Virtual Reality: Innovating Language Courses in Higher Education
Enrollments in foreign-language courses have significantly decreased in recent years. Since 1958, the Modern Language Association (MLA) has compiled data on undergraduate and graduate courses enrollments in languages other than English. A steady increase was registered from 1995 to 2009, with a general peak of enrollments in the latter year. Nonetheless, in 2016 numerous university-level language courses such as French, German, Spanish and Italian have experienced decreases in enrollments. In fall 2009 overall enrollments in foreign language courses in the United States were 1,673,566. The number of enrolled students decreased by 15.3% in fall 2016, with a total of 1,417,921 students enrolled in foreign language classes. MLA suggests that such results are the beginning of a trend rather than a blip. Are learners becoming less interested in studying foreign languages, or are linguistic and cultural pedagogical practices becoming outdated?
While it is not possible to find the exact reasons linked to the shortage of students learning languages in universities in the United States, we do know that language courses are often rushed and hastened throughout the semester. Instructors have to cover numerous textbook chapters without the freedom to pause and teach various cultural aspects of the language that go beyond grammar structures. More often than not, the curriculum is enforced by language departments leaving educators with little or no freedom to teach beyond the textbook and grammar structures. Especially in beginning courses culture is considered unnecessary and only addressed in advanced language classes. Students are often left to memorize one grammar rule after another one and lack opportunities to explore the foreign culture and enjoy the language they are learning. As language educators we understand that it is virtually useless to teach and learn a language without cultural contextualization, however we are constrained to teach what we are told to teach.
In a world that gives more and more importance to STEM degrees, perhaps it is the time to change and innovate traditional language courses with cutting-edge technologies that allow students to go beyond superficial grammar concepts. The study of foreign languages and cultures is fundamental to create global citizens that understand, accept, respect and value others and these aspects can be enhanced through the use of innovative technologies. Language program administrators and language instructors need to experiment with new methodologies and unconventional pedagogical tools such as virtual reality, smartphones, and social networking sites, which allow students to connect with speakers across the world and be in direct contact with authentic cultures. By doing that learners can begin to appreciate others and explore cultural facets different from their own. In most language courses instructors are still using PowerPoint and physical whiteboards without taking advantage of the many opportunities that today technology and the internet offer to learn about the traditions and history of people around the world. Why not facilitate second language acquisition, support cultural development, and attract new prospective students through the use of technology tools?
One glaring example of a technology that can be implemented in the classroom is virtual reality defined as a computer-generated experience that simulates physical presence in real or imagined environments. Many language learners do not have the chance to travel abroad and truly experience the foreign country and culture: virtual reality can give them the opportunity to be immersed in authentic environments otherwise inaccessible. Students have mainly used virtual reality for entertainment purposes, but today with the use of free-to-use applications (e.g, YouTube) and affordable viewers (e.g., Google Cardboard) this new technology can be successfully utilized in the educational setting to provide up-to-date and relevant content which is usually not represented in traditional language textbooks or in current pedagogical practices. In the area of language learning virtual reality is still largely unexplored but recent studies have shown that students would like to use virtual reality in the classroom because they can freely focus their attention on details which might not be addressed in lectures that are usually filtered through the instructor’s perspective. Imagine standing in front of the Duomo in Milan, and one minute later walking on the streets in Rome; virtual reality allows students to do exactly that. In virtual reality students are “learning by doing” by experiencing, reflecting, conceptualizing and experimenting in new environments (see Experiential Learning Framework by Kolb, 1984). Some studies have also shown that students feel more motivated and engaged with the use of virtual reality because they can get closer to the culture and listen to authentic conversations. This technology has the potential to innovate courses by presenting content in new and attractive ways that traditional technologies and language textbooks are not able to provide. Although there are many positive aspects about the use of virtual reality for language education, some concerns also exist. Virtual reality has the potential risk of becoming distracting for students if the focus is solely on the technology and not the content. Another potential concern is the dizziness that one might feel if immersed in the virtual environment for extended periods of time. Given the current lack of studies investigating the use of virtual reality in the language classroom, it is up to researchers and educators to explore the affordances and constraints of this tool and understand how it can be implemented in the language classroom to enhance students’ learning.
Language courses as we know them today are still mainly focusing on grammar structures and using outdated pedagogical materials such as traditional printed textbooks and PowerPoint. In the context of higher education, often students already come to the classroom with some technology knowledge thus it is important to take advantage of those skills and put them to use to create powerful learning experiences with cutting-edge technologies as virtual reality. Now it is the time to embrace new technologies, innovate language courses and understand that to promote language education we first need to update language teaching with content and tools that are relevant and will engage students in new ways.
References
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (Vol. 1). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Looney, D., & Lusin, N. (2018). Enrollments in languages other than English in United States institutions of higher education, Summer 2016 and Fall 2016: Preliminary Report. In Modern Language Association.
Modern Language Association (2018). Language Enrollment Database, 1958–2016. Retrieved October 15th, 2018, from https://apps.mla.org/flsurvey_search
Van Kerrebroeck, H., Brengman, M., & Willems, K. (2017). Escaping the crowd: An experimental study on the impact of a Virtual Reality experience in a shopping mall. Computers in Human Behavior, 77, 437–450.
