Virtual English Village: A Task-based English Learning Platform in Second Life

Abstract

The purposes of the current study are to develop a virtual English learning village for elementary EFL learners in Taiwan to allow them to learn English beyond the regular school schedule. Four learning contexts were developed and used by 117 EFL learners from an elementary school in Taipei City for around 5 months. Learners' motivation of learning English via executing language tasks in this virtual village were evaluated through questionnaire administration. The results reveal learners' positive perception of the English learning mode as proposed in this study. Thus, a task-based English platform in virtual worlds can be a potential solution to the problems of the lack of authentic contexts nowadays in the traditional EFL settings, and consequently is able to provide elementary-school EFL learners with an immersive environment for building authentic experiences.