By: Dara Sborea

When I first learned about VR platforms, I only ever imagined that they would be used in the gamer world. That is, after all, how VR was marketed. As with all things tech, I soon learned that there are limitless possibilities for the uses of VR. VR has been used to help people “travel” the world, to connect people with common interests, and even to help train future medical professionals around the world.

In addition to the uses mentioned above, VR is also a game changer in the world of language learning and teaching. Immerse is just one company on the cutting edge of this educational tool.

VR’s interactive nature can help motivate older students and keep younger students engaged because there is little chance of outside distraction while the VR headset is on.

VR allows practice on a level that isn’t possible in a traditional classroom setting where students listen to a teacher and one student at a time responds to prompts. With VR, students can work individually, or in small groups. Because of the nature of VR, students are not distracted by what other groups are doing. It also gives the teacher the option of grouping students by level, so accelerated students can work ahead while students who have a more difficult time can utilize their time in the lessons differently or at a slower pace.

VR additionally creates a bridge between in-person instruction and online instruction from home, where students often find it difficult to stay on-task.

The Immerse software allows teachers to isolate audio specifically for groups of students, so this makes it easier to differentiate lesson plans for a variety of students.

Another benefit of the Immerse software, which currently boasts 60 different languages, is that students can practice language in realistic situations.

Immerse software has programs that are appropriate for all age levels. There are game simulations for younger students, and practical situations, such as going to the grocery store or handling customs at the airport, for older students.

The final piece of information I would like everyone to know is the language acquisition happens much more quickly when role-play is implemented. It allows you to be totally immersed in a foreign language, which is the best way to learn. VR is the next best thing to being in a country where the language you are learning is spoken.

Thank you for reading my post!

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Tags: edchat, edtech, education, globaleducation, globallearning, VRtech, VRteaching, languagelearning