Multi-User Virtual Environments - Teaching through Multi-User Virtual Environments - page 285

based learning, negotiation for meaning/action,
the development of intercultural competence and
pragmatic abilities, and the advancement of meta-
linguistic skills and strategies; yet, overall, very
little information is available. This section sum-
marizes the current research in this area relevant
to the chapter. Specifically, it focuses on research
examining synthetic immersive environments
(SIEs) in which tasks and activities are designed
for the purposes of language learning. 3
In terms of task-based learning and nego-
tiation of meaning, both Zheng, Li, and Zhao
(2008) and Sadler and Nurmukhamedov (2008)
offer preliminary pilot findings to aid our initial
understanding the role of Second Life in language
learning. Zheng, Li, and Zhao (2008) examined
the role Second Life could play in teaching Chi-
nese language and culture. Their study employed
ethnographic observation, participant mapping,
and interview data to analyze how Second Life
can help learners participate in embodied expe-
riences through meaningful engagement with
the virtual space. Results suggested that Second
Life was an engaging space in which meaningful
interaction took place. Negotiation for meaning
was a central component of learners' interaction
in the virtual space and resulted in a successful
learning experience for the learners.
In a study examining how the methodology
of task-based language learning could be applied
to the virtual context of Second Life , Sadler and
Nurmukhamedov (2008) presented the results of
a semester project using Second Life in an ESL
classroom (n=10 ESL undergraduates; 23 MA
TESOL students). Results from pre and post
questionnaires, participant journals, participant
interviews, and task observations (task outcomes
and process videos) confirmed that task-based
learning could be applied in virtual environments,
albeit in different ways. Based on their results,
Sadler and Nurmukhamedov concluded that the
type of task-based learning activities used in the
study were effective in maintaining motivation
and the learners were generally successful at the

tasks themselves, indicating successful interac-
tion in the L2.
These results are congruent with findings from
previous studies in other computer-mediated com-
municative environments such as synchronous
written chat spaces (Abrams, 2006; Blake, 2000,
2005; Smith, 2003a, 2003b, 2004); still, they
do not significantly differ from previous work
or make use of the potentially transformative
potential of MUVEs. Additional research exam-
ining task-design and interaction will be critical
in order to fully realize the potential of MUVEs
for language learning.
Moving a step in this direction, Zheng et al's
(2009) study of the SIE Quest Atlantis examined
Negotiation for Action and the contribution of NS-
NNS collaboration and interaction within the SIE
for English language acquisition of two adolescent
native Mandarin Chinese speakers. Data from
quest logs, interviews, and participant observa-
tion indicated that intercultural collaboration for
quest completion resulted in emergent identity
formation as well as the acquisition of pragmat-
ics, syntax, semantics, and discourse practices in
ways that are typically not possible outside of this
virtual context. This included the co-construction
of culture and meaning at the discourse level in
which the learners themselves were able to modify
one another's cultural perspectives through tasks
centered on a common goal. These results confirm
many of the findings from Belz's (2003) and Belz
and Vyatkinas' (2005) work on telecollaboration
and the value of intercultural communication for
pragmatic development. In addition, Zheng, et al
(2009) highlighted the added benefit of collabora-
tion around a task inherent to the SIE itself. The
learners had a reason to complete the quests, in
addition to being assigned work for their classes.
This highlights negotiation for action as the “main
acquisitional interaction” present in the space. As
a result, the importance of the task-based learning
combined with unstructured conversation in this
study is central. Zheng et al's (2009) study is unique
in that it targets the language acquisition occurring