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Language learning is the most widespread type of education in virtual worlds[1], with many universities, mainstream language institutes and private language schools using 3D virtual environments to support language learning.

History

Although 2007 saw the first large-scale language school LanguageLab to open its doors in a virtual world[2], projects to use virtual worlds such as Active Worlds had already preceded it. . [3].

Many universities (such as Monash University) and mainstream language institutes (such as British Council, Confucius Institute, Instituto Cervantes and Goethe Institut) have islands in Second Life specifically for language learning.

As 3D virtual worlds become more complex in the future, they will offer different opportunities for language education. Already, Augmented Reality offers a merging of virtual worlds, real life and mobile learning and it is being explored by language educators as a future path for virtual world language education. [4]

Virtual Worlds and 3D Online Environments

Both 3D virtual worlds (such as Second Life) and 3D virtual environments (such as Google Lively or Hangout.net) can be used for 3D online language learning. Almost all such language learning projects make use of general virtual worlds that are intended for social networking (rather than for language education). However, there are more recent examples of creating virtual worlds specifically for language education.

Since 2005 Second Life has been the main focus of language education using virtual worlds. This has been largely due to the flexibility offered by Second Life, especially with the opportunity to own land and build educational environments in-world. However, other virtual worlds and 3D online spaces have been used as language learning tools. Twinity replicates the real life city of Berlin (other cities such as Singapore and London to follow) and offers language learners virtual locations with specific languages being spoken. Some islands in Second Life also have language or culture specific communities that may allow language learners easy ways to practice a foreign language. [5] There.com also offers language learning opportunities[6]

Browser-based 3D environments such as ExitReality offer 3D spaces for social learning or, in the case of Google Street View and Google Earth[7] immersive learning.

There are virtual worlds, such as Zon and Wiz World that have been specifically designed for language learning and may be considered to be SIEs (Synthetic Immersive Environments).

Pedagogies and Activities in Virtual Worlds

As virtual worlds offer social and immersive experiences, the main pedagogical focuses have been with constructivist educational approaches. Task-based language learning has been commonly applied to virtual world language education.[8] Dogme methods that draw on the ability to stimulate conversation and communication for language emergence have also been used to guide language learning activities.

Constructivist approaches

3D virtual worlds are often used for constructivist learning because of the opportunities for learners to explore, collaborate and be immersed within an environment of their choice. Some virtual worlds allow users to build objects and to change the appearance of their avatar and of their surroundings. [9]. Constructivist approaches such as task-based learning and Dogme are applied to virtual world language learning because of the scope for learners to socially co-construct knowledge, in spheres of particular relevance to the learner.

Task-based language learning

TBL focuses on the use of authentic language and encourages students to do real life tasks using the language being learned. Tasks can be highly transactional, where the student is carrying out everyday tasks such as visiting the doctor at the Chinese island of Monash University (in Second Life). Incidental knowledge (about the medical system in China) can also be gained through such immersive TBL. Other tasks may focus on more interactional language, such as ones that involve more social activities or interviews within a virtual world.

Dogme 2.0

The term Dogme 2.0 refers to the application of Dogme principles to teaching and learning languages with web 2.0 tools, including virtual worlds. Dogme has been presented as especially relevant to virtual world language learning because of the social, immersive and creative experiences offered by virtual worlds. These experiences offer opportunities for the language learning to focus on what is relevant to the learner and to stimulate language learning through conversations (either within or outside of the virtual world). [10]

Six Learnings Framework

The “Six Learnings Framework” is a pedagogical outline developed for virtual world education in general. It sets out 6 possible ways to view an educational activity. [11]

  • Exploring: learners explore a virtual world’s locations and communities as fieldwork for class.
  • Collaborating: learners work together within a virtual world on collaborative tasks.
  • Being: learners explore themselves and their identity through their presence in a virtual world, such as through role play.
  • Building: learners construct objects within a virtual world.
  • Championing: learners promote real life causes through activities and presentations in a virtual world.
  • Expressing: learners represent activities within a virtual world to the outside world, through blogs, podcasts, presentations and videos.

Approaches to Language Education in Virtual Worlds

Almost all virtual world educational projects envisage a blended learning approach whereby the language learners are exposed to a 3D virtual environment for a specific activity or time period. Such approaches combine the use of virtual worlds with other online and offline tools, such as 2D virtual learning environments (eg Moodle) or physical classrooms. Other virtual world based language learning is intended to offer a complete language learning environment through a virtual world.

Virtual worlds such as Second Life are used for the immersive, [12] [Ref: Cranfield: https://www.calico.org/p-398-%20..html] collaborative [13] and game-like [14] opportunities they offer language learners. As such, virtual world language learning can be considered to offer distinct (although combinable) learning experiences

  • Immersive: Immersive experiences draw on the ability to be surrounded by a certain (real or fictitious) environment that can stimulate language learning.[15]
  • Social: Almost all 3D virtual spaces are inherently social environments where language learners can meet others, either to informally practice a language or to participate in more formal classes. .[16]
  • Creative: A lesser-developed approach to language learning in virtual worlds is that of constructing objects as part of a language learning activity.[17] There is currently little documentation of such activities.

Owning and Using Land in Virtual Worlds

Most language educators own or rent land in a virtual world, such as Second Life, to facilitate specific educational tasks. This approach offers considerable control over who is allowed to have access to the venue and the visitor permissions.

Holodecks

Holodecks are used in Second Life to offer certain environments while saving space and prims (building units in Second Life). Holodecks are frequently used in language education in Second Life to create specific locations for lessons or learning experiences. Holodecks can be used to encourage students to describe a certain scene or to even build a scene. [18] Holodecks are also used for role plays. [19].

Language Villages

The Language Village concept has been replicated within virtual worlds to create a language immersion environment for language learners in their own country. [20]. Monash University has an island in Second Life that is specifically designed to immerse students in aspects of life in China. [21].

Building and Object Creation

Land ownership is usually necessary if lessons are to include building activities. Although there may be opportunities to use public sandboxes, learners may prefer to exhibit their creations more permanently on owned/rented land.

Public Spaces

Language learning can also take place in public spaces within virtual worlds (such as the Plaza Real in Barcelona). This offers greater flexibility with locations and students can choose the locations themselves, which enables a more constructivist approach.

Virtual Tourism

The wide variety of replica places (such as Barcelona, Berlin, London or Paris) in Second Life offers opportunities for language learning through virtual tourism.[22]

WebQuests

Virtual world WebQuests (also referred to as SurReal Quests [23]. ) combine the concept of a 2D WebQuests with the immersive and social experiences of 3D virtual worlds. Learners develop texts, audios or podcasts based on their research, part of which is within a virtual world.

Use of Voice

Voice (in-world VOIP) is a relatively recent addition to language learning in virtual worlds. Initial projects using Active Worlds focused on text-chat communication and Second Life only introduced voice capabilities in 2007. Second Life's internal voice system has the added ability to reproduce the effect of distance on voice loudness – so that there is an auditive sense of space amongst users. [24].

Other virtual worlds such as Twinity and There also offer internal voice systems. Browser-based 3D virtual environments tend to only offer text-chat communication, although this seems likely to become more widespread [25].

Events

Virtual worlds have become a mainstream part of language education and are frequently discussed at conventional events such as IATEFL. [26].

However, specific events have developed to enable the sharing of ideas and experiences amongst virtual world language educators.

  • Slanguages is an annual conference for virtual world language education that takes place on the EduNation islands in Second Life. Attendance is entirely within Second Life. The event is usually held for 24 continuous hours.
  • EVOnline is the online track for the annual TESOL convention, that has several workshops and meetings within virtual worlds (especially Second Life)
  • A Coffee With Series is a series of live interviews with leading educators (including Jeremy Harmer, Pete Sharma and Scott Thornbury).

Communities

Communities for language educators using virtual worlds have developed and include the following.

  • English Village is a community of language teachers in Asia using Second Life.
  • [www.rezed.org/group/languagelearninginvirtualworlds RezEd Language Learning in Virtual Worlds] community offers a Ning-based social network for those interested in 3D virtual language education.
  • Second Life English Community is an open community for language learners and teachers in the virtual world of Second Life.
  • SL Experiments is a community of language teachers using Second Life. The website includes lesson plans.

Research Projects

AVALON is a 2 year project (January 2009 to December 2010) to explore 3D worlds for language learning. It is funded by the European Union.

Beyond Virtual Worlds

Virtual World Language Learning is a rapidly expanding field and it converges with other closely related areas, such as the use of MMOGs, SIEs and AR.

Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs)

MMOGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Games) are also used to support language learning although there is limited documentation of this area. [27]

Synthetic Immersive Environments (SIEs)

SIEs are engineered 3D virtual spaces that integrate online gaming aspects. They are specifically designed for educational purposes and offer learners a collaborative and constructionist environment. They also allow the creators/designers to focus on specific skills and pedagogical objectives. [28] Croquelandia is an example of an SIE by the University of Minnesota for Spanish Learning.

Augmented Reality Language Learning (ARLL)

The convergence between virtual worlds and real life are offering new opportunities for language education and Augmented Reality is gaining interest for language learning, especially for m-learning (mobile learning). [29] AR applications such as the Wikitude program for the Google phone (Android) enable immersive and information-rich experiences in the real world and are therefore blurring the differences between real life and virtual worlds.

Resources

slanguages.wikispaces.com http://e-language.wikispaces.com/virtual-worlds

References

  1. ^ "8D Taps Language Learners, Bots, Microtransactions". Virtual World News. 2009-05-29. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Erard, Michael (2007-04-10). "A Boon to Second Life Language Schools: New Technology will Allow High-Quality Audio in a Virtual World". Technology Review. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Williams, Charlie (2003-06-23). "Babel-M: A Virtual Environment for the Promotion of Language Learning". Parapal Online. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ LingualGamers (2007-10-09). "Augmented Reality Games". Language Learning with New Media and Video Games. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Berry, Coleen Dee (2009-04-08). "Virtual reality and high-tech simulations breathe second life into language classes". Focus, Rutgers University. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Peachey, Nick (2007-10-09). "Looking at There.com". Nik's Learning Technology Blog. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Language Resource Center at UNC Charlotte (2007-10-11). "Google Earth Activities for Foreign Language Classes". Presentation at Instructional Technology Showcase. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ O’Dowd, R (2007). "Online Intercultural Exchange: An Introduction for Foreign Language Teachers". Multilingual Matters. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Can, Tuncer (2009-04). "Learning and Teaching Languages Online: a Constructivist Approach" (PDF). Novitas-ROYAL. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Vickers, Howard (2009-03-15). "Dogme 2.0: What "Teaching 2.0" Can Learn from Dogme ELT". Avatar Languages Blog. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Lim, Kenneth (2009-04). "Pedagogy, Education and Innovation in 3-D Virtual Worlds". Journal of Virtual Worlds Research. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Canfield, Douglas (2008-03-20). "Using Immersive Learning Environments in Foreign Language Classes: Second Life". Paper presented at CALICO 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Cooke-Plagwitz, Jessamine (2008-03-20). "Conversing in the Metaverse: Language Teaching and Learning in Second Life". Paper presented at CALICO 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Chan, James (2008-03-20). "Developing a Meaning-focused and Task-based Virtual Learning Reality". Paper presented at CALICO 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Jeffery, A (2008). "Immersive Learning and Role Plays in Second Life". Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Johnson, Laurence (2007-04-18). "Virtual Worlds: Inherently Immersive, Highly Social Learning Spaces" (PDF). The Immersive Education Initiative. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Dudeney, Gavin (2008-10-28). "A Coffee with Gavin Dudeney". Recording of live event at EduNation in Second Life. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Kern, Nergiz (2009-04-22). "Holodecks and language learning". Teaching in Second Life - Reflections of a language teacher. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ Lim, Kenneth (2009-04). "Pedagogy, Education and Innovation in 3-D Virtual Worlds". Journal of Virtual Worlds Research. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Koenraad, Ton (2008). "How can 3D Virtual Worlds contribute to language education?". Paper presented at WorldCALL 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ Monash Memo (2009-05-20). "Virtual learning". Monash Memo, Monash University. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ See the Second Life-based Virtual Tourism course run by Graham Stanley at the University of Ramon Llull in Barcelona
  23. ^ Vickers, Howard (2007-10-15). "SurReal Quests: Enriched, purposeful language learning in Second Life". The Knowledge Tree. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ Erard, Michael (2007-04-10). "A Boon to Second Life Language Schools: New Technology will Allow High-Quality Audio in a Virtual World". Technology Review. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ "Vivox Launches Toolbar For Browser-Based Voice Chat". Virtual World News. 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ See IATEFL Cardiff Conference 2009 Brochure
  27. ^ Sykes, Julie (2008-05). "Web 2.0, Synthetic Immersive Environments, and Mobile Resources for Language Education" (PDF). CALICO Journal. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ Sykes, Julie (2008-05). "Web 2.0, Synthetic Immersive Environments, and Mobile Resources for Language Education" (PDF). CALICO Journal. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ Holden, Christopher (2009-06-11). "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood". GLS 5.0. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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