Analysis of Student Views on Foreign Language Learning in Second Life Environment

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to assess the views of participants about the learning environment and the problems experienced in that environment by designing a three dimensional learning environment in Second Life (SL) virtual world. The study, designed as a case study, was conducted with 24 volunteer students registered to foreign language courses for 10 weeks in Ege University, Faculty of Education during 2011 – 2012 academic year, where the volunteers participated in five different main activities. Personal Information Form was used to determine demographic features, computer literacy and English proficiency of the students in the study. Furthermore, Feedback Form and SL Learning Experience Survey were used to collect the data regarding the views of participants about the activities and medium. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain general views of participants on the application. Study findings demonstrated that the participants found SL environment interesting and entertaining and the activities beneficial for themselves to overcome their timidity in verbalizing in foreign language. It was also conceived that participants experienced difficulties in speech with the application due to various reasons and encountered different technical problems. However, the participants stated that SL could be used in several different fields in addition to foreign language education, provided that frequent issues encountered such as in-campus access and sound problems could be avoided. At the end of the study recommendations for the future applications and research based on study findings were presented.