La contribution des tâches de réalité virtuelle au désir de communiquer en français langue seconde à l’extérieur de la salle de classe à Montréal

Since communicative approach and task-based language teaching have placed communication at the centre of second language (L2), researchers such as Ellis (2003) have underlined the importance of individual differences between L2 learners, regarding their willingness to communicate (WTC), which is defined as "readiness to enter into discourse at a particular time with a specific person using the L2" (MacIntyre et al., 1998, p. 547). These researchers have suggested that the development of L2 WTC be made a priority of L2 teaching. In this respect, the literature shows that computer-mediated communication has a positive effect on increasing L2 learners' WTC (Rankin et al., 2006; Gonzalez-Lloret, 2017), by lowering language anxiety and increasing self-perceived communicative competence (SPCC), which are the two main antecedents of L2 WTC.  One avenue for research that has not received much attention is the pedagogical use of 360 virtual reality (VR360), a promising medium for teachers hoping to increase their L2 students' WTC. VR360 can be defined as an immersive digital environment relying on 360 photos/videos from the real world and providing the user with a strong feeling of presence in “real life” situations. We propose that VR360 has the potential to provide learners with semi authentic simulations designed to lower their anxiety and increase their SPCC, leading to increased WTC.   To assess this potential, we designed and implemented three short communicative VR360 tasks presenting learners with communicative situations similar to the ones they could encounter in their daily life, such as paying for groceries using L2 French. The tasks are anchored in the reality of the learning environment: in this case, Montreal, a French-English bilingual metropolis with a distinct regional variety of French.   The 19 participants to this exploratory study are international university students learning L2 French at a beginner level. Mixed methodology (quantitative pre/post tests, reflective journals and semi-structured focus groups) was used to measure and probe their level of SPCC, anxiety and WTC, and to shed light on the challenges they face while trying to interact in French in Montreal and their perception of the RV360 tasks as a learning tool preparing for real-life L2 use.  The data analysis indicates that the challenges to communication in L2 French in the real world mainly come from a negative perception of one’s vocabulary and pronunciation, combined with anxiety due to the anticipation of breakdowns in communication with native French speakers. Faced with this pitfall, participants generally argued that RV360 tasks are a good learning tool to bridge the classroom and the real world and thus prepare them for L2 interaction in the real world, even if the low level of difficulty and the lack of flexibility limit task authenticity. The RV360 tasks thus contributed positively (albeit to varying degrees among learners) to the improvement of their WTC, mainly via the strengthening of their SCCP.  The discussion provides new insights into good teaching practices and the development of learning scenarios incorporating the RV360 to promote WTC at a beginner level. These scenarios should focus on strategic instruction, task complexity and feedback, while relying on a human-human interaction in addition to the completion of the RV360 tasks.

Keyphrases: simulation, willingness to communicate, virtual reality, computer-assisted language learning, task-based language teaching, authenticity