Enhancing Vocabulary Acquisition Through Immersive VR: Investigating the Power of Object Interaction (75188)
Session Chair: Julian Chen
Saturday, 11 November 2023 10:00
Session: Session 1
Room: Thung Saliam
Presentation Type: Paper Presentation
Virtual Reality (VR) has the potential to improve language learning. CALL scholars have studied the effectiveness of VR-assisted language learning (VRALL) for practicing social interactions (Thrasher, 2022), vocabulary learning (Papin & Kaplan-Rakowski, 2022), virtual exchanges (Gruber et al., 2023), pragmatics (Taguchi, 2022), listening comprehension (Tai & Chen, 2021), and reading (Kaplan-Rakowski & Gruber, 2023). Overall, existing research has reported VR to be relatively beneficial for language learning (Dhimolea et al., 2022), however, a common limitation of existing studies is their small sample sizes, making it difficult to generalize findings. The goal of this presentation is to report on the early stages of a large-scale project testing the cognitive and affective aspects of learning in VR. Thanks to a grant received in collaboration with Immerse from Meta, we were able to obtain 500 Oculus Quest 2 headsets that have been facilitating large-scale data collection in 11 secondary schools throughout the U.S.
This presentation will report on an initial study for this project that examined the impact of VR on vocabulary learning. Participants were 91 beginner and intermediate learners of French from a rural high school in Texas, USA. Students were divided into two groups: the experimental group studied vocabulary using VR while the control group studied the same vocabulary using desktop computers. Each vocabulary item was represented by an object, with some of the objects being interactive. The learning activity involved students locating the target objects in a virtual shopping center, scanning them to listen to their pronunciation in French, and interacting with them if possible (e.g., if students found a hat, they could put it on).
A pre-/post-/delayed-post-test design was used to measure vocabulary learning outcomes. Preliminary analysis showed a slight advantage of using VR headsets to retain vocabulary (p = 0.59). When comparing the effect of interactive objects versus non-interactive objects on vocabulary learning, the interactivity yielded higher, albeit not statistically significant, vocabulary scores. The results of this initial study suggest focusing on the role of interactivity in vocabulary learning and will inform our larger data collection in all high schools during the 2023-2024 academic year.
Abstract Summary
This presentation reports on a study that was conducted as part of a large-scale project testing the cognitive and affective aspects of language learning in VR in 11 secondary schools located throughout the U.S. This specific project examined the impact of VR on vocabulary learning. Participants were 91 beginner and intermediate learners of French from a high school in Texas, USA. All participants completed vocabulary learning activities in a VR language learning platform, Immerse, in one of two groups: an experimental group who used VR headsets and a control group who used computers. A pre-/post-/delayed-post-test design was used to measure vocabulary learning outcomes. Preliminary analysis showed a slight advantage of using VR headsets to retain vocabulary. When comparing the effect of interactive objects versus non-interactive objects on vocabulary learning, the interactivity yielded higher vocabulary scores.
Authors:
Tricia Thrasher, Immerse, United States
Regina Kaplan-Rakowski, University of North Texas, United States
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