The effects of immersion in virtual reality environment on oral English learning for Chinese university students

Most Chinese adults encounter difficulty in second language acquisition due to the lack of a second language environment to practice. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of immersive virtual reality learning environments on oral English learning for Chinese university students. A total of 43 freshmen participated in this study. Participants' oral English performance, engagement, emotional and motivational status were compared between the fully immersive VR learning condition (using a head-mounted device) and the non-immersive condition (using a personal computer). Results indicated that participants in the fully immersive VR condition showed higher speaking accuracy, lower anxiety, and higher speaking-efficacy in the posttest than participants in the non-immersive VR condition. Participants in the fully immersive VR condition also showed more engagement than those in the non-immersive VR condition in all four experiment days. Theoretical and practical implications for applying VR technology in second language learning are discussed.