Volume 30 Number 1, 2026 Virtual reality in the Spanish classroom: A longitudinal control-experimental research study

Virtual reality in the Spanish classroom: A longitudinal control-experimental research study

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access-status:
open.access
bitstream:
[['https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstreams/ed716c64-f474-4fb7-99fa-df244cadb654/download', '30_01_10125-73692_v2.pdf']]
bitstream_txt:
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collection:
Volume 30 Number 1, 2026
contributor.author:
Thrasher, Tricia Yarrington, Kara Alarcon, Lorena Varlik, Elif
date.accessioned:
2026-06-20T02:24:19Z
date.available:
2026-06-20T02:24:19Z
date.copyright:
2026
date.issued:
2026-06-22
description.abstract:
Research has found that high-immersion virtual reality (HiVR) can improve language learners’ speaking skills (Dooly et al., 2023; Thrasher, 2022a, 2022b). However, most prior studies have relied on short-term interventions (Dhimolea et al., 2022), resulting in limited evidence from control-experimental designs examining the effects of sustained HiVR integration. To address this gap, this semester-long control-experimental study measured how participation in a HiVR-integrated instructional model impacted foreign language anxiety (FLA), motivation, willingness to communicate (WTC), and oral proficiency over a 10-week period. Seventy-one students in a university-level beginner Spanish course participated in the study. The control group (n = 38) followed a fully online course with traditional homework, while the experimental group (n = 33) had two hours of their online homework replaced each week with HiVR activities. All participants completed a language background questionnaire and pre- and post- FLA, motivation, and WTC questionnaires. Recordings of participants’ final oral exams were analyzed for complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) features to evaluate improvements in speaking abilities. Results suggest that the HiVR-integrated instructional model mitigated FLA, increased WTC, and positively impacted speaking skills.
endingpage:
25
format.extent:
25
identifier.citation:
Thrasher, T., Yarrington, K., Alarcon, L., & Varlik, E. (2026). Virtual reality in the Spanish classroom: A longitudinal control-experimental research study. Language Learning & Technology, 30(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.64152/10125/73692
identifier.doi:
https://doi.org/10.64152/10125/73692
identifier.issn:
1094-3501
identifier.uri:
https://hdl.handle.net/10125/73692
language:
eng
number:
1
publicationname:
Language Learning & Technology
publisher:
University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center Center for Language & Technology
rights.license:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
rights.uri:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
site_url:
/item/10125-73692/
startingpage:
1
subject:
virtual reality, oral proficiency, affective factors, high-immersion VR, Spanish
title:
Virtual reality in the Spanish classroom: A longitudinal control-experimental research study
type:
Article Text
volume:
30