Immersive Education Spaces using Open Wonderland From Pedagogy through to Practice

Introduction

Judging by the growing interest in virtual world environments as reflected in computer-assisted language learning international conferences such as WorldCALL and EuroCALL, these applications are part of a group of emerging technologies that have great potential for foreign/second language learning. The shift in the use of the web from static to more interactive uses (the so-called Web 2.0) is reshaping the way we learn (Alexander, 2006). However, there is virtually no research to date to provide evidence of the specific traits and characteristics of technological applications such as virtual world environments that might contribute to the learning of second and foreign languages (L2).

In this chapter we present the findings from the SIMiLLE project. The problem we aimed to address in this project relates to the need to enrich foreign language learning experiences for overseas students who wish to study in a UK Higher Education Institution (HEI). By studying in the UK the students have the advantage of being immersed in the culture, but traditional classroom methods rarely take advantage of the cultural context to control the learning content (classroom learning by definition removes students from the ‘real’ world). Whereas outside of the classroom, students often cluster together forming linguistic or cultural islands, which are often isolated from their immediate cultural surroundings.

This chapter provides some background information on the technology platform used (Wonderland) and our previous project MiRTLE (Gardner, Scott, & Horan, 2008; Callaghan, Shen, Gardner, Shen, & Wang, 2010). We then describe the SIMiLLE project in more detail including the requirements for the project and how we intended to support best practice in L2 teaching and learning. This is followed by an overview of the design of the SIMiLLE systems and the evaluation frameworks used. We then provide a summary of the key findings from the different evaluation phases employed by the project. The ultimate objectives of this work were to improve the design of immersive education spaces, to assess and validate the effectiveness of different pedagogical approaches, and inform best practice in this emerging field. We hope to demonstrate that the lessons learned from the SIMiLLE trials go towards achieving these objectives.