Impact of learner avatar in virtual reality assisted instruction on EFL vocabulary learning / Baoxin Feng

Feng, Baoxin (2023) Impact of learner avatar in virtual reality assisted instruction on EFL vocabulary learning / Baoxin Feng. PhD thesis, Universiti Malaya.

	PDF (The Candidate's Agreement) Restricted to Repository staff only Download (66Kb)
	PDF (Thesis PhD) Restricted to Repository staff only until 31 December 2026. Download (3546Kb)

Abstract

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) technology is being used to enhance EFL learners overcome their difficulties with their language skills. Previous studies have demonstrated that instruction that includes immersion will positively enhance learners' retention of newly learned vocabulary, yet there is not much study on long-term retention and usage. In line with that, this study aims to investigate the vocabulary retention, usage and writing performance of learners who learn vocabulary via IVR versus those who learn from conventional classroom-based instruction. Simultaneously, this study also explored the correlation between learners' avatar identification and vocabulary learning performance. A total of 177 Chinese undergraduate EFL learners participated in this research. Learners from two treatment groups learnt 96English words via VR technology and conventional classroom instruction respectively. The vocabulary learning performance and retention were measured via pre-test, immediate-posttest, and delayed-posttest. Based on the repeated measures ANOVA, a significantly higher performance and long-term retention were found in the group using VR. Whilst the result of linear regression reveals that learners’ avatar identification is significantly positively correlated with their vocabulary learning performance. The results demonstrate that avatar identification relates to learners’ perception of presence and embodiment, which seems to enhance VR-assisted vocabulary learning. Additionally, the learners in the IVR group produced more informative and detailed content in terms of their vocabulary usage and content writing, which may be attributed to their embodiment experience in the virtual environment. A comparative analysis revealed that learners using IVR performed significantly better on target word usage, lexical density, distribution richness and completion of task than those in the conventional classroom. Based on the results, it would seem that the positive transfer of learning may be related to the experience of exploring in a virtual environment. The positive transfer of learning appears tobe related to the experience of exploring in a virtual environment, which motivates learners to interact with and learn about the lexical items in the virtual context, making vocabulary learning an unconscious process. Thus, one pedagogical implication of the study is that instructors may consider using VR technology to help learners produce contextualized and visualized memories of the target vocabulary. The findings of this study suggest that there is potential for using VR in language instruction as it provides learners with a realistic language learning environment, immersive experience, body movement-based interaction, as well as improved vocabulary retention and vocabulary usage in writing for learners.

Actions (For repository staff only : Login required)