Beyond immersion: Investigating the impact of SVVR on FLCA in a Chinese EFL speaking class

Although spherical video-based virtual reality (SVVR) has demonstrated efficacy in enhancing English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learning outcomes, its impact on foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) within speaking contexts remains underexplored. This mixed methods study implemented a 16-week experiential learning (EL)-based SVVR intervention to examine its effects on FLCA that resides in four dimensions and on the speaking performance among Chinese EFL learners. Using a pre-post control-group design with 69 sophomores, quantitative data from Horwitz et al.'s (1986) FLCAS and speaking tests were analyzed with ANCOVA, and 12 post-intervention interviews were examined using reflexive thematic analysis. Relative to the control group, the SVVR group reported significantly lower overall FLCA, with moderate to large reductions in communication apprehension (partial η 2 = 0.160) and fear of negative evaluation (partial η 2 = 0.111) but no detectable changes in test anxiety (partial η 2 = 0.037) or other general anxiety (partial η 2 = 0.037), and achieved higher post-test speaking scores (partial η 2 = 0.078). Thematic analysis identified four underlying mechanisms that helped to explain the dimension-specific FLCA levels after intervention: (1) SVVR as a psychological “safety shield”, (2) displaced social judgment, (3) pedagogy-test disconnect, and (4) task-based anxiety control. Theoretically, the study demonstrates that FLCA-CA and FLCA-FNE are most responsive to EL-based SVVR and shows that this approach primarily alleviates situational, interaction-related anxiety rather than all forms of FLCA. Practically, it indicates how SVVR can be used as a supplementary tool to design low-anxiety, high-engagement speaking activities that support EFL learners' emotional regulation and oral proficiency.