Can you 'Flip' language?

Today I explored the idea of flipping the LANGUAGE classroom...

Have you ever heard of "flipping the classroom"? (In a nutshell - the Lecture becomes howework, and what student previously completed at home as "homework" becomes in-class problem-solving. The idea is that this allows students to view the lecture at their own pace, come to class with questions, and apply what they viewed with increased one-on-one interaction with the teacher and their peers). To learn more, check out this TedTalk by the founder of the Khan Academy:

PROBLEM: Salman Khan's "flipping the classroom" concept fascinates me, but one of my first thoughts after watching it was that his flipping practice focuses almost exclusively on learning the sciences, with no mention of language. Could it possibly be used to teach LANGAUGE? - and in my case, teach English or Spanish as a second language?

Today I brought this question & TedTalk video to the Teaching Methodologies course I am currently co-teaching at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).

We began class with a pair-share conversation, asking a partner about their favorite tools & uses of technology, and how we might use them as students & teachers. 

After watching the video, most students voiced interest in flipping but encountered several challenges. For example, they said that language is not like math, there are not problems with one right or wrong answer; language classes should focus on collective or community communication (reading, writing, speaking & listening) & not individual problem solving which lends itself more effectively to Khan's flipped classroom examples.

SOLUTION: To encourage further brainstorming & concrete envisioning of a language flip, my co-teacher (Vanderlei) & I gave a hypothetical example of a lesson. I like to dance, & he likes electronic music, so we considered creating a flipped class on ‘Making your own dance steps to electronic music’...

METHODOLOGY: We designated the 1st half of the flip (or homework video lecture) as the Content-based Learning portion, and the 2nd half (in-class work) as the Task-based Learning portion.

CONTET: Our video consisted of the following content: body parts (head, shoulders, knees & toes song), giving directions (take a step, move body part), and the directions (up, down, forward, backward, to the left/right). We then asked students to bring into class the next day their favorite electronic song.

TASK: In class, the students get into small groups, choose 1 favorite song to dance to, create 10 choreographed dance steps that accompany their song, teach it to a different group, and then perform together for the class.

...

After providing this example, Vanderlie and I split the class into groups asked them to come up with their own hypothetical flipped classrooms, and finally share their ideas and a sample video lecture to the class. Finally, the class ended by discussing the areas in which they had discovered difficulty making the flip work; what other challenges they foresee when implementing the flip, and whether or not they can see themselves actually using the flip.

TAKE-AWAY: My most significant take-away from this class came when noticing how much richer the discussion became after the students had gotten their hands dirty with flipping, having now more rich personal experience to pull from (Learning by DOING). Vanderlie & I were able to sit back and let the students take control of the discussion – a rare occurrence in the courses I observe at UFRJ since the students here, like most in any traditional classroom, are accustomed to lectures, passively observing (spacing out), and viewing the teacher as the only source of valuable knowledge.

Another Take-Away: I think that Flipping the Classroom can work with the idea in mind that the Video Lecture introduces the Content, and the In-class time demands the completion of a related Task. Or can YOU think of a different way to flip it?