Foreign Language Instruction in a Virtual Environment: - Teaching through Multi-User Virtual Environments - page 316

in the German Alps, instead of just any
“mountains” has the rationale of situating
students in a “realistic” environment where
a conversation in German could happen.
[Th2] Color-coding . (see Color Coding . Activity#1,
Theoretical Underpinnings [Th2])
[Th3] Revision of new material . New material is
stored in short-term memory until it receives
enough stimulus to be moved to long-term
memory. Providing more stimulus by re-
viewing the new vocabulary helps establish
more connections and consequently more
accurate retrieval of the words from long-
term memory (Lesgold, 1984).
[Th4] Drilling . This type of instruction was based
on the rationale that the drill would establish
stronger connections and, in consequence,
it would help move the vocabulary from
short-term memory to long-term memory.
A large amount of practice provided by
drilling is often a prerequisite for reaching
automaticity (Spolsky, 1989).
[Th5] Cultural connections : The map of Germany
was created with the rationale of making
connections with culture - a necessary
component of a language class (Gardner,
2007). By looking at the map, or better, by
interacting with the map, the students have
higher chances of making associations with
the existence of German mountains and the
part of Germany in which they are located.
Similar aspects are covered with the summer
location, the German seaside.
[Th6] S ituated Cognition. This scenery was
intended to give the students an impression
of “being in the Alps” and “feeling” the
weather there. Such a setting was a pertinent
context for writing a postcard in German
using weather-related vocabulary.

Description
First, students received a notecard with instruc-
tions for this activity, as well as a notecard with
a vocabulary list that was to be covered in this
activity. Since the topic was “Checking in at a
hotel”, the setting of the activity took place in
a virtual medieval German castle turned into a
hotel [Th1]. First, the students were encouraged
to concentrate on the vocabulary items that were
listed on the notecard. In the meantime, the students
were encouraged to explore the hotel, which was
furnished and labeled in German with vocabulary
from the list [Th2]. In this way students were able
to not only see the words but also the items (for
example, a dressing-table, a bed) and places (for
example, a dining room, a reception) represented
in the hotel. While some students chose to hang
out in the lobby, others scattered around the hotel
[Th3].
After several minutes of familiarization with
hotel vocabulary, the teacher asked the students
to participate in a role-playing exercise [Th4].
Student A was a receptionist, while student B was
a guest at the hotel. In order to have control over
the flow of the conversations, the students were
encouraged to base their dialogues on an example
conversation in English provided by the instructor,
which was populated with vocabulary practiced
in the unit. Consequently, the students' task was
based more on translation from English to Ger-
man, rather than a free-flowing activity [Th5].
As an alternative, instead of having students
create conversations based on English translation,
instructors could ask them to create spontaneous
dialogues. This could be more interesting and
more involving. Depending on the focus and the
instructor's choice of the approach, either varia-
tion can be used.

Advantages
The advantage of more controlled, less spontane-
ous conversations is that they ensure that certain
vocabulary items (important for the unit) or
grammatical phrases are practiced and that the
students refrain from simpler forms of expression.

Activity #5 : Das Königreich Hotel

Material practiced: vocabulary related to
checking-in at a hotel, making requests, formal
forms of expression.