Image
An initiative led by researcher Ms. Marta Fortes, who is currently pursuing her PhD in transferable skills for the 21st century through technology, has resulted in the creation of weekly workshops for students and staff. This project, supported by the Faculty Development Teaching Fund and the School of Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics, in collaboration with the Language Hub, showcases the potential of Virtual Reality for foreign language communication, cultural development and training for future employment opportunities. The workshops will conclude in Week 12 of the 2024/2025 Academic Year. Additionally, the VR Oculus Quest headsets purchased with the funding will be available for individual booking at the Language Hub starting next academic year. A special thanks to Aja Barbaric for her assistance to students with VR navigation during the workshops. Quotes from students: Q1. Have you improved your language skills through your interactions in VR? “Definitely listening and communicating “ “I would definitely say I have improved my listened skills in particular.” “Yes - I learned new words” “I would like to say that my listening and communicating skills have improved” Q2. Ho do you compare using VR for communicating in a foreign language to using other online meeting platforms? “VR is more fun to use. It makes it easier to learn and is more interesting when the app is cool to use.” “The VR was much more exciting. i enjoyed how it was like a video game, it made things more fun. “ “I think VR is more interesting and motivates us more “ “I think it adds a sense of uniqueness but i feel they are all quite similar.” “More engaging “ “It’s a more fun way to do it “ “It is more interactive and user friendly.” Q3. Do you think you will use VR in your future career? "Yes I believe so. Technology is constantly adapting, and the benefits of VR are really effective." "Definitely especially with the growing rate of work from home possibilities" "I would expect to use it in my career as technologies are continuously forming the way in which we work, especially in a sector like business." "If I go down the teaching route then definitely I will be using VR as it helps students to be more interactive in their work" Previous work with VR Fortes, M. (2022). Language connectives through immersive virtual exchanges in the Spanish for business language classroom. In 2022 International Virtual Exchange Conference (IVEC) (p. 27). https://iveconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IVEC_2022_Proceedings.pdf