Sarac, H. S.
(2014) Benefits and challenges of using Second Life in
English teaching: Experts’ opinions, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol.
158, pages 326 – 330
Second Life is one of the most popular virtual worlds. The interest has been increasing in virtual and blended learning environments; in such environment the second language is assembled and experienced via mutual communication. It became as a phenomenon in the area of education. Thus, Second Life allows learners to create an environment of familiarity and conversation besides sharing cultural experiences. There are clearly some benefits and challenges to this approach. This article looks to explore what results may come from using SL. The results might be of great value to instructors and curriculum planners who would like to embed Second Life applications into foreign language teaching.
Aim:
This research study aims to depict an evaluation of using Second Life (SL) in English Language Teaching (ELT) at the tertiary level via data collected from experts who have applied this virtual environment as instructors and experienced it in a comprehensive way.
Methods:
Second Life is one of the most popular virtual worlds. The interest has been increasing in virtual and blended learning environments; in such environment the second language is assembled and experienced via mutual communication. It became as a phenomenon in the area of education. Thus, Second Life allows learners to create an environment of familiarity and conversation besides sharing cultural experiences. There are clearly some benefits and challenges to this approach. This article looks to explore what results may come from using SL. The results might be of great value to instructors and curriculum planners who would like to embed Second Life applications into foreign language teaching.
Aim:
This research study aims to depict an evaluation of using Second Life (SL) in English Language Teaching (ELT) at the tertiary level via data collected from experts who have applied this virtual environment as instructors and experienced it in a comprehensive way.
Methods:
The participants
selected for the present study were five different experts from different
universities located in Turkey. Through structured interviews, the qualitative
data from the experts have been collected and analysed with code and theme
identification.
Main findings:
Main findings:
According to the
data analysis, SL helps learners improve both their speaking and their
listening skills, and SL has multiple benefits that each instructor can mould
in accordance with the learning and teaching purposes. The participants declared that speaking and listening skills improved
through Second Life related applications. Two experts indicated that Second
Life contributes to the teaching of writing as it is optional to speak or write
in Second Life in order to communicate with other users. One expert highlighted
that Second Life contributes to problem solving skills as well.
The challenges can
be categorized as follows:
·
technical (learning to use the
equipment and navigate the virtual world)
·
financial (the cost of buying the
equipment)
·
User-related (individual differences
that the users bring to the table).
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