Assessing Student Teachers’ Readiness for Integrating VR in Task-based L2 Instruction

Activity: Talk or presentationInvited talk

Description

The integration of Virtual Reality (VR) into language teaching is on the rise, yet the readiness of student teachers to adopt this technology remains unclear. In this seminar, I will present a study on English language teaching (ELT) student teachers’ acceptance of VR into task-based instruction and their proficiency in the necessary pedagogical and technological skills. Twenty-six ELT student teachers, who were pursuing their Master of Arts degree at a Hong Kong university, were interviewed about their acceptance of VR-enhanced oral tasks and assessed on their knowledge of TBLT and VR. The findings reveal student teachers’ positive attitude towards VR-enhanced oral tasks and robust content knowledge. However, they also highlight these student teachers’ concerns regarding the practical implementation of VR, stemming from limited pedagogical and technological expertise and other external factors such as school support. The study underscores an immediate need for professional training that goes beyond offering VR experiences to also include the creation of VR-integrated teaching materials.
Period9 May 2024
Held atSouth China Normal University, China