English Language Learning in Primary School Children Using Immersive Virtual Reality

The growing prominence of Virtual Reality (VR) has captivated the attention of scholars and educators, prompting them to delve into its potential as a learning tool across diverse educational domains. Consequently, numerous literature reviews have examined and consolidated the educational applications of VR. VR refers to a type of simulated reality, constructed using computer systems and digital formats. The construction and visualization of this type of reality requires the use of hardware and software powerful enough to create a realistic and immersive experience experienced in first person. It is a perceptual enhancement, based on the generation of virtual content by a computer and their overlap with reality. VR has long been studied and described for its potential to revolutionize education as it would provide numerous benefits, including access to limited logistical experiences (such as going to the moon) or access to experiences that are physically impossible (such as being in-side a molecule). However, as Jensen & Konradsen said, it was with the release of Oculus Rift in 2013 that VR became synonymous with head-mounted display-based VR (HMD). However, there remains a dearth of recent scholarly reviews specifically focusing on the use of VR in language learning, a distinct field of interest. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relation between VR and learning a foreign language, in this case English. We compared two teaching methodologies: traditional one and VR-based in a population of 120 Italian students from the last year of primary school.