Virtually Native

Virtually Native

Global Simulations for creative writing and speaking in 3d Virtual Worlds

On Situated Learning“To provide a social and contextualised environment where learning is viewed as a social process whereby knowledge is co-constructed”. (situated learning)

(Wenger and Lave, 1991) and (Herrington & Oliver, 1995)

To bridge the gap between the theoretical learning (formal instruction of the classroom) and the real-life applications of newly acquired knowledge in the real world

- To be able to report on subjective experience through reflection on a wiki/Google docs on the spot- To help collate memorabilia for their final oral presentation (photos and notes)

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On Global Simulations Principles

• A framework within a fictitious environment• Managed and mediated by instructor(s)• Created by and for (language) students• Who control their interactions in and with

the TL• by:

– Describing environment(s) and people– Telling stories (events within the environment)– Solving issues occurring in real life

3 of 11References: Debyser (1996), Magnin (1997), Levine (2006)

Global & Functional Simulations

Global Simulation (GS)

• The island• The circus• The village• The building

Functional Simulations (FS)

• The hotel• The company• The conference• The hospital

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FS - integrated in SP curricula recycling jargon in situGS – infinite possibilities – proficiency is the limitation

References: Magnin (1997)

Showcase – The building• Holodeck Scene(s) – Skybox as base• Character embodiment & relationships

• Professional, hobbies, domestic matters • Living space

• Rent, renovations, regulations, marketplace• Interactions between neighbours

– Greeting, small talk, disputes, petitions– Selling/buying/lost & found

• Events– Fire, burglary, noise, strike, invasion…

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Why 3D Virtual Worlds• User Generated (build, customize)• More Immersive than CMCs• Embodiment in situ• Multimedia outcomes

– Movies, postcards, photos, voice, chat

Writing:Google Docs, Wiki, blogs, NCCultural Sources: Internet

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Curriculum IntegrationLower levels:

– greetings, small talk, descriptions, booking a holiday, sending a postcard, paying bills, buying/selling, getting an ID card, etc…

Higher Levels– solving disputes, job interview, personal

history, gossips, crime investigation, Other Tools:

Written: blog, wiki, google docs, Spoken: Audio/Video recorder, MicsTimeframe: 40-60 hours

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Assessment• Formative:

– Quality of team work, dialogue production, written blog posts, webquests

• Summative:– Reflection on the overall

experience– Oral / written narration

of selected stories

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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)

Teacher’s Role

• Provide authentic documents / sources• Organise / plan linguistic activities • Dispatch groups and sub-groups (x 4 st.)• Models / correct / orient student work• Helps remediate written and oral productions• Assess productions• Mediate any issues/misunderstandings *

Ref: Debyser (1996) p.VI 10 of 11

References Dupuy, B. (2006). “L’Immeuble”: French language and culture teaching and learning through projects in a global simulation. In J.H. Beckett & P.C. Miller (Eds.), Project-based Learning in Second Language Education: Past, Present and Future, Research in Second Language Learning (vol.5): Greenwich (CT): Information Age Publishing, Inc. Retrieved from: http://www.lrc.cornell.edu/events/past/2005-2006/dupuy.pdfPasfield-Neofitou, S., Huang, H., & Grant, S. (2015). Lost in second life: Virtual embodiment and language learning via multimodal communication. Educational Technology Research and Development, 63(5), 709-726.Herrington, J. (2006). Authentic e-learning in higher education : Design principles for authentic learning environments and tasks. World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (ELEARN), (October), pp. 13–17. Retrieved from: http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1029&context=edupapersFischer, J. (2005) Global Simulation Projects in Language Teaching. Exploiting Internet Case Studies and Simulation Templates for Language Teaching and Learning A Handbook, 12. http://www.zess.uni-goettingen.de/explics/admin/docs/EXPLICS_handbook_EN Kaplan, M. A. (1997). Learning to converse in a foreign language: the reception game. Simulation and Gaming, 28(2), 149-163.Levine, G. S. (2004). Global Simulation: A Student-Centered, Task-Based Format for Intermediate Foreign Language Courses. Foreign Language Annals, 37(1), 26–36. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2004.tb02170.xMagnin M.C. (1997, July 9-13). The Building: An Adaptation of Francis Debyser’s Writing Project, A Global Simulation to Teach Language and Culture. Presented at the China-US Conference on Education, Beijing. Retrieved from: http://home.sandiego.edu/~mmagnin/simulation.htmlPurushotma R. (2005) Commentary: You are not Studying, you are just…, Language Learning & Technology, Vol. 9, No. 1, January 2005, pp. 80-96 http://llt.msu.edu/vol9num1/purushotma/ Tompkins P.K. (1998) Role Playing/Simulation., The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. IV, No. 8In French: (for examples and ideas)Debyser, F., (1996). L’immeuble. Paris (FR): Hachette.CASNAV- Grenoble: http://bit.ly/1PXcUWj CIEP.fr Simulations globales: http://bit.ly/1SX1MxK Examples of online productions (not in 3d Virtual Worlds):http://www.zess.uni-goettingen.de/explics/france/ (French)

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