1st Edition
Second Life as a Virtual Playground for Language Education A Practical Guide for Teaching and Research
This insightful book offers language teachers and teachers in training the opportunity to delve into 3D virtual worlds and see the benefits they provide for effective language teaching. Based on a decade of experience teaching and researching in Second Life (SL), Chen demystifies the dos and don’ts of SL teaching and research, whilst vividly walking readers through each step of the journey.
Written in an accessible, jargon-free, and personalised tone, the book is divided into three parts. Part I builds the foundation in SL research, task-based language teaching (TBLT), and understanding fundamental skills for SL teaching. Part II showcases the author’s SL teaching blog that generously unveils their task-based, SL-enabled lessons, participant observations, critical reflections, and lessons learned from each SL session. Part III is complete with the highlights of the author’s SL research and hands-on resources and tips for readers. Each chapter also features a "Checkpoint" section to gauge reader understanding of chapter content, followed by a "Your Task" section to promote learning by doing in SL.
Teachers and curriculum designers will find the well-detailed and guided lesson planning useful when starting their first SL class. Graduate students and novice researchers will also find the systematically recorded data collection helpful for their SL research.
Part 1 - Before we take off 1. Language teaching and learning in Second Life 2. Task-based language teaching in Second Life 3. Second Life features and logistics Part 2 - Let’s get our hands dirty 4. Course preparation—A bumpy road 5. Pretest: A rollercoaster ride 6. Lesson 1 (Greetings) 7. Lesson 2 (Food-part 1) 8. Lesson 2 (Food-part 2) 9. Lesson 2 (Food-part 3) 10. Lesson 2 (Food-final) 11. Lesson 3 (Holiday/Festival/Clothing-part 1) 12. Lesson 3 (Holiday/Festival/Clothing-part 2) 13. Lesson 4 (Music) 14. Lesson 5 (Sports) 15. Lesson 6 (Arts-part 1) 16. Lesson 6 (Arts-part 2) 17. Lesson 7 (Jobs) 18. Posttest 19. Lesson 8 (Travel & Farewell party) Part 3 - Weave it all together 20. Snapshots of my Second Life Research 21. Second Life resources for teaching and research
Biography
Julian Chen (they/them) is an Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and TESOL, and the Coordinator of Asian Languages Program at Curtin University, Australia. Their research synergises technology-enhanced language learning, task-based language teaching, 3D virtual learning, netnography, and action research.
Once in a while, a book comes along that's truly accessible to a diverse audience in second language education and that moves the field forward by exploring, in depth, under-investigated actual (and in this case, virtual) classroom-based and theoretically-informed effective pedagogies. Julian Chen's book provides deep insights into the use of Second Life over a decade spanning teaching and research practices, and the chapters collectively take readers onto an exciting journey into the world of technology-mediated, meaningful and fun language teaching and learning. Much needed and highly recommended!
Rashi Jain, Associate Professor in the Academic English Language Program, Montgomery College, USA
A solid pedagogical guide to the ins and outs of task-based oriented learning in Second Life. Julian Chen has managed with an easy-to-follow story-telling approach to outline their experiences working with language students in a virtual world setting - many of which I personally had the pleasure of observing or learning about while Julian was in the process of conducting their research. I can wholeheartedly and especially recommend this book to any and all educators who share a passion for virtual world language learning and teaching. Many of their insights are indispensable and undoubtedly useful as they are based on the first hand experiences with language students and educators in-world.
Kip Boahn, Creator of Virtlantis in Second Life, Co-owner of Oxford School for English, Freelance English Teacher
Julian Chen has produced an excellent account of their experiences with Second Life as an instructional platform and as their research focus. Chen’s thorough and pedagogically sound lesson outlines will appeal to educators curious about the platform’s potential as an instructional tool. Readers pursuing research in Second Life or other 3D MUVEs will profit from their evidence-based approach and the wealth of resources they provide. Finally, Chen’s friendly and approachable writing style make this book a terrific resource for Second Life beginners and experts alike. There is truly something here for everyone interested in Second Life within an educational context.
Jessamine Cooke-Plagwitz, Associate Professor of German and Applied Linguistics, Northern Illinois University, USA
This volume provides a unique window into the nature and potential of the virtual world Second Life in foreign language education. Based on the author's wealth of experience as a researcher and language educator, this accessible publication brings together theory informed insight with sound practical advice. This timely volume will doubtless prove invaluable to a wide range of practitioners and all those with an interest in the field of computer assisted language learning.
Dr Mark Peterson, Associate Professor of Foreign Language Acquisition & Education, Kyoto University, Japan
