Language Teaching and Learning in Virtual Worlds - Professor Graham Davies - LWW-CETL, SOAS
Channel: SOAS University of London
Date: 2013-01-17

Language Teaching and Learning in Virtual Worlds 
Professor Graham Davies (Emeritus Professor, Thames Valley University)

This presentation aims to give an overview of the ways in which virtual worlds, especially Second Life, are currently being used in language teaching and learning. The virtual world of Second Life was established in 2003 and gradually began to attract interest from educators in general and then language teachers in particular. In 2007 the first virtual world conference on language teaching and learning took place, and since then it has become an annual event. There are now a growing number of projects and simulations devoted to language teaching and learning in Second Life, examples of which will be referred to in this presentation.

The presentation will include a live tour of Second Life, focusing on simulations that have been set up especially for language learning and teaching, beginning with the work currently being undertaken by the joint EUROCALL/CALICO Virtual Worlds Special Interest Group (VW SIG), which was set up earlier this year and now maintains a headquarters and resources centre on EduNation III Island. It is planned to include contributions at a distance from practitioners and researchers who are active in this sphere of language teaching and learning

Further information: http://www.soas.ac.uk/lwwcetl/events/conferences/12nov2009-technology-enhanced-language-teaching-and-learning.html