Work in progress—The Piazza Italiana as a Site of VR-Based Linguistic and Cultural Learning

Abstract

As immersive learning becomes increasingly important to education globally, it holds particular value for foreign language learners, who find themselves at a remove from the authentic spaces where their languages are lived and spoken. Given the need to develop capacities to communicate (with rich idiomatic language) while navigating social spaces, providing more realistic 3D virtual environments for students to interact in will result in improved levels of language ability. In this forum, the co-authors discuss their newest project, Piazza italiana, a live-in textbook for elementary Italian. This work in progress foresees the time in which a great deal of learning will happen in the metaverse. In this project, students access WebXR/VR spatialized environments, custom built in Mozilla Hubs, where they practice language topics immersed in a social VR task-based scenario that leverages haptics, kinetics and 3D objects to enhance a sense of presence and cultural belonging. Together with the development of these VR environments, the co-authors are also developing instruments to test student receptivity and motivation and how effective these experiences will be in helping students achieve the linguistic and cultural learning objectives of their course.