High-Immersion Virtual Reality-Mediated Intercultural Virtual Exchange: A Case Study

Social virtual reality (VR) is a powerful tool to enrich foreign language (FL) learning processes in collaborative settings. Given the importance of situated, contextual, and interactional learning practices in FL learning, social VR has attracted the attention of language educators. Despite its potential, it has received little attention in research and is underused in FL education. In this study, students in international dyads (Germany – the Netherlands) collaborated in VR using Spanish as a lingua franca, carrying out tasks in a social VR app using high-immersion head-mounted VR headsets. Engagement, students' willingness to communicate, and sense of presence in the social VR environment were investigated. Qualitative and quantitative data included pre- and post-surveys, reflection diaries, video-recordings of the interactions and focus group interviews. The findings show willingness to communicate in social VR varied among students, sense of presence differed among students, students displayed varying degrees of engagement, and some VR features eased student anxiety.