Designing interaction tasks in Second Life for Chinese as a foreign language learners: A preliminary exploration

Abstract

The aims of this research were to develop guidelines for designing interaction tasks for learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) and to investigate the attitudes of CFL learners toward a full CFL class in Second Life (SL). Three research questions were addressed in this research: (1) what are the attitudes of CFL learners toward the language learning tasks in SL? (2) what kinds of social interactions emerge from learning activities in a CFL class in SL? (3) how do those activities benefit CFL learners in the learning of Chinese in SL? Two studies were conducted to tackle these questions. The cognition, usage, and expansion (CUE) model was proposed based on the findings obtained from study 1 and then implemented and evaluated in study 2. The findings of study 2 indicated that the activities run in the CUE model were effective at motivating CFL beginners and improving their oral communication and social interactions. Based on the video data analysis, three criteria were proposed for designing learning activities. Suggestions are also made for future research on CFL teaching/learning in SL.

The crossroads of English language learners, task-based instruction, and 3D multi-user virtual learning in Second Life

“…In addition to Spanish language learning, the implementation of TBLT in SL has also attracted attention from other foreign language researchers investigating whether the positive results can also be evidenced in other target languages. For example, Lan, Kan, Hsiao, Yang, and Chang (2013) adopted a three-stage teaching model of cognition, usage, and expansion (CUE) for beginners in Chinese language in SL. They argued that certain criteria need to be met in order for a virtual Chinese language class to be successfully delivered in SL:…”

Embodied cognition and language learning in virtual environments

“…Virtual immersion environments, such as Second Life (SL, a multiuser virtual environment) or Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), have gained the attention of cross-disciplinary researchers (Lan 2014;Wang and Burton 2013) because they make both avatar-self movement and different interactions between the learner and the virtual environments possible (Lan et al 2013). Thus, such environments have been recognized to provide learners with an embodied learning experience (Schubert et al 1999).…”

Understanding the Interaction between Technology and the Learner: The Case of DLL

“…In this regard, Caldwell-Harris (2021) points out that VR creates learning environments that are inherently interesting for learners to explore, which helps to overcome boredom during sustained efforts of learning. For example, when being immersed in VR, learners’ engagement is promoted through either person-to-person or environment-to-person interactions (Lan, Kan, Hsiao, Yang & Chang, 2013; Lan, Fang, Legault & Li, 2015); real-world-like situations can provide the learner with hands-on experience through discovery explorations (see some examples illustrated in Figure 1 of KA). We also agree with Chien and colleagues (Chien, Hung, Ku, Wu & Chan, 2021) that components of the IDC theory (Chan, Roschelle, Hsi, Kinshuk, Sharples, Brown, Patton, Cherniavsky, Pea, Norris, Soloway, Balacheff, Scardamalia, Dillenbourg, Looi, Milrad & Hoppe, 2006) may guide instructional designers to focus on the role of motivation.…”