Virtual world language learning

Virtual worlds are playing an increasingly important role in education, especially in language learning. By March 2007 it was estimated that over 200 universities or academic institutions were involved in Second Life (Cooke-Plagwitz, p. 548). Joe Miller, Linden Lab Vice President of Platform and Technology Development, claimed in 2009 that "Language learning is the most common education-based activity in Second Life". Many mainstream language institutes and private language schools are now using 3D virtual environments to support language learning.

Virtual worlds date back to the adventure games and simulations of the 1970s, for example Colossal Cave Adventure, a text-only simulation in which the user communicated with the computer by typing commands at the keyboard. These early adventure games and simulations led on to MUDs (Multi-user domains) and MOOs (Multi-user domains object-oriented), which language teachers were able to exploit for teaching foreign languages and intercultural understanding (Shield 2003).

Three-dimensional virtual worlds such as Traveler and Active Worlds, both of which appeared in the 1990s, were the next important development. Traveler included the possibility of audio communication (but not text chat) between avatars represented as disembodied heads in a three-dimensional abstract landscape. Svensson (2003) describes the Virtual Wedding Project, in which advanced students of English made use of Active Worlds as an arena for constructivist learning. The Adobe Atmosphere software platform was also used to promote language learning in the Babel-M project (Williams & Weetman 2003).

The 3D world of Second Life was launched in 2003. Initially perceived as another role-playing game (RPG), it began to attract the attention of language teachers. 2005 saw the first large-scale language school, Languagelab.com, open its doors in Second Life. By 2007, Languagelab.com's custom VoIP (audio communication) solution was integrated with Second Life. Prior to that, teachers and students used separate applications for voice chat.

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