flipped and micro-flipped instructional approaches: a comparative study on autonomy in iranian efl learners

Objective: this study aimed to examine the effects and relative impact of flipped and micro-flipped instruction on the autonomy of iranian efl learners.methods: a total of 63 female learners from a language institute were selected through the oxford placement test (opt) and divided into three groups: one control group and two experimental groups. all participants completed an autonomy questionnaire prior to the intervention. the first experimental group received advanced flipped instruction, the second received micro-flipped instruction, and the control group was taught through traditional lecture-based methods. after the instructional period, the autonomy questionnaire was administered again. the collected data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ancova) to compare post-test autonomy scores while controlling for pre-test differences.results: the results revealed no significant difference in learners' autonomy among the three groups at the pre-test stage. however, significant differences emerged in the post-test. pairwise comparisons indicated that micro-flipped instruction was more effective than both flipped and traditional instruction in enhancing learner autonomy. additionally, flipped instruction led to higher autonomy levels than the traditional lecture-based approach.conclusion: both flipped and micro-flipped instructional approaches positively influenced efl learners' autonomy, with micro-flipped instruction showing the greatest impact. these findings highlight the pedagogical potential of incorporating technology-supported, student-centered teaching models to promote learner autonomy in language classrooms. the results also encourage language educators and curriculum developers to reconsider traditional teaching methods and design more autonomy-supportive learning environments.