Flipping a classroom has become a significant trend in education circles. However, studies on student engagement when using flipped instruction remain limited, especially in conjunction with the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) or English for specific purposes (ESP). This study aims to address this shortcoming by examining student engagement in an English for tourism course at a large university in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The course was redesigned according to the tenets of flipped instruction using Facebook. A total of 37 third-year Vietnamese university students participated in the study. The data collected through three research instruments (a questionnaire, an interview and classroom observation) indicate that flipped classrooms engender highly engaged students regarding the psychological constructs of behavior, emotion and cognition. Implications are provided for teachers, extolling the positive engagement elements that emerged from the flipped class.