Aligned with WorldCALL2023 that heralds ‘CALL in Critical Times’, this presentation intends to respond to the subtheme in ‘growing diverse online communities of language learners/teachers’. It speaks for ‘newbie’ teacher researchers who venture to embark on a challenging but rewarding adventure in 3D multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) such as Second Life (SL). Taking an autoethnographic approach, I candidly demystify the dos and don’ts in SL teaching and research while vividly walking the audience through each step of my 3D journey. Using my SL teaching blog as a storytelling hub, I illustrate how I plunged into SL teaching and research as a newbie, honed my skills in order to design SL-enabled, task-based lessons, documented what was going on, and tackled ‘anything-could-happen-in-SL’, and critically reflected on the pitfalls in the virtual sessions and savoured the a-ha moments. Specifically, I unpack how teachers can also conduct (action) research in SL, guided by pedagogically-sound, research-informed principles as in technology-mediated task-based language teaching. For instance, I exemplify how I developed a TBLT syllabus by capitalising on the unique 3D affordances that allow for real-world simulation, authentic communication, and a sense of telepresence and copresence. I also demonstrate how practitioners can carry out research in their virtual teaching by gathering multimodal data generated by SL, student task performance, ongoing participant observation, and a researcher journal. I end my presentation with lessons learned from this 3D MUVE trajectory, evidenced in my research outputs and hands-on resources for the attendees to take away.

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Abstract Summary
This presentation intends to respond to the subtheme in ‘growing diverse online communities of language learners/teachers’. It speaks for ‘newbie’ teacher researchers who venture to embark on a challenging but rewarding adventure in 3D multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) such as Second Life (SL). Taking an autoethnographic approach, I candidly demystify the dos and don’ts in SL teaching and research while vividly walking the audience through each step of my 3D journey.

Authors:
Julian Chen, Curtin University, Australia

About the Presenter(s)
Julian Chen is an applied linguist and seasoned researcher at Curtin University. Julian’s research synergises technology-enhanced language teaching, game-based learning, immersive virtual reality (VR), and critical and humanising pedagogy.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/julian-chen-036b4332

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Julian-Chen-11

Additional website of interest
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7788-0462

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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