An online collaborative virtual reality environment for promoting listening comprehension

Although Virtual Reality (VR) was extensively researched in the 1980s, it was not used in educational settings until the early 1990s. The research and application of VR in language instruction, however, is even more recent, dating back to approximately a decade. Consequently, there is a relative lack of solid research in the area of VR and its possible applications in the area of second language learning. This chapter provides background research and information in the areas of Computer Assisted Language Learner (CALL), VR, collaborative learning, and second language methodology. It then presents a technical and qualitative description of Realtown, a Collaborative Virtual Reality Environment (CVRE) designed to promote listening comprehension, developed by researchers of the College of Telematics of the Universidad de Colima, Mexico. This chapter also includes a usability study that was applied to improve ease of use of Realtown that was conducted as a preamble to subsequent studies employing collaborative applications of Realtown for listening comprehension. Future work points to longitudinal studies on learning issues and first-person actions and experiences in CVRE.

[1]  Steve Benford,et al.  Revealing the realities of collaborative virtual reality , 2000, CVE '00.

[2]  Tom Carey,et al.  Human-computer interaction , 1994 .

[3]  Marilyn C. Salzman,et al.  ScienceSpace: virtual realities for learning complex and abstract scientific concepts , 1996, Proceedings of the IEEE 1996 Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium.

[4]  Frederick P. Brooks.  What's Real About Virtual Reality? , 1999, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[5]  Christine M. Byrne.  Water on tap: the use of virtual reality as an educational tool , 1996 .

[6]  Ben Shneiderman,et al.  Designing The User Interface , 2013 .

[7]  Max M. North,et al.  Brief Virtual Reality Therapy for Public Speaking Anxiety , 2002, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[8]  C. Dede.  Using Virtual Reality Technology to Convey Abstract Scientific Concepts , 1997 .

[9]  Christer Carlsson,et al.  DIVE A multi-user virtual reality system , 1993, Proceedings of IEEE Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium.

[10]  David Nunan,et al.  Collaborative language learning and teaching , 1994 .

[11]  Mary Czerwinski,et al.  Immersion in desktop virtual reality , 1997, UIST '97.

[12]  Diana Laurillard,et al.  Rethinking University Teaching: A Framework for the Effective Use of Educational Technology , 1993 .

[13]  Joseph Krajcik,et al.  Log on education: K-12 and the Internet , 2000, CACM.

[14]  Roy S. Kalawsky,et al.  The Validity of Presence as a Reliable Human Performance Metric in Immersive Environments , 2000 .

[15]  Eileen N. Ariza.  Resurrecting “Old” Language Learning Methods to Reduce Anxiety for New Language Learners: Community Language Learning to the Rescue , 2002 .

[16]  Mike Levy,et al.  Computer-Assisted Language Learning: Context and Conceptualization , 1997 .

[17]  Ricardo Acosta-Diaz,et al.  Implementing Accessibility to a Digital Library Using Virtual Reality Techniques , 2006 .

[18]  Anne S. Goodsell.  Collaborative Learning: A Sourcebook for Higher Education. , 1992 .

[19]  Barry G. Silverman.  Computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) , 1995 .

[20]  Alan Lipschultz,et al.  Virtual Reality Technology, 2nd edition , 2004 .

[21]  Ivan E. Sutherland,et al.  The Ultimate Display , 1965 .

[22]  Randolph L. Jackson,et al.  Collaboration and learning within immersive virtual reality , 2000, CVE '00.

[23]  Kent A. Reed,et al.  Using VRML in construction industry applications , 2000, VRML '00.

[24]  Alan Munro,et al.  Collaborative virtual environments , 2001, CACM.

[25]  Richard M. Satava,et al.  Medical applications of virtual reality , 1997, CACM.

[26]  Charles Arthur Curran,et al.  Counseling-learning in second languages , 1976 .

[27]  Rod Ellis,et al.  The Study of Second Language Acquisition , 1994 .

[28]  Diana Laurillard,et al.  Rethinking University Teaching: A Conversational Framework for the Effective Use of Learning Technologies. 2nd Edition , 1993 .

[29]  Wolfgang Broll,et al.  Proceedings of the Fifth Symposium on Virtual Reality Modeling Language, Web3D-VRML 2000, Monterey, CA, USA, February 20-24, 2000 , 2000, International Conference on 3D Technologies for the World Wide Web.

[30]  Charles M. Reigeluth,et al.  Instructional-design Theories and Models : A New Paradigm of Instructional Theory, Volume II , 1999 .

[31]  Anthony E. Cawkell,et al.  Understanding Virtual Reality , 2003, J. Documentation.

[32]  S. Krashen,et al.  The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition in the Classroom , 1983 .

[33]  Robert C. Gardner,et al.  Methods and Results in the Study of Anxiety and Language Learning: A Review of the Literature* , 1991 .

[34]  Francisco Gomes de Matos.  Caring and sharing in the foreign language class , 1980 .

[35]  Robert Scane,et al.  User Interface Design , 2003 .

[36]  R. Bowen Loftin,et al.  A Shared Virtual Environment for Exploring and Designing Molecules , 2001, CACM.

[37]  Carol A. Chapelle,et al.  Computer applications in second language acquisition : foundations for teaching, testing and research , 2001 .

[38]  Ken Beatty,et al.  Teaching and Researching Computer-Assisted Language Learning , 2003 .

[39]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  Usability inspection methods , 1994, CHI 95 Conference Companion.

[40]  Amy Bruckman,et al.  Effects of CMC on student participation patterns in a foreign language learning environment , 2001, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[41]  James J. Asher,et al.  Learning Another Language Through Actions: The Complete Teacher's Guidebook , 1988 .

[42]  Emmanuel Frécon,et al.  DIVE: a scaleable network architecture for distributed virtual environments , 1998, Distributed Syst. Eng..

[43]  Christine Youngblut,et al.  Educational Uses of Virtual Reality Technology. , 1998 .