Foreign Language Instruction in a Virtual Environment: - Teaching through Multi-User Virtual Environments - page 322

integrated with the cultural aspects of language,
the possibility of creating those appearances and
ambiance are of great value.
Virtual worlds allow learning to be placed
within the appropriate social, historical, and
geographic context. While the cultural aspect is
important for foreign language instruction, these
features could be even more valuable in other sub-
jects. For example, a history class could take place
within a virtual ancient Rome, and an engineering
class within a nuclear reactor, a zoology class in
the Brazilian rainforest, and a finance class on the
trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Even more, students could be transported to loca-
tions that are not even physically possible in the
real world. A chemistry class could take place
within a virtual molecule, a biology class within
the interior of a bacterium, and an astronomy
class could take place on the surface of the sun.
In addition, the versatility and flexibility of
virtual worlds provide possibilities for designing
spaces for exercising situated cognition. Role
playing, being one of the forms through which
situated cognition can be practiced, is said to
augment motivation and attention, consequently
promoting learning (Schunk, 2008).

instruction. Furthermore, the non-physical nature
of avatars can allow multiple students to explore
the same object without interfering with each
other, as they would in the real world.

(3) Interactivity with diminished inhibition

The representation of students through avatars
allows for the combination of several character-
istics that are difficult to replicate in a traditional
classroom. First, avatars are able to interact to a
greater extent than would be appropriate in the
physical world. Therefore, students are able to
capture the increased emotional involvement and
motivation that comes through social contact with
one's classmates and environment. However, be-
cause avatars are also distinct from the student's
physical identity, one can simultaneously suppress
undesirable emotional or physical contact. It has
been our experience that students who are normally
too shy or reserved to interact in the traditional
classroom, will be more willing to engage in social
activities when represented through their avatars.
Students can therefore be given the opportunity
to interact with each other and the environment
in order to take advantage of the positive aspects
of a lesson's setting, while avoiding the inhibi-
tion and possibly negative consequences of full
physical and emotional interactions.

(2) Self-pacing and students' autonomy.

Virtual worlds can place students within a
strictly defined area, where they are free to explore
at their own pace, but with the material present
being chosen by the instructor. While physical
classrooms can, and are, populated with objects
chosen by the instructor, the virtual setting pro-
vides unlimited control over the amount, type,
and extent of objects available.
Students can be left free to decide on the speed
and intensity with which they learn the material
in ways that are not feasible in a traditional class-
room. For example, they are able to return to the
class's island any time of day or night, should they
wish to review material on their own. This student
autonomy allows for less stressful and unrushed

SUmmARY

The possibilities of using virtual worlds to aug-
ment, enhance, and even replace traditional
classroom instruction are constantly growing.
This chapter provides the presentation of selected
activities conducted in Second Life , followed by
practical considerations and theoretical underpin-
nings involved with those activities. Our unique
experience helped us illustrate the strengths of
virtual worlds in a specific context (language
education) as well as the limitations, and to