NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1351515
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0742-7778
EISSN: EISSN-2056-9017
The Impact of Virtual Reality on L2 French Learners' Language Anxiety and Oral Comprehensibility: An Exploratory Study
Thrasher, Tricia
CALICO Journal, v39 n2 p219-238 2022
Research has noted that virtual reality (VR) environments can lessen language learners' foreign language anxiety (FLA). However, previous research has relied primarily on participants' qualitative opinions, leading to a lack of studies empirically assessing how VR impacts anxiety and, consequently, second language (L2) oral production. This pilot study addresses these gaps by exploring how VR influences the self-reported and physiological FLA and oral comprehensibility of 25 L2 French learners. Participants completed four comparable interpersonal consensus building tasks over eight weeks: two in the social VR application, vTime XR™, and two in a traditional classroom. Immediately following each task, participants self-assessed their anxiety. Moreover, a subsample of participants' self-reported anxiety data was complemented with a physiological indicator of anxiety, salivary cortisol, to evaluate using this biomarker in FLA research. Participants' speech for all tasks was rated by four native French speakers for comprehensibility. Descriptive statistics are presented. Self-reported anxiety and cortisol data indicated that participants were less anxious in VR and throughout the eight weeks. A positive correlation was found between self-reported and cortisol data, indicating consistency between these two anxiety measures. Finally, raters found participants to be more comprehensible in VR and when they self-reported lower anxiety.
Equinox Publishing Ltd. Office 415, The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX, UK. Tel: +44-114-221-0285; Fax: +44-114-279-6522; e-mail: journals@equinoxpub.com; Web site: https://journals.equinoxpub.com/index.php/CALICO/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A