Multi-User Virtual Environments - Teaching through Multi-User Virtual Environments - page 286

through the participation in goal-directed activity
built-in to the virtual space. While language was
not the primary focus of instruction, the com-
bination of content and language in this project
afforded the learners a higher-level of meaning-
ful acquisition. In addition to highlighting the
benefits of SIEs themselves, the researchers also
suggest similar types of acquisition could occur in
other types of MUVEs with similar goal-directed
activity (e.g., MMOGs not specifically built for
educational purposes).
Peterson (2006) further investigated task type,
negotiation of meaning, and avatar presence in
a study of 24 learners of English participating
in Active Worlds . Data from chat logs and pre
and post questionnaires were used to determine
the types of interactional management strategies
and negotiation of meaning strategies used by the
learners, as well as to gain a better understanding
of how participants made use of their avatars in
interaction. This study is unique in that it moves
beyond the findings of the previously mentioned
studies to investigate one of the chief affordances
of MUVEs - avatar embodiment.
SIEs have also been built with the specific
educational goal of L2 acquisition. With this fo-
cus, it is expected that users gain language skills
through collaboration (as in the case of Second
Life and Quest Atlantis ) as well as in-game par-
ticipation and quest completion (i.e., specific
linguistic knowledge is needed to complete a
quest). Sykes (2008) investigated the role of SIEs
in enhancing advanced language learners' prag-
matic performance (i.e., their ability to perform
requests and apologies in Spanish) through the
investigation of an SIE designed specifically for
L2 pragmatic acquisition, Croquelandia . Utiliz-
ing a synthesis of 120 hours of in-game behavior
observation data, survey data, pre- and posttests,
and one-on-one participant interviews, data were
triangulated to gain a comprehensive picture of
the impact of the SIE on pragmatic acquisition.
This is a noteworthy study in that, in addition to
examining in-game behavior and user perceptions

of their experience, Sykes (2008) also investigated
the learning outcomes related to in-game partici-
pation. This chapter presents one component of
this larger study.
Finally, in a study of learners' strategic devel-
opment in pragmatics through the use of online
environments (i.e., a website and an SIE), Cohen
and Sykes (2008), confirm that SIEs are beneficial
for developing learners' metapragmatic strategies
for addressing pragmatics. That is, through par-
ticipation in an SIE, learners reported they were
more conscious of the necessity for pre-planning
prior to performing language functions, were more
likely to select a focus (e.g., comprehension or
production) when engaging in interaction, and
more aware of the need to monitor their discourse
in terms of level of formality, terms of address, and
timing. While self-report data should always be
interpreted with caution, the results of this study
confirm the qualitative data in Sykes (2008), which
suggested that SIEs are especially suited to the
development of metapragmatic skills.
Aside from this handful of studies, research
specifically examining the use of MUVEs in
language learning is scarce. This chapter adds to
this body of research by connecting empirical data
to design considerations, a principle of design-
based research. While many questions remain
unanswered, the intended goal is to understand
how, based on current information, we can best
move forward in designing and implementing
MUVEs for language learning.

Types of mUVes

As Sykes, Oskoz, and Thorne (2008) point out
“each type of visually rendered virtual space
presents distinct possibilities for language devel-
opment based on the affordances, constraints, and
unique interactional opportunities of the space
itself” (pp. 534). Therefore, prior to further dis-
cussion of why MUVEs may be especially useful
for language learning, it is valuable to briefly
explore the various types of MUVEs currently