国際情報学部の斎藤ゼミの津田詩織さん（4年）と西田れいあさん（4年）が、名城大学で開催されたJALTCALL 2024において、論文「The Possibility of English Practice with Peers in VR：A Case Study of the iTL VR Café」を英語で発表しました。
斎藤ゼミでは、EdTech（Education & Technology）を研究テーマに掲げており、第2言語習得理論と応用言語学の視点から、英語教育へのテクノロジーの活用について研究を進めています。
今回の発表は、3年生にゼミで、iTL VR CaféのPilot Studyを行ったプロジェクトの内容をまとめたものでした。
JALTCALLは全国各地から高等教育機関で教える多くの英語教員や研究者が集まる学会です。今回の発表についても参加者からも多くの関心が寄せられ、質疑応答も活発に行われました。
以下は発表の要旨です。
The benefits of VR for English education such as increasing engagement (Hu-Au & Lee, 2017), reducing affective filter (Schwienhorst, 2020), and public speaking anxiety (Godefridi et al., 2021), and raising students’ motivation (Tai, Chen, & Todd, 2020) have been reported. This presentation details a pilot study on the iTL VR café, focusing on the utilization of Virtual Reality (VR) for English practice. iTL means Information Technology and Law, which is a nickname for our department. Although the students at iTL hope to improve their speaking skills, the number of English classes offered at the department is limited. To find a solution, we decided to create a space in a VR platform, Spatial, where students can practice English with other students in a relaxed manner. Adopting the concept of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), proficient English-speaking university students led VR sessions to support their peers’ English-speaking practice. Eight students participated in six sessions in English practice in the VR platform. A speaking test was conducted before and after the six sessions. Also, pre and post questionnaires were collected. The results showed that the students were able to enjoy the English practice, be motivated in learning English, and lower their foreign language anxiety though no improvement was observed in the post speaking test. Referring to the potential of creating avatar-based learning spaces among students for autonomous learning and engagement (MEXT, 2020), we will explore the feasibility of implementing a VR café for English practice. This discussion will include its benefits, challenges, and potential, as reflected in the pilot study. Additionally, the presentation will touch upon future directions, such as expanding the study to include more participants and sessions, and the possibility of integrating telecollaboration with students at international universities into the iTL VR café.
iTLでは、2年次後期からゼミ（科目名：「国際情報演習」）が始まります。各ゼミでは各分野のそれぞれ切り口から情報社会の諸課題に対する解決策を導く研究を行います。
iTLでは引き続き、講義で得られる「理論」とゼミでの「実践」により、より良い情報社会の構築に貢献できる人材の育成を目指してまいります。
