Immersive virtual environments provide an optimum environment for SLA, due to benefits offered by immersion

Thought process

• VR is the most accessible and immersive technology available
  • Immersion from VR has been successfully used in simulations and training
• SLA theory includes an immersive method, where SLA is gained through cultural immersion
  • SLA immersion method is productive
  • SLA immersion is also difficult and cost-prohibitive
  • SLA immersion contains affective drawbacks (anxiety)
    • VR practice has been shown to lower anxiety in real-world situations
• SLA theory suggests learners need to be intrinsically-motivated
  • Classroom applications of immersion techniques (using realia) do not always instill intrinsic-motivation
    • Games create, and game mechanics can be used to instill, intrinsic-motivation
  • Real-world applications of immersion techniques remove feedback mechanisms
    • A virtual environment can add annotated and helpful interactions, balancing to n + 1 for language learning difficult
• Can an immersive VR environment featuring game aspects create a successful and scalable “immersive approach”, with learning outcomes better than those in real-life?

Environment questions

• How does VR interaction occur?
  • Informed by Game Design theory
  • Informed by SLA theory
• What is practiced inside the environment?
  • Informed by SLA theory
• Can Google or Amazon services provide a high quality of service for verbal understanding?
  • Informed by testing
• How do we comprehend and process meaningful inputs from users to outputs from the system?
  • Informed by Game Design theory (decision trees, machine learning, fuzzy logic)
• What aesthetic is used?

Testing questions

• How do we measure immersion?
  • Informed by CogSci theory
• How do we measure anxiety?
  • Informed by CogSci theory
• How do we measure SLA outcomes?
  • Informed by SLA theory
• How do we control for implicit VR factors, like interaction novelty?
  • Informed by CogSci theory
• How do we measure individual design factors of the environment?
  • Aesthetics
  • Interaction method
  • Agency
  • Goals/motivations

Ideal participants

• Classroom or self-language learners
• People who have used VR before
• People with an existing knowledge of the target language's phonetics?