Short Research Papers

Practicalities of Virtual Learning
Environments

Alan Simpson
Miyazaki International College
The author joined a training course to learn how virtual learning environments could be
used to learn English for Specific Purposes. A virtual bank was created and undergraduate
students used an avatar to test the tasks. They gave feedback on the environment, the tasks,
and the learning opportunities. The outcomes were that it would be good for student
motivation, but the challenges include getting students online and building curriculum
goals into the virtual tasks.

In virtual learning environments (VLEs) students obtain instant feedback about
whether they can do the task, and can learn language skills incidentally while
they are focusing on completing a task (Cinganotto, 2019). Werbach and Hunter(2015) categorized the elements of games and tasks as being: (1) the dynamics, (2)the mechanics, and (3) the specific components. The dynamics construct student
motivation through emotion, narrative, constraint, and progression, whereas themechanics are driven by creating challenges, cooperation and competition, while
the specific components include avatars, badges, levels, points, and teams.
The number of scientific works published annually on education andgamification has been increasing every year (Thomas et al., 2018). Lin and Lan(2015) studied trends in language learning in virtual reality environments from2004 to 2013 in computer assisted language learning journals. They found thatthe most popular topics were interactive communication, behaviors, beliefs,
and task-based instruction. Foreign language teachers think that virtual reality
technology can motivate students’ interest in language learning through theirimmersion in listening and speaking contexts (Peixoto et al., 2019). Furthermore,
67

Simpsonthere are various uses of technology, such as wikis, online applications, corpora,and blogs to assist learning English for Specific Purposes (ESP) (Dashtestani &Stojkovic, 2016).
Therefore, the author joined a course on immersive learning environments
to learn about their potential for students’ language learning development,
especially ESP, such as in the customer service industry. The course is called
Games Used IN Engaging Virtual Environments for Real-time language
Education (GUINEVERE), which is a European Union Erasmus projectby the University of Lancaster, Italian University Line, Istanbul University,
Let’s Talk Online, and 3DLES (http://guinevereproject.eu). The five-weekcourse was for teachers to learn and investigate the kinds of tasks that could
be created for language learners in virtual worlds (Free online teacher training
courses, 2019). The author’s research question was, “What are the process andchallenges for a teacher to learn and then use GUINEVERE in their teachingcontexts?” GUINEVERE uses the open source platform OpenSimulator(http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page) to create and simulate virtualenvironments. This is similar to Second Life (https://secondlife.com/) exceptthat GUINEVERE does not have commercial aims.

Methodology

The five module course was conducted over five weeks, with five live one-hoursessions and approximately 15–20 hours of reading and self-exploration. This
included: (1) the principles of gaining access to OpenSimulator, becoming
familiar with the environments, and studying the basics of game design theory;(2) role playing collaborative tasks and simple object building; (3) designingand developing more complex objects; (4) creating short programs or scripts forobjects to perform a certain function; (5) developing a game or environment toenable students to learn and practice using language by completing various tasks.
At each stage, digital reading materials were provided to deepen knowledge andunderstanding of building and designing simulation games.
The author’s aim for the five-week course was to build a virtual Japanesebank for learners of English who work at a local bank. The three primary68Virtual Learning Environments, OCJSI 2, pages 67-73

tasks were trying to simulate opening an account, withdrawing money, andthen transferring it. The build took approximately eight hours, and after thisdevelopment, five university students (S1-S5) were asked to complete the tasks
on separate occasions. There was one Taiwanese male and four Japanese females,
all with CEFR B1 level English. The task performance was recorded using
Screencast-o-matic (https://screencast-o-matic.com/). They were then asked
three interview questions: (1) “What did you think about the VLE?” (2) “Howwere the tasks?” and (3) “What did you think about using this kind of platform
for language learning?”

Results
Training Course
In the first module, the author gained access to GUINEVERE by using aviewing platform called Firestorm (https://www.firestormviewer.org/). The
name GUINEVERE was developed because there is a castle and many tasks ask
questions about the Knights of the Round Table (Green, 2008). The first task
upon entering GUINEVERE was to learn how to make the avatar walk, run, fly,read tasks, click on objects to make something appear, change the appearanceof the avatar, and interact with chatbots (objects which look like avatars butcould only respond to basic typed questions). In the second module, the teachertrainees visited another virtual learning environment within GUINEVERE
called Movie Island, where they had to complete a series of ‘complaining at a
hotel’ gap fill tasks.
The final three modules were based on learning how to build objects andattach or embed various items. The simplest build object was a cube, which could
be changed into two-dimensional squares or walls by adjusting the dimensions.
A picture image could then be attached. Similarly, a program generator websitecalled Script Me (http://www.3greeneggs.com/autoscript/) was used to create
programs for objects so that when an avatar clicked on them or walked nearby
it could: (1) make objects appear; (2) give something to an avatar, such as anotecard; (3) display phrases in the textbox chat; (4) play a sound; (5) prompt
an avatar to load a URL in a web browser. Furthermore, audio recordings could69Simpsonbe created and modified using GarageBand for Macs (https://www.apple.com/mac/garageband/), and then attached to an object, too.
Course Outcome
The virtual bank consisted of walls, a counter, tables, chairs, plants, lights (sourced
from various furniture boxes supplied by the trainers), ATMs, and bank tellers,
who were not avatars nor chatbots, just simply objects in the realistic shape ofavatars, and with audio files attached (Figure 1). To open a bank account, theperson operating the avatar clicked on the bank teller and a notecard popped
up with instructions to fill in a bank form, simulated with the survey program
Google Form (Figure 2). To withdraw money, they had to go to the ATM which
linked to a Quizlet vocabulary matching activity (Quizlet enables students tolearn vocabulary with digital flashcards, games and tests). After that, the students
listened to the teacher reading a customer/staff interaction and filled in thegaps in an HTML5 Package (H5P) website cloze passage (H5P allows people
to create, share and reuse interactive HTML5 content). To transfer money, theavatar had to click on another bank teller, then a photo of an official bank moneytransfer form popped up along with a dialogue written on a notecard for twostudents to role play together.
The student interviews revealed that S1 thought that “the virtual world
will make people more motivated,” and S2 said that it was “good quality andmotivating.” S3 thought that the tasks were good because they were linked.

Figure 1. An example of what the virtual bank looks like.

70Virtual Learning Environments, OCJSI 2, pages 67-73

Figure 2. A example of the bank form students were required to fill in with the instruction about
how to do this.

However, it was “difficult to move” the avatar, and she wanted more space andless furniture. S4 wanted more avatars, more functionality to turn on the mic
and role play, and to be able to connect to the teacher online. S4 also asked
about other contexts, such as a hotel reception, and he asked whether an iPhone
could be used. All students wanted more tasks, with some competition, too. Thestudents commented that the learning opportunities were good for vocabulary
learning, but S3 wanted Quizlet writing for spelling practice. Furthermore, S3suggested that if the learners were low level, it would be difficult, so clearer task
instructions would be better.
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SimpsonDiscussion

Initial results suggest that the VLE was motivational for the students, and using
more avatars would increase the number of students interacting as virtual banktellers and customers. This would create a more authentic dialogue exchange
via computer microphones. However, the challenge of getting a class of 20-30
students to use this application is that it requires computers with a minimum of
1.5-GHz processors, 1GB of memory, and avatar accounts to be set-up. This may
also constrain the student’s request to use iPhones. In January 2019, Linden Labs,
the proprietor of Second Life, was still developing a mobile app (Pey, 2019) forusers to be able to use this platform with their mobile phones. Another possible
solution would be to make guest avatar accounts for groups of five or so students
to operate one avatar, and collaborate on how to complete tasks together.
It would now be possible for the author (or any teacher trainer who went
through a similar training course) to be able to create other virtual environments,
such as hotels, restaurants, or company meeting rooms. The main challenge is
how to give clear rewards, points, clues, or instructions, as suggested by Werbachand Hunter’s (2015) specific components of the task, and then to gamify theprogression through a sequence of tasks to build a curriculum. Students wereeager to do additional self-study and follow-up activities, so building extrinsic
motivators like badges, or points, to give access or knowledge to get to the nextstage, would be ideal. There is also potential for students to be involved in thebuilding and quest making process and increasing the amount of self-controlledlearning, which could be tailored for the course curriculum goals.

References

Cinganotto, L. (2019, May 12). Guinevere teacher led course: Week 1 [Webinar].
Dashtestani, R., & Stojkovic, N. (2016). The use of technology in English forSpecific Purposes (ESP) instruction: A literature review. Journal of Teaching
English for Specific and Academic Purposes, 3(3), 435–456.
Free online teacher training courses. (2019, October 2019) [Projectdescription]. http://guinevereproject.eu/free-online-teacher-trainingcourses
72Virtual Learning Environments, OCJSI 2, pages 67-73

Green, R. L. (2008). King Arthur and his knights of the round table. Penguin.
Lin, T. J., Lan, Y. J. (2015). Language Learning in Virtual Reality Environments:
Past, Present, and Future. Journal of Educational Technology & Society,18(4), 486–97. www.jstor.org/stable/jeductechsoci.18.4.486
Peixoto, B., Pinto, D., Krassmann, A., Melo, M., Cabral, L., & Bessa, M. (2019).
Using virtual reality tools for teaching foreign languages. In Á. Rocha,H. Adeli, L. P. Reis, & S. Costanzo (Eds.), New knowledge in information
systems and technologies (pp. 581–588). doi.org/10.1007/978-3-03016187-3_56
Pey, I. (2019, January 10) Linden Lab confirm Second Life iOS client in themaking [Web log post]. https://modemworld.me/2019/01/10/linden-labconfirm-second-life-ios-client-in-the-making/Thomas, M., Cinganotto, L., & Philp, H. (2018). Digital game-based language
learning in 3D immersive environments: The GUINEVERE Project.
Innovation in Language Learning International Conference Proceedings,
11. https://conference.pixel-online.net/ICT4LL/files/ict4ll/ed0011/
FP/3740-ICL3451-FP-ICT4LL11.pdf
Werbach, K., Hunter, D. (2015). The gamification toolkit - dynamics, mechanics,
and components for the win. Wharton Digital Press. https://wsp.wharton.
upenn.edu/book/gamification-toolkit/Author bio

Alan Simpson is an assistant professor at Miyazaki International College, and theJALT Business Communication SIG Coordinator. He has an interest in developing
materials for English for business purposes, including pragmatic functions, politeness,
small talk, turn taking, and power strategies used in business English as a lingua
franca contexts. <alanmarksimpson@gmail.com>
Received: October 20, 2019
Accepted: September 9, 202073