CASE STUDIES

As you were informed from the infographic found on the second page of this blog, Second Life (SL) is the most widely used virtual world by 78%. In this section you will find five case studies which focus on educational issues regarding Virtual Worlds when applied in teaching EFL (English as a Foreign Language). They mainly examine benefits as well as challenges involved from the perspectives of both teachers and learners.

 

  • The first case study focuses on the following topics: SL as an EFL learning environment, the designing of language learning experiences in SL, benefits and challenges of teaching in SL, the teacher's role in SL and descriptions of available EFL sites in SL for teaching and learning English.

Hismanoglu, M. (2012). Integrating Second Life into an EFL classroom: A new dimension in foreign language learning and teaching. International Journal on New Trends in Education and Their Implications, 3(4), 100-111. http://www.ijonte.org/FileUpload/ks63207/File/09.hismanoglu.pdf
  • In the second case study, we will find out different types of research methods applied when using SL, how it is used by teachers and learners, potential problems as well as potential uses.

Inman, C., Wright, V. H., & Hartman, J. A. (2010). Use of Second Life in K-12 and higher education: A review of research. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 9(1). https://www.ncolr.org/jiol/issues/pdf/9.1.3.pdf
  • The following case study focuses on social situations in which learning occurs in SL, the types of learning learners experience, whether learning in SL transfers to real life and if students perceive Second Life as instrumental in learning.

Jarmon, L., Traphagan, T., Mayrath, M., & Trivedi, A. (2009). Virtual world teaching, experiential learning, and assessment: An interdisciplinary communication course in Second Life. Computers & Education, 53(1), 169-182. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131509000141
  • The next case study introduces various benefits and challenges involved when using SL upon teaching the English language.

Sarac, H. S. (2014). Benefits and challenges of using Second Life in English teaching: Experts’ opinions. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 158, 326-330. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042814061886
  • The last case study describes the perceptions of students and teachers when the SL platform is used in teaching EFL and some relevant arising problems .

Wang, C. X., Lefaiver, M. L., Hunt, C., & Wang, Q. (2011). Teaching in an EFL program in second life: Student teachers’ perspectives and implications. Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE), 4(1), 4. https://aquila.usm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=jetde

FURTHER STUDY

Now let's focus on certain issues that arise when young children and adolescents are involved regarding education as well as entertainment and how they can be counteracted.

Read the following article and complete the crossword below:

Reed, N., & Joseff, K. (2022). Kids and the Metaverse: What Parents, Policymakers, and Companies Need to Know. Common Sense Media.  https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/featured-content/files/metaverse-white-paper.pdf

 

 

Crossword created in e-me4all.eu (e-me content)

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