The Usage of Virtual Reality in Task-Based Language Teaching

Experiential learning, in which knowledge acquisition occurs via as opposed to for task performance, represents a core principle of task-based language education. Against this background, virtual reality (VR) holds the potential to provide incidental learning experiences by facilitating communicative, socio-physical interactions across a host of language learning domains. Thus, it is the purpose of this article to describe the use of VR as a medium for task-based language teaching. Specifically, the capabilities of the Oculus Quest VR headset will be outlined by disclosing the background, implementation, and results of a small-scale study in which tertiary-level English as a foreign language participants utilized VR to navigate the information gap game Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. Key findings indicate that the convergence of VR and commercial game software constitutes engagement that, in keeping with the principles of task-based inquiry, occasions learner collaboration and student-led resolution. More distinct to the VR method, however, is an enhanced sense of presence within its accompanying "world."