The burgeoning popularity of immersive technologies seems to foretell the mainstreaming of such technologies in educational settings in the not-so-distant future; thus, it seems wise to gain a better understanding of their potential for language learning. Juxtaposing the capabilities of virtual reality (VR) with the pedagogical guidelines and practices of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), this study investigates the effectiveness of an interactive VR-assisted course for the development of academic oral presentation skills and the enhancement of self-efficacy beliefs regarding presenting in English in the Iranian academic context. To this aim, a mixed-methods study was conducted, and 3 Iranian university lecturers and 10 post-graduate students participated in a 6-session academic oral presentation course in which the participants accessed a virtually stimulated presentation platform to practice academic oral presentation and receive feedback. In the quantitative phase, the comparison of the participants’ pre-test and post-test scores revealed that the course had a positive effect on the participants’ academic oral presentation performance. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants and their reflection notes on their perceptions of the course were gathered. The analyzed bodies of data indicated that the interactive virtual learning environment of the course had made contributions to the improvements in their academic oral presentation skills, achieving higher levels of self-efficacy regarding presenting after the course; furthermore, the participants had a positive perception toward the application of virtual reality in the course. The findings can have significant implications and applications for educational policy makers, administrators, curriculum developers, EAP teacher educators and EAP practitioners in the EFL context.

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Abstract Summary
Juxtaposing the capabilities of virtual reality (VR) with the pedagogical guidelines and practices of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), this study investigates the effectiveness of an interactive VR-assisted course for the development of academic oral presentation skills and the enhancement of self-efficacy beliefs regarding presenting in English in the Iranian academic context. To this aim, a mixed-methods study was conducted, and 3 Iranian university lecturers and 10 post-graduate students participated in a 6-session course. The participants’ pre-test and post-test scores, semi-structured interviews and reflection notes were utilized. The results indicated that the course had made contributions to the improvements in their academic oral presentation skills and self-efficacy regarding presenting; furthermore, the participants had a positive perception toward the application of virtual reality in the course. The findings can have significant implications and applications for educational policy makers, administrators, curriculum developers, EAP teacher educators and EAP practitioners in the EFL context.

Authors:
S. Susan Marandi, Alzahra University, Iran
Fatemeh Saneie Kashanifar, Alzahra University, Iran

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Fatemeh Saneie Kashanifar is a Ph.D. candidate at Alzahra University in Tehran, Iran. Her current research interests are Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), Virtual Reality (VR), and English for Academic Purposes (EAP).

Connect on Linkedin
Ms Fatemeh Saneie Kashanifar is a Ph.D. candidate at Alzahra University in Tehran, Iran. Her current research interests are Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), Virtual Reality (VR), and English for Academic Purposes (EAP).

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fateme-Kashanifar

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