Alice Gruber

Mentored online intercultural and international collaboration projects using English as a lingua franca (ELF) in tertiary curricula are a valuable pedagogical approach to develop intercultural communicative competence. However, students’ perceptions of ELF in virtual exchange (VE) projects remain largely unexplored. This mixed-methods study investigates students’ attitudes towards ELF interactions in the context of online collaborations involving four countries in the Global North and South. The students participated in a six-week VE and collaboratively completed tasks set by their teachers. Results of the qualitative and quantitative data show that the students’ attitudes towards ELF interactions varied in different contexts and that the experience encouraged reflections, for instance, on students’ linguistic effectiveness in intercultural situations. The findings show a (re)evaluation of native and non-native English and attitudinal shift for some students. The results indicate that online intercultural exchanges can be a catalyst for students to reflect on international English usage and global ownership. The article provides implications for setting up ELF-VE projects regarding its potential to (trans)form ELF identities and gives advice for ELF practitioners.

Public speaking, especially in a foreign language, is associated with increased anxiety. Research has shown the potential of virtual reality (VR) for simulating real-life experiences, allowing for public speaking practice in an ecological and safe environment. This between-subjects study investigated the effect of VR on foreign language anxiety (FLA) in public speaking practice. Intermediate learners of English participated in eight public speaking sessions over a three-month period, yielding 160 research observations. The experimental intervention took place in high-immersion VR with subjects wearing a VR headset and speaking in front of virtual audience. In the control intervention, subjects used a videoconferencing platform (Zoom) to speak in front of a real-life audience. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that practicing speaking in VR was associated with statistically significant lower FLA scores, compared with speaking practice using Zoom. The study found that VR technology had a positive effect on practicing public speaking in a foreign language. The research findings have practical implications for professionals and curriculum designers in various domains where public speaking skills are essential. For example, incorporating VR-based public speaking practice can benefit professionals preparing for a job interview, an elevator pitch, or a conference presentation. Curriculum designers can consider integrating VR simulations into language courses to provide students with realistic public speaking experiences. This approach can help students overcome language barriers, reduce anxiety, and develop their communication skills in a controlled and supportive environment.

A major challenge for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) professionals is how to address the learning needs of diverse learners for whom a monolithic, native-normed version of English is no longer always useful or appropriate. Research in Global Englishes (GE) has noted many teachers' resistance to the adoption of a more "plurilithic" orientation. This study explores whether monolithic beliefs can be effectively challenged using practitioner role models. Video clips featuring early-career English teachers from Germany and China modeling a plurilithic orientation were played to pre-service teachers with the same L1 ("near peers") or different L1s ("more distant peers"). Before viewing, participants responded to a questionnaire assessing their beliefs about English. Immediately following viewing, open-ended reactions to the video content were collected. One month later, participants answered the questionnaire again to measure potential changes in belief. After a further 5 months, a small group of participants were interviewed to explore impacts in greater depth. Data indicate that viewing the role models was a positive experience for most participants and was associated with significant increases in plurilithic orientation for near peers, with evidence of enduring impact for some. We interpret these

Mentored online intercultural interaction offers foreign language learners the opportunity to develop different competences, including intercultural, linguistic, and digital competence (O’Dowd, 2021). Such virtual exchange (VE) projects typically involve computer-mediated communication via, for example, Zoom. However, the use of high-immersion virtual reality (VR) for synchronous online collaboration in VE projects has received little attention. This study investigated the effect of VR on students’ levels of presence and engagement, on students’ communication and on students’ views on using VR for intercultural encounters compared to traditional videoconferencing tools. Twenty-seven university students from the Netherlands and Germany utilised VR to carry out intercultural learning tasks using English as a lingua franca during a four-week implementation period. Participants responded to pre- and post-intervention questionnaires, completed reflection journals, audio- or video-recorded their VR meetings and participated in interviews. Results showed that the levels of presence and engagement and preferences of social VR compared to videoconferencing for intercultural encounters depended on students individually. A VR immersion experience and comfortability scale was created based on the data which showed mixed experiences. VR influenced participants’ interactions, topics of conversation and communication strategies when they explored their spaces together. The results showed that students’ attitudes towards VR and their subjective experience of VR seem to play an important role in the VE-VR setting. VR provided a safe space for many participants. Positive attitudes towards communicating in the VR environment are highly correlated with positive attitudes towards meeting students from other countries in VR. Implications for language education are provided.

Since the beginning of the Digital Revolution in the 1950s, the influx of rapidly evolving technologies has posed a challenge to those trying to keep pace. This challenge is compounded by ever changing terms which can lead to confusion, including concepts related to virtual environments, virtual worlds, and virtual, augmented, or mixed realities. A detailed analysis of previous publications (e.g., Berti, 2019; Lin & Lan, 2015; Peeters, 2019) reveals that scholars have been using the same term, "virtual reality" (VR), to describe several distinct educational settings, ranging from low-immersion virtual environments (LiVR) to high-immersion three-dimensional spaces (HiVR). The intention of this manuscript is threefold: (1) to define and classify the main types of VR, as they have been used in educational research, (2) to outline the differences between the two main types of VR, and (3) to provide examples of VR language learning research.

This study examined intermediate students English as a foreign language (EFL) perception of their plurilingual and pluricultural competence, via online interaction and mediation through a virtual exchange project. Virtual exchanges are a means for inter- and intracultural development, language proficiency, and personal growth and transformation. Results of pre- and post-project questionnaires, as well as surveys, show shifts in cultural knowledge construction, adaptation to novel social co-participation situations, and recognition of the need for cultural awareness. Pedagogical implications for both the classroom and the implementation of virtual exchange projects are discussed.

This study examines the perception of English as a foreign language intermediate students' plurilingual and pluricultural competence. Students from Colombia and Germany took part in online interactions and mediation through a virtual exchange, which is a means for inter-and intracultural development, language proficiency and personal growth and transformation. During their online live meetings, the students discussed cultural topics and worked on an artefact together. The results of pre-and post-project questionnaires, as well as surveys, demonstrated shifts in the establishment of cultural knowledge, adaptation to novel social co-participation situations and recognition of the need for cultural awareness. The study discusses pedagogical implications for both the classroom and the implementation of virtual exchange projects.

This autoethnographic study investigated the dynamics of five one-on-one tutoring sessions conducted in high-immersion virtual reality (VR). A lower-intermediate, adult learner of German practiced her foreign language speaking skills in VR with a tutor guiding and assisting her. Both the learner and the tutor visited various VR locations, which offered opportunities for situated learning. A qualitative analysis of the tutor-learner interactions confirmed that social VR applications can offer pedagogically valuable settings for the development of foreign language speaking skills. With a pedagogical mindset, we address affordances of social VR applications, including the authenticity of the settings, and practical implications of using VR as a medium for one-on-one instruction. We also discuss the limitations and technical impediments of using VR, including the lack of facial expression tracking and other nonvocal paralinguistic cues for foreign language instruction.