How Virtual Reality Contributes to Enhancing Listening Comprehension and Listening Motivated Behaviour of EFL Learners: A Focus on the Hypothetical Model of Immersive Cognition

Notwithstanding the challenges English as a foreign language (EFL) learners face with listening comprehension in conventional classes due to limited authentic listening exposure and low listening engagement, virtual reality (VR), as a recent innovation in educational technology, has provided immersive, interactive listening experiences that engage learners in and expose them to authentic listening activities in a virtual context. However, there is insufficient research on the specific impact of VR-based listening instruction, as well as the impact of blending VR with conventional listening instruction, on EFL learners' listening comprehension and listening motivated behaviour. To address these limitations in the existing research, this study adopted a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach to explore and compare the impact of VR, blended, and conventional listening instruction on EFL learners' listening comprehension and listening motivated behaviour. Sixty-nine EFL learners were randomly assigned to one of the VR (23 learners), blended (25 learners), or conventional (21 learners) classes. Pre- and post-treatment assessments were conducted using a listening comprehension test and the listening motivated behaviour scale to collect the required quantitative data. Employing two-way repeated measures ANOVA to examine the quantitative data, the results revealed that the VR and blended groups outperformed the conventional group in terms of listening comprehension and listening motivated behaviour. The blended group, which received a combination of VR-based and conventional listening instruction, experienced the most significant progress from the immersive experiences facilitated by the VR environment. Individual semi-structured interviews were also carried out with some learners experiencing the VR listening instruction to gather the required qualitative data. Adopting thematic analysis to analyse the qualitative data, the results highlighted the learners' positive attitudes towards and perceptions of the VR listening instruction, which corroborated the quantitative findings of the study. The findings suggested effective and beneficial methods for integrating VR into EFL instruction to enhance EFL learners' listening comprehension and listening motivated behaviour.