroom benefits students both ways as they will be able to navigate their own learning experiences through self learning and at the same time having the chance to participate in group learning activities.
Next, Item 4 records the same percentage of responses at 42.9% (N=9) for the options Agree and Neutral while 14.2%(N=3) respondents chose the option to Strongly Agree.No respondents chose the options to Disagree or to Strongly Disagree.This indicates that the respondents have made positive progress in learning writing through Flipped Classroom.In light of this, Safiyeh and Farrah (2020), mentioned that the effectiveness of flipped classroom is acknowledged for helping students to improve in their writing skills.
Items 2 and 3 recorded the same percentage of students choosing to agree at 61.9% (N=13) respectively, while similarly recording a lower percentage of respondents at only 4.8% (N=1) choosing to strongly agree.The option Neutral had a recorded percentage at 28.6% (N=6) while Item 3 recorded a slightly lower percentage at 23.8% (N=5) as the chosen response by the respondents.A lower number of respondents chose to Disagree with both Items 2 and 3 with only 4.8% (N=1) and 9.5%(N=2) of respondents respectively while none chose to Strongly Disagree.This comes to show that more students agree that watching online videos helps them understand how to write better and they were able to experience better peercollaboration during discussions in the classroom based on the online videos watched in flipped classroom.Rasheed et al (2020) further stressed that the flipped classroom gives students the advantages of being able to engage in their own self learning and at the same time to learn during group learning activities.

Conclusion
In conclusion, it is relevant to conclude that the use of flipped classroom has many advantages to it and can be considered as an effective method of the 21 st century learning in teaching writing skills.The flipped classroom approach is seen as a positive platform which encourages student centered learning.Besides, students are trained to be independent learners through self learning by watching and gathering information from videos designed for lessons by the teacher.Students are also privileged to further explore and further solidify their understanding on various topics through peer discussions.Thus, it is safe to state that the objective of this study has demonstrated positive outcomes through students' responses towards the flipped classroom method which has proven to be an effective gateway for students to demonstrate positive outcomes in their writing skills through better retained background information besides producing critical point of views in their written essays.Thus, from students' perception, flipped classroom does bring out positive attitude among sixth form students as they are able to learn the art of writing from a new perspective which exudes positivity and confidence in their writing ability.Besides, the majority of students through their perceptions have indicated that the flipped classroom is effective in assisting them to enhance their writing skills given the time grace for them to focus on completing their writing in the classroom.

Limitation
From this study, there are certain limitations which can be addressed in terms of the limited number of respondents.More number of respondents could better serve and reflect in terms of responses on the effectiveness of using flipped classroom in enhancing writing skills from the perspective of sixth form students.Thus, the response collected may not be sufficient to represent the perception of the larger number of sixth form students.

Recommendation
A prominent recommendation would be to have a larger sample size to represent the sixth form students from various form six colleges and schools in the Klang district to represent their perception towards the effectiveness of using the flipped classroom to enhance writing skills, for a larger representation of results.

Table 3
Frequency of students' response towards Flipped Classroom

Table 3
above explains of the frequency(f) of 21 students' response towards the flipped classroom.The highest recorded frequency by most respondents is to Agree which stands at Table 4 illustrates students' perception towards the Flipped Classroom while Table 5 depicts students' perception towards writing skills after experiencing the flipped classroom.The data representing both tables were obtained by administering a questionnaire to students via Google form once they have completed a series of lessons on writing skills through the intervention technique of the flipped classroom.

Table 5
Students' perception towards writing skills after experiencing the flipped classroom.Table5above illustrates the perception of 21 form six students towards the use of flipped classroom and the results from the Likert Scale is shown above.The ten items are based on a Likert scale score of 1 to 5 which stands from strongly disagree to strongly agree respectively.Generally, the results indicate an overall positive trend towards the responses for all 5 questions in relation to The Mean Scores' Interpretation Criteria based on Table1.All 5 items recorded mean scores which falls within the range of (M=3.41 to 4.20) which correlates with choosing to Agree as the most preferred option of answer according to the class intervals found in Table