This paper provided a systematic review of previous Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) studies on language learning. A total of 88 articles were selected and analyzed from five perspectives: their ways of integrating AR or VR tools in language learning; main users of AR and VR technologies; major research findings; why AR and VR tools are effective in promoting language learning; and the implications. It was found that (1) immersing learners into virtual worlds is the main approach to language learning in AR and VR studies; (2) university students were the main users of AR/VR technologies; (3) the major research findings concerning the benefits of AR and VR included improvement of students’ learning outcomes, enhancement of motivation, and positive perceptions towards using AR and VR; (4) AR and VR tools promoted language learning through providing immersive learning experience, enhancing motivation, creating interaction, and reducing learning anxiety; and (5) implications identified from previous research include the need of providing training for teachers, enlarging sample sizes, and exploring learner factors such as learner engagement and satisfaction.

A Systematic Review of AR and VR Enhanced Language Learning

The role of emotion labor in English language teacher identity construction: An activity theory perspective

The field of language education has experienced a rise in using virtual reality (VR) to support interactive, contextualized, and collaborative language learning in recent years. The current study i...

Supporting dyadic learning of English for tourism purposes with scenery-based virtual reality

This study explored factors that have influenced Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC) in an extramural digital (ED) context, an ever-increasing second language (L2) communication context. To this end, the researcher interviewed 50 Iranian secondary school language learners. Having used thematic analysis, four broad sources influencing students’ L2 WTC were found, such as educational practices (K-12 instruction), interpersonal variables (familiarity with the interlocutors and supportive communities), affective variables (L2 confidence and anxiety in ED context), and social variable (intergroup climate). More importantly, these factors seem to influence each other during communication in the ED contexts. This study can broaden our understanding of how Iranian secondary students use ED contexts to improve their L2 WTC. Understanding these factors can give insight to Iranian policymakers and teachers to promote the L2 WTC of Iranian students in classroom contexts. 

Iranian EFL students’ perception of willingness to communicate in an extramural digital context

Existing literature reflects that VR technology is widely used in language learning settings. Although many studies have identified the multiple benefits and affordance of Virtual Reality (VR) technologies in language learning, most studies are qualitative studies that do not provide substantial evidence to investigate the impact of this technology on language learning. To this end, this study conducted a meta-analysis of 21 quantitative studies with 1144 participants published between 2010 and 2021. The study’s main purpose was to examine the effects of VR on students’ language learning academic performance, including linguistic gains and affective gains. The results indicated that VR-assisted language learning had a medium effect on the linguistic gains (Hedges’ g = 0.662, 95% CI [0.398–0.925], p < 0.001) and affective gains (Hedges’ g = 0.570, 95% CI [0.309–0.831], p < 0.001) of students compared to non-VR conditions, respectively. Furthermore, the study further analyzed the impact of several moderator variables such as education levels, hardware types, language skills, target language, and L1/L2 on language learning gains. The research indicates that VR technology has a great potential to improve language learning as an educational resource and provides suggestions for further research and practice on the use of VR-assisted language learning.

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The Effects of Virtual Reality-Assisted Language Learning: A Meta-Analysis

This study reports the results of a mixed-methods investigation on the impact of a virtual reality (VR) tool on Iranian EFL learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) and oral proficiency. Twenty u...

The effect of Google Expeditions virtual reality on EFL learners’ willingness to communicate and oral proficiency

Professional Identity Development of Iranian EFL Teachers: Workplace Conflicts and Identity Fluctuations

‘Take me to a virtual trip if you want me to write better!’: the impact of Google Expeditions on EFL learners’ writing motivation and performance

The present mixed-methods study aimed at investigating the effects of three writing conditions, including collaborative writing (CW), collaborative prewriting (CPW), and individual writing (IW), on the performance and motivation of 66 Iranian EFL learners in a computer-mediated communication (CMC) context. Data were obtained through a background questionnaire, writing motivation scale, participants’ writing performance on pretest and posttest, audio-recorded reflections, and semi-structured individual interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and paired-samples t-test, while the qualitative data were examined through a three-phase thematic analysis. Based on the obtained results, on the posttest, the CPW group significantly outperformed the IW group. No similar trend, however, was observed between CW and IW groups. In addition, as a result of collaborative writing and prewriting in a CMC context, the participants’ writing motivation significantly improved. Further findings as well as relevant pedagogical implications are discussed and future research avenues are outlined. 

Impacts of computer-assisted collaborative writing, collaborative prewriting, and individual writing on EFL learners’ performance and motivation

Teaching, as a physically, emotionally, and socially demanding profession, subjects teachers to multiple sources of stress and challenge, jeopardizing their wellbeing and adversely affecting their performance in turn. English language teaching is no exception to this unwelcome trend. The study of the factors affecting English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ perceived wellbeing in the workplace environment allows us insight into how teacher wellbeing can be enhanced and maintained in the face of challenges. Accordingly, the present study aimed to investigate Iranian EFL teachers’ perceived wellbeing in the workplace environment from an activity theoretic perspective. To that end, the wellbeing of 15 in-service EFL teachers was examined. Data were collected through a narrative frame and semi-structured individual interview and were thematically analysed using NVivo 12 to cast light on the factors that boost or mitigate the participants’ wellbeing. Findings demonstrated how six factors – namely learners, colleagues, institutional authorities, institutional rules and regulations, workload, and the status of EFL teachers – define the participants’ wellbeing. The factors are mapped onto the six key elements of activity theory to display how individual and collective dimensions of educational milieus interact in molding teachers’ wellbeing. Pedagogical implications and avenues for future research are outlined.

Marjan Ebadijalal

Papers

The effect of Google Expeditions virtual reality on EFL learners’ willingness to communicate and oral proficiency

Professional Identity Development of Iranian EFL Teachers: Workplace Conflicts and Identity Fluctuations

‘Take me to a virtual trip if you want me to write better!’: the impact of Google Expeditions on EFL learners’ writing motivation and performance

Impacts of computer-assisted collaborative writing, collaborative prewriting, and individual writing on EFL learners’ performance and motivation

Understanding EFL teachers’ wellbeing: An activity theoretic perspective