Virtual and Augmented Reality in Language Acquisition

Abstract

Studying the mechanisms of language and speech abilities showed that the most effective method of learning a foreign language is a method of total immersion as students enter the natural language environment and are in it constantly. But the learning process in the classroom, no matter how organized, creative and communicative it is, cannot replace the real experience of teaching. As the most important factors for the effective foreign language learning are the language environment and the motivation, thus the development of new motivational language learning environments, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and 3D environment, are the basic elements of the learning process. The development of VR and AR technology allows expanding the boundaries of science and introducing innovations in all spheres of human activity. In the educational establishments of the USA and China VR and AR environments are already widely used, but in Russia VR is used only in a few schools and universities and AR has not been used at all. The group of teachers of Samara State Technical University designed the new generation educational course of English based on the VR and AR technology that creates a real situational interaction in which the student can receive certain information, to carry out scientific and educational elements, project activities. In such educational space VR/AR helps students to understand the phenomena and situations that cannot be understood and explained in the traditional techniques, become part of the real world through the simulation. In general, VR/AR is an ideal learning environment, and the opportunities of its technologies for teaching have an extremely high potential for application.

Sustainability in Higher Education: The Relationship between Work-Life Balance and XR E-Learning Facilities

“…), where VR/AR allows them to design a subject in simulated reality; and humanities (philology, philosophy, history, cultural studies, theology, literature, etc. [54,55]), where VR is used to create a specific environment. However, most of them stated that the fields of study to which VR immersion brings the most advantages are [56]:…”

“…In other museums, AR is used for providing additional information. At Woofbert VR's art gallery, visitors can discover pictures interactively or watch an enhanced 360 • version of some shows [55].…”

A Social Virtual Reality Mobile Application for Learning and Practicing English

“…Accordingly, teaching and learning English has gained more attention, and many people are attempting to speak it fluently. The study of the mechanisms of language and speech abilities has shown that the most effective way to learn a foreign language is the method of total immersion, where learners enter the native language environment; however, most people who learn the English language cannot live and study abroad [2]. Therefore, English learners face several issues in practicing the language; for instance, they have challenges finding native speakers and conducting conversations with them [3].…”

Vocabulary Acquisition in New and Learned Contexts Using Immersive Virtual Reality

“…In these studies, participants can freely explore a VE in which target words are placed as visual objects. VEs typically correspond to familiar environments such as a living room (Ebert, Gupta and Makedon, 2016;Garcia et al, 2019), kitchen (Legault et al, 2019;Jia and Liu, 2019), zoo (Legault et al, 2019), airport customs (Dobrova et al, 2018), classroom (Cho, 2018) or supermarket (Collins, Vaughan and Cullen, 2020).…”

“…Besides exploration, vocabulary acquisition can also be done through conversation. The IVR experience of Dobrova et al (2018) consists of two VEs, one exploratory-based and one conversation-based. In the latter, participants interact with a virtual customs officer to learn new words and test their word knowledge.…”