“Almost French, virtually” Situated Language Practice through Global Simulation

Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 2

Theoretical framework .................................................................................................................................... 2

On Situated learning Design ........................................................................................................................ 3

On Global Simulation and Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) .............................................................. 3

On Motivation, Affect and Reflection ......................................................................................................... 4

On Virtual Worlds (VW) and Digital Game Based Learning (DGBL) ............................................................ 5

Pedagogical Framework .................................................................................................................................. 5

Project background ..................................................................................................................................... 5

Project description ...................................................................................................................................... 7

“SECTIONS” Framework .............................................................................................................................. 7

Students: ................................................................................................................................................. 7

Ease of use/Usability: .............................................................................................................................. 8

Costs / time ............................................................................................................................................. 8

Teaching: ................................................................................................................................................. 8

Interactivity: .......................................................................................................................................... 10

Organisational considerations: ............................................................................................................. 10

Networking ........................................................................................................................................... 10

Security and Privacy .............................................................................................................................. 10

Project Evaluation through Feedback ....................................................................................................... 10

Project Evaluation through Assessment ................................................................................................... 11

Impact through Comparative Evaluation with other courses’/students’ results ...................................... 12

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 12

References ..................................................................................................................................................... 13

Appendices .................................................................................................................................................... 15

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“Our schools give students “game manuals” (geology text) without the

“game” (geology) but it is the game that gives embodied and situated (i.e.

useful) meaning to the words in the text.”(Gee, 2011, p.117)

Introduction

Despite the vast amount of research in the field of Second Language Acquisition and following the works

of Piaget (cognitive-constructivism), Vygotsky (socio-constructivism and Zone of Proximal Development),

and situated learning advocators (Barab, Hay, Barnett & Squire, 2001; Brown & Duguid, 1989, Young, 1993),

Gee’s statement above (2011 and 2007, p.105-128) appears to indicate a common discrepancy in education

between what and how we teach, and how students learn best. It also calls upon situated learning principles

explored by Lave and Wenger (1991), Brown and Duguid (1989); Young (1995), Herrington (2006). When

students are given concepts, rules, functions and conventions with no opportunities to play and take risks,

learning outcomes will peak at the conventional stage at its best. This leads to the question of what

expertise do we want students to conquer? The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

(CEFR) provides useful guidelines as to what proficiency learners should attain in writing, reading, listening

and speaking from real beginners (A1) to native fluency (C2).

Gee’s statement leads to a second observation about motivation to learn: if students don’t understand why

they are doing what they are given to do, and get few (or no) opportunity to play with forms and functions

in authentic communication situations, why should they learn beyond the basic extrinsic reasons to pass

the test? (Lave, 1991; Young 1993). Barab, Hay, Barnett & Squire (2001) state that “Learning, (…) is not the

acquisition of facts and skills, but an activity involving the appropriation and construction of socially

negotiated practices, understanding, and meanings”.

The project presented below seeks to address the above in order to bridge the language forms and

functions learnt in class to authentic natural language production, thereby encourage language students’

participation in class, and enhance their learning experience with tasks pertinent to the realities of

communication in the target language. For this purpose, we will use the concept of “l’Immeuble”, a global

simulation (Debyser, 1996; Magnin, 1997; Levine, 2004, & Dupuy, 2006) set in a 3D immersive environment

where students will interact with the world and with others through an avatar. The project will attempt to

explore the viability of situated learning approach (Herrington, 2006 ; Herrington, Parker & Boase-Jelinek,

2014) using the affordances of virtual worlds as a visual response to the need for authentic tasks situated

in an authentic environment (Ellis, 2003; Herrington, 2006) with regular reflective tasks recorded in cloud-

based documents (learning journals, group wiki and Google Docs). Kolb (1984, p.21) considers that learning

should be viewed as combining “experience, perception, cognition and behavior”.

Theoretical framework

Despite their efforts to encourage students in fulfilling tasks, teaching staff at Victoria often report that

students tend to overlook their homework, find it hard to participate spontaneously in class and do not

respond well to unplanned activities. However, authentic communication occurs in the real world. Tutors

currently end up having to fill in many silent gaps throughout tutorials while students should ideally

perform roughly 75- 85% talking time with their peers and tutor, or through voice recording. Oral outcomes

tend to result in rote learning production with oral presentations often learnt by heart or with extensive

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use of notes when permitted, which defeats the purpose of higher order language learning. That is to

participate in their learning process and of the learning content, students need to unleash their own voice

in the Target Language (Barab, et al., 2001).

On Situated learning Design

Barab et al. strongly endorse the concept of Participatory Learning Environments (PLEs, Lave, 1991) as “rich

environments that encourage explanation and discovery, nurture reflection, and support students in the

carrying out of practices that embody personally meaningful and practically functional representations”,

and the “activity theory” proposed by Lave (1991). In terms of authenticity in e-learning environments,

Herrington (2006) and Herrington, Parker, Boase-Jelinek (2014) strongly advocate the works of Brown &

Duguid (1989) on “cognitive apprenticeship” and posit nine principles grounded in the situated learning

approach: that is to introduce authentic contexts to reflect real-life situations with authentic tasks, provide

access to expert performance and offer multiple perspectives to transfer what is learnt in contexts outside

the classroom. Herrington et al.’s posit also insists on the importance of instructor’s presence as a coach

orchestrating collaborative projects and facilitating reflection so students can forge opinions on what and

how they are learning. Students should then be able to articulate and defend their position as part of what

the authors call “authentic assessment” which should be seamlessly integrated in the activity/task itself.

This project aims to follow the Situated Learning Design framework proposed by Young (1993). The four

main tasks for the designer are to:

1. generate the right learning situations affording deep, meaningful and collaborative learning,

2. scaffold the tasks to allow differentiated learning,

3. ensure teacher understand the methodology and tool(s), and

4. integrate seamless continuous assessment evaluating both the environment and the student’s

participation to fulfilling the task.

In terms of an ecological perspective, it is also important that students are aware of the reason why we

invite them in the journey we have chosen for them. Whatever oral and written task(s), simulation or role

play they are asked to produce, it should be expected that they transfer their acquired knowledge to real

situations when applicable (e.g. language buddies, Smartphone OS and games in the Target Language (L2)),

and access sources of information other than English (e.g. podcasts).

On Global Simulation and Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT)

In the same vein as Role Playing Games (RPGs), Global Simulations (GS) offer a strong potential for students

to feel immersed in a story they construct with other participants through the representation of a fictitious

character they choose to be. The instructor facilitates the development of the characters and the plot but

remains on the sideline as a mediator and language expert, unlike RPGs where the Game Master has a say

in the storyline, quests, challenges and awards. The approach seeks to enable learners use language as

authentically as possible “as if” they were interacting in a real universe. In “L’Immeuble” – The Building by

Debyser (1996), Dupuy (2006) and Magnin (1997) engage their students in everyday interactions as if they

“lived” in a building together. Events (love, quarrels, incidents, crime, etc...) are invented to represent real

life situations where language is naturally produced through recycling prior knowledge to develop fluency.

This way, students are expected to come across authentic communicative stimuli and converse with

appropriate language registers (formal and informal) depending on their personae and situation. Dupuy

makes an interesting statement about the “global” nature of GS in that they are “exhaustive” (infinite ways

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of imagining the universe and develop the story), “integrated” (all students participate in developing

interpersonal relationships, and by that, the story but also as a planner and a writer), “multi-disciplinary”

(whatever specialty participants can bring into the story) and “inclusive” where each participant takes

control of their own destiny in the overall GS.

Willis (2004, p.10-12) argues that if explicit language instruction and focus on form (vocabulary lists and

grammar) is necessary for accuracy, for students to develop a personal voice and find meaning to what

they learn, educators should also procure authentic text (material and environment) and “real-world

communication activities” so students can experience meaningful simulations and enhance their

motivation to use the Target Language (TL). For the purpose of this project I will use the term “task”

following the Ellis’s definition (in Willis p.15)

“Task as Workplan with Content-Oriented Outcome: “(…) A task is intended to result in language

use that bears resemblance, direct or indirect to the way language is used in the real world. Like

other language activities, a task can engage productive or receptive, and oral or written skills, and

also various cognitive processes.” (Ellis, 2003)

Levin (2004) also states that “the intense orientation toward tasks in a GS course offers participants an

environment in which the simulation becomes its own reality”, in which communication can proceed in the

second language in ways that (…) are more natural and “real” than in many other foreign language courses.

Whether the formal instruction should come before or after the task is debated: it depends on students’

prior knowledge, language learning experience and what they need to understand and complete the task.

Levine proposes to keep language instruction during dedicated sessions to a minimum, or preferably to

another class, so as to allow students to penetrate their character and roles naturally during the simulation

session.

On Motivation, Affect and Reflection

An important aspect of GS is also providing the opportunity to reflect (Dupuy, 2006) not only on the

composition of the story (language) but also on the metacognitive processes involved to complete the task.

Levine talks about “introspective self-assessment” individually or in groups so students can voice their

feedback on their own performance as well as on the task and on the project. This part also provides

meaningful feedback for instructors and can serve to measure the impact of such approach on motivation

as asserted below by Goldfay,(1995):

“It [therefore] remains incumbent upon creators of educational materials in general, and

[multimedia] in particular, to clearly and unambiguously frame the content in such ways that it is

not only appropriate to the affective needs of learners, but also to the type of cognitive demands

that will be expected of them. This naturally means knowing one’s target population well and

incorporating iterative feedback processes throughout the early formative evaluation so as to fine

tune content accordingly.

In their article Downey, Wehner & Gump (2011) state in their literature review that “[m]otivation has long

been regarded as one of the most influential forces on a person’s ability to learn, or not learn, a foreign

language“. In their research attempt on language learner’s motivation, Downey et al. cite Klein (1986) who

defined three subcategories of motivation: social integration, communicative needs and attitude.

Reinders (2014) suggests that “perceived competence” in the second language (L2) and anxiety also play

an important part in student’s “Willingness to Communicate” (WTC). Other factors have an impact on

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students desire to take risks: the importance of introducing relevance to the topics discussed, of cultivating

group cohesiveness and positive dynamics and individuals’ motivation. (Aubrey, 2011 in Reinders, 2014)

On Virtual Worlds (VW) and Digital Game Based Learning (DGBL)

With the now easy access to international media and global communication opportunities via social

networks, the claim that New Zealand is far from the rest of the world has become somewhat redundant.

3d Virtual Worlds are computer mediated environments where users are represented through an avatar

and interact with others. MUD (Multi-User Dungeon, -Domain or -Dimension) and MOOs (Multi-Oriented

Object) started in the seventies in the form of asynchronous text-based environments as interactive

adventure games to research on human-computer simulations. The advent of the Internet in the nineties

made synchronous interactions possible and online social and gaming environments have bloomed over

the World Wide Web in the last 20 years. Millions of avatars created by real-life users from around the

world now meet virtually in real-time to play, debate, dance and learn with no borders.

Multi-Massively Online Role Play Games (MMORPG) like World of Warcraft are developed by commercial

ventures following game design principles, (goals, quests, challenges, rules and rewards) in order to keep

the player in a state of “flow”, a term coined by positive psychologist Csikszentmihalyi (1991) which

describes a state of optimal engagement where pleasure rules on the player’s sense of time and location.

(Dupuy, Deterding, 2012).

Virtual Worlds on the other hand have a wider scope and do not necessarily involve game play. Open Sim

and Second Life for example are user-generated and, depending on the interest of the user, are designed

for education, entertainment, social networking, arts and research. Virtual worlds provide an ideal platform

for simulations and situated and experiential learning. These environments offer fantastic grounds for

research in both soft and hard sciences and infinite opportunities in the field of government, nursing,

education, engineering, architecture, commerce and marketing (Journal of Virtual World Research).

Jarmon, Lim, Carpenter & Jensen (2009) posit that Virtual Worlds provide a social and contextualised

environment where learning is viewed as a social process and whereby knowledge is co-constructed. In the

field of language learning this means opportunities for students to use language freely in an open world

with their peers, tutor(s) and possibly native speakers. However Jarmon et al. make a clear distinction

between Virtual Environments’ and Virtual Worlds’ affordances and propose a “Six Learnings framework”

based on the “nature of the Learning” that 3d Virtual Worlds promote: learning by exploring, collaborating,

being, building, championing, and expressing.

The following sections present the framework to support our teaching plan following Bates’s SECTIONS

framework (2015, pp.489-491). We expose findings from a former project using Virtual Worlds without the

Global Simulation structure. We then make recommendations on how the following pedagogical plan can

remedy previous shortcomings. We finally propose ideas to evaluate the impact of the plan in students’

learning experience and how we could draw comparisons with more conventional teaching methods.

Pedagogical Framework

Project background

The Second Life Romance Pilot Project was initiated in 2012 in an attempt to bridge the gap between formal

learning (forms and functions in classroom) and informal learning (open tasks in virtual worlds). The focus

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of research was on gauging motivation to use the L2 freely in a Virtual World following the Six Learnings

framework proposed by Jarmon et al. Students met native speakers from Europe and Latin America and

visited replicas of real world locations (Paris, Venice, Mexico) and themed islands (Steampunk, Cyberpunk,

Gothic, Western). They also learnt to build simple objects, participated in treasure hunts, drove vehicles,

played and danced, and attended virtual shows performed in the target language (choreographed History

of the Catacombs, Concert by an Italian Singer).

Second Life sessions were supplementary to the course in 2012-13. Most participants who volunteered

chose to present their Second Life experience as part of their final oral presentation (20% final mark). In

2014 the Second Life session became compulsory for the Italian Class. We added a task for students to

summarise their experience in writing with screenshots at end of each tutorials in a wiki on Blackboard in

order to help collate material for their final oral presentations. This activity provided additional data to the

observations recorded by the instructor(s) during the sessions.

While the majority of students involved (both volunteers and the class of Italian) reported feeling immersed

in the environment and enjoying activities, they also found that they didn’t communicate enough in the TL

during the sessions (self-assessment); some found that learning how to use the viewer distracted them

from their actual task in-world, some didn’t understand the purpose of some sessions, and most found the

wiki task demanding – as we generally ran short of time at the end of the session. The full results of surveys

for 2012-2013 and 2014 are in the appendix.

The pedagogical plan presented below will attempt to remedy what has been identified as problematic and

ensure a better alignment with the course outline by systematically recycling taught forms and functions

through semi-controlled simulations. With student surveys, tutors’ recorded observations during sessions

Figure 1. Here is an example of wiki entry by a French A2 as a model of what is expected of

students. She consciously focused on reusing relative pronouns viewed in class, took

screenshots of both the market place and her house in-world.

(Student granted consent for reproduction)

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and the final exam production (storytelling or reflection on overall experience), we hope to collect enough

data to validate the benefits of such a project for language learning.

Project description

In order to respond to the situated learning design principles exposed in our theoretical framework and its

urgency for authenticity, we are aiming to build a culturally situated urban area with amenities (Parisian

architecture with shops, surgery, residence, school, park and town hall) where students (avatars) would

pretend to be “at home” and interact as if they were residents of the area. The idea is inspired by

“l’Immeuble” (the building) developed by Debyser (1996) and explored in higher education by Dupuy (2006),

Levine (2004) and Magnin (1997). The principle is to provide a culturally and linguistically grounded

environment for students to feel immersed and where they can co-construct their own story through an

imaginary character they select to be. The added component of this project is to use Virtual Worlds as a

visual device to support the sense of immersion and identity (avatar) as part of a neighborhood.

Students will be expected to plan their individual interaction with others in class then act in-world with

each other in the L2 using text chat and voice, and take pictures of their interactions. Students will

subsequently report on the sessions on the LMS wiki in the L2 to practice their writing skills. Content will

serve as formative evaluation for writing and the final assessment will consist as either a final reflective

report on the experience or a short novel narrating events that happened to their character throughout

the trimester.

For the purpose of this assignment I will describe the project following the several areas of inquiry proposed

by Bates (2015, pp.489-491), to help ascertain assumptions on the implementation and viability of such

project.

“SECTIONS” Framework

Students:

The project currently studied is targeting 200 level students of French starting the course at A2 level and

ending at B1 level following the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR). It can

be applied to other languages and other levels from A2 level upwards.

Undergraduates, from 1st year to 3rd year of study, with an average age range 18-25 with possibly

5% students over 30.

Figure 2. Please note that this table only represents the global scale of proficiency, not the specific

language skills this project targets that is: writing and speaking.

Source: Cambridge U. (2011) – http://bit.ly/1eBFtgL

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Courses are on campus and all connect from the same physical location in a designated computer

lab with machines compatible with the graphic demands of the software(DELL AiO 930 or iMacs)

tutorials are generally composed of 10-20 students

Previous surveys indicate that roughly 75% students have single player gaming experience in 3d

environments (the Sims mainly), 15% online gaming experience (LOTR, WoW, Runescape)

Ease of use/Usability:

Previous surveys indicate that students found it difficult at time to learn the User Interface (UI) in the (TL)

and the functionalities required to enjoy the experience (camera controls, avatar movements, inventory

and voice communication). We therefore estimate two training sessions on the UI buttons and keyboard

shortcuts while doing simple language tasks such as customising their avatar and getting acquainted with

the environment. Videos tutorials in the L2 will be available on Blackboard.

Synchronous Assistance in the lab by two instructor(s) is critical to assist students with the task and the

software (Firestorm Viewer).

Costs / time

Allocation estimated at 3 hours per week for tutor(s) and technologist’s time:

for session preparation with technologist, acquaintance with location, instructions props, people

and instructions,

to run the session(s) in-world and assist with task and technical issues,

to monitor and provide feedback on wiki,

including initial training on the technology (3-5 hours).

Costs vary dependent on the platform selected. In both Second Life and Open Sim, environments need to

be built from scratch and would require funding developers and maintenance. In this case a district of Paris

(see example built by author on a skybox on Second life), or ideally a village with typical amenities to enable

global simulations (see description below under teaching).

Second life: The advantage is the marketplace with wide range of scripted objects, buildings

available and avatar customisation options for purchase at generally fairly low cost. The

disadvantage being the prohibitive cost of rental/purchase of land despite the re-establishment of

a 50% discount for educational institutions since 2012.( see prices).

Open Sim regions are less costly but vary following the number of prims and functionalities (see

prices). There is growing market place available for Open Sim and private 3D developers (Turbo

Squid) are more lenient towards imports in Open Sim than Second Life (recent changes in TOR

regarding proprietary rights of developers).

Teaching:

[I]t will be important that the situations selected afford integrated instruction, anchoring instruction

across traditional subject boundaries. (Young, 1992)

It is imperative that the project be clearly presented so that students understand the holistic pedagogical

approach of global simulations using a 3D virtual environment. (Young, 1992). For the project to work well,

students need to be comfortable enough to “walk and talk” both in the classroom setting and “in-world”.

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(Reinders, 2014). As part of the future project we therefore intend to closely monitor student behaviour

during the sessions rather than focus on the usability of the viewer.

Formal teaching includes 1 or 2 weekly lecture(s) and 2 tutorials as defined in current course outline and

session planning will need to be discussed with the course coordinator so as to align expectations and

benchmark.

The timing of the sessions are as follows:

1. 10′ getting acquainted with the task on wiki, (instructions, vocabulary, etc.),

2. 25′-30′ in-world doing the task,

3. 10′-15′ writing on wiki (see example below).

Following student behaviour (adaptation to the platform, ability to fulfill the tasks on time, contribution to

the wiki), the sessions in-world could alternate every second tutorials to allow students to plan their tasks

and produce quality writing and peer to peer feedback on the wiki.

Typical tasks will revolve around planning and constructing narratives alone and with others (Journet, 2007)

and Jarmon (2009), reporting in writing in their journal/wiki on their actions and personal reflections.

Consequently their learning should encompass:

language consolidation through interaction following the task given,

topic synthesis through a poster exhibition (“Je suis Charlie” on freedom of expression, the French

Revolution or Paris in WWII), or if time allows create a short related movie (machinima) in the

virtual world,

spontaneous and natural language production using interjections and giving instructions in the L2

(e.g. “I am stuck”, “do this”, ‘how beautiful”).

The opportunity is there for a more holistic and semi-authentic view of language learning and practice

(think and produce language outside the linear course material) while keeping to the course themes and

semantic fields; instructors can focus on assisting lower level students (action cards and vocabulary lists) to

avoid cognitive overload while higher level students have more open to maximise improvisation with

unplanned events using User Interface set to L2 language. Levine (2004) and Dupuy recommend close-knit

relationship between instructors and students where the instructor remains on the sideline and does not

interfere with the plot development.

Formative assessment will include a short written report on actions and experience during the sessions on

a wiki supplemented with pictures of the sessions. The proposed summative assessment will be in either a

group presentation or individual interviews reporting on their overall experience or write their character’s

story developed throughout the trimester, supported with relevant in-world pictures, recordings or video.

The instructor(s) will facilitate briefing and debriefing, and informally appraise students’ engagement and

progress. They will also pay attention to the adequacy of interactions between participants to avoid and

mediate exclusion, disagreements or bullying. It is also important to remind students to rotate their

intervention with different participants to avoid “clan” formation.

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Interactivity:

We intend to involve students in intense synchronous interactivity in L2 with the environment, peers,

tutor(s) and possibly with native speakers. Students will explore, “touch” and might build objects, interact

and negotiate with other students (avatars) who appear in their field of view (often randomly), seek help

via text or voice chat (private), and untangle their avatars from unplanned situations.

Organisational considerations:

It is not guaranteed the project will continuously be carried over as lecturers and tutors (with various

teaching styles and interests) rotate from trimester to trimester. This might result the discontinuity and

hinder the quality of the simulation. This project not only modifies tutorial delivery with more student-

centered creativity, but also assessment outcomes which would need to be agreed upon by the HoS and

faculty administration.

The software is informally supported by ITS in terms of network security but not bandwidth allocation so

sessions need to be planned at times of low usage when possible. The software installation and testing and

user support is provided by the language technologist and agreed with ITS. Viewer updates are regularly

necessary and the sim will require maintenance (props to add following students’ story requirements) once

it is built. For cost and space reduction, the simulation could be packaged in a holodeck. If the sim is created

by CS and/or A&D, maintenance funding need to be granted to ensure the persistence of the environment

over 5 years. The island could be hosted on a local server but will require a maintenance team.

Networking

With this project we intend to create cohesiveness in the group, and a positive and non-threatening

atmosphere among students. Students in the former project reported that meeting native speakers was a

real highlight to the sessions, therefore native speakers could be conveyed to participate as external visitors

(e.g. representing the Mayors’ or President’s visit) to provide extra stimulus in the L2 but time zones with

Europe need to be taken into account.

Security and Privacy

In open spaces like Second Life, students might come across “griefers” and adult locations. The island could

be closed to the public during the sessions or at all times. In that case, visitors would need to be invited in

the space by the administrators.

Standard avatars could be created for students to avoid the need to share their email address. The first

activity would be customise it following the character they decide to be (age, size, looks, gender, fashion

style, etc.).

Project Evaluation through Feedback

In the former project, students met and conversed with native speakers in more than half of the sessions.

All sessions aimed at using the Target Language (TL) exclusively in text chat or voice. At the end of the

project 90% of students responded to a survey about their overall experience which gave valuable insight

on their attitude towards the technology and their own performance.

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Unlike the project to date, the following types of regular feedback are proposed to ensure the project meets

the needs of the students and is tracking towards the desired outcomes.

Feedback Ss –> T: we intend to give three short surveys: at the start of, mid and end of trimester in order to

gauge the adequacy of the activities offered, the usability of the environment, and students’ perception on

their learning outcomes. The surveys will also attempt to report on the “willingness to communicate” and

confidence in writing in the L2 (Reinders, 2014). Questions will selected with instructors.

The reflective part in the Wiki is also a great way for exploiting critical output beyond class material.

Reflection in the L2 is a hard and cumbersome process as it calls for several cognitive mechanisms at once,

beyond the mere translating exercise. It is also an important source of quality feedback to check how

students are responding to the tasks. It is expected of tutors to monitor and facilitate writing at the end of

each tutorial.

Feedback Ss –> Ss: Group work, helping each other “in-world”, collaborating on one project (exhibition,

machinima, storytelling), commenting on each other’s wiki posts (as part of the final mark calibration).

Feedback T–> T: Classroom observations and quick debriefs in writing by and for tutor(s) when possible, to

remedy quickly things that go wrong and reuse what goes well in the future. This can possibly done while

students are writing in the wiki in the last 10 minutes of the wiki. These reports will be kept confidential as

they would also contain brief information on specific students’ participation and behaviour.

Feedback T –> Ss: Commenting on wiki posts – taking turns, 2/3 students per week, (a positive emoticon on

behalf of the teacher can change students’ attitude toward the activity in the same vein as badges). This

wasn’t done in the previous project and students lost interest in writing. During the session, the tutor will

help writing, give ideas on possible interactions, and orchestrate group work.

Project Evaluation through Assessment

“If quality resides in the realm of learning opportunities, educational experience and well-being of

learners, then educational institutions need to shift their accountability from their dependence to

system-wide testing to a “more direct appraisal system addressing, documenting and promoting

the quality of educational experience.” Van Lier (2010)

Ways of assessing user experience and learning outcomes need to be decided with the course coordinator.

In the former project students responded very positively and creatively to the idea of presenting their

experience in their final oral presentation as a group. Presenting personal reflections on their experience

(good and bad) was significantly conducive to metacognitive reasoning; this allowed teachers to ascertain

students’ development and plan future class activities accordingly.

The wiki or journal posts can be graded as a portfolio containing written production and reflection over the

trimester as formative assessment, (story, dialogues, report, reflection on picture uploaded). Rubrics can

be inspired from the detailed marking schemes related to the CEFR. (DELE for Spanish, DELF for French,

Goethe-Zertifikat).

Conversations in-world can be copied and pasted on google docs if the session is in text-chat to help

calibrate the final mark. Productions in-world (poster exhibition, machinima, performances such as short

plays, or role play) can be recorded. We recommend these activities to be kept for the second trimester

when students are familiar enough with the environment.

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As said before, summative assessment will be in the form of a final assignment with writing constraints

such as focus and use of specific grammar points and vocabulary/topics viewed in class (e.g. storytelling

using historic past, reported speech and specific vocabulary describing specific situations they encountered

and exchanges they had).

Comparative Evaluation of project with other course methodology

If the GS is conducted over one trimester, it is proposed to conduct a comparison between the GS and more

conventional teaching in the other trimester. Such a comparative evaluation would require the same

lecturer and tutors over both trimesters.

Student results and course evaluation would be subject to comparison through a survey given at each end

of each trimester. The project would preferably be run over trimester 2, when students have become

accustomed to course material and teaching style, and have settled in their own study habits.

This however does not guarantee an accurate measurement as classroom dynamics and attitude to learning

vary from year to year, even from tutorial to tutorial.

Teaching staff personal and professional disposition and understanding of the project have a strong impact

on student behaviour; if they rotate from course to course, it might have an impact on students’ production

and attitude towards the project, hence project results (Gregory, Scutter, Jacka, Mcdonald, & Farley, 2015).

The course outline needs to be of a similar nature (i.e. change of course book and teaching materials) to

allow the comparison to be made on the tool/tasks not the form and conventions of the course.

Conclusion

When open informal learning is proposed alongside formal structured learning there is a risk that students

lose track between their prior knowledge, study habits, and making meaning of what they (need to) do to

progress. While the above framework is critical to the design and implementation of activities set in Virtual

Worlds and, while expectations have been defined to prepare objectives and monitor the activities in-world,

little is predictable in terms of actual learning outcomes. This is something we have to be continually be

aware of and guard against.

Following the observations during the Second Life Romance project and the results of the surveys, we had

considered building a game to have more control over the tasks given and expected outcomes. Among

interesting games developed commercially we tested The Spanish Game (3D) by McGraw Hill (2015) and

The Mystery of Nebra (2D) by Goethe (2015). While the language tasks in these games are constructively

assembled as a generic collection of skills described in the CEFR, the language production within the

environment and the avatar customisation remain limited in terms of creativity in self-representation and

plot development. Prompts are in writing (drag and drop and typing), listening is integrated but the user

does not have the ability to record their voice, and need to follow a linear plot imposed by the game. In

MMORPGs and the global simulation described above however, participants become the developers and

writers of their own collective story using their voice and creative writing. Thomas (2012, p.24) makes

interesting observations about digital game based language learning and warns designers that participants

might focus their attention more on completing the game tasks rather focusing on language tasks. . In

Almost French, virtually: Situated Language Practice through Global Simulation

EDITH PAILLAT 13

designing GS learning activities, it is desirable to strike a balance between the positives of structured games

and open simulations.

Given the complexity of the environment a high level of adaptability and frequent improvisation will be

required in order to reach beyond Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and Piaget’s

“spontaneous” (informal) learning. (Laurillard, 2012, p. 39). We hope students will develop positive

emotions for knowledge and skills to “stick”, thereby reach a natural state of “flow” between order and

chaos, anxiety and boredom, and result in full engagement with the activity, the environment and their

learning. (Csikszentmihalyi)

Gee (2007) states that “[e]ffective thinking is about perceiving the world such as the human actor sees how

the world, at a specific time and place (as it is given, but also modifiable), can afford the opportunity for

actions that will lead to a successful accomplishment of the actor’s goal.” Embodiment appears to be key

to players’ sense of “flow”. When given the opportunity to make things happen, co-create, customise,

develop an identity linked to the subject, and manipulate outcomes to reach their goal, students naturally

extend their knowledge base and metacognitive skills. Within this project we hope to expose students to

new ways of using the language and to unleash their imagination collectively and freely.

When pioneering innovative ideas in terms of tools and/or methodology it is critical that students are made

aware of and understand what is expected of them and why so as to facilitate constructive reflective

learning. Thomas (2012, p.23) insists on three points to take into account when designing learning games

with a task-based approach: “Genuine player need, linguistic support and creative feedback.”

“It is not enough to study only cognitive processes, activities, and situated learning; we must also

understand how people interact with their environment and others, adapt to their interactions, and

organize complex systems of behavior.” (Nelson, 2011)

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Appendices Summary of survey results 2012-2013: http://bit.ly/1Hs3Usr

Summary of survey results 2014: http://bit.ly/1e3tTuX