Virtual Reality! What is it and How Can We Use It in Language Teaching?

One of the factors that hinders the process of learning is the lack of motivation and will. The world is full of fun things to do and among them learning a language for example won't be found attractive for many students. Reading stuff, translating sentences, memorizing words are not appealing enough for people. Making it appealing however, is possible. For example, learning the names of animals in another language in a zoo is far more fun than doing it in a classroom. Students won't get bored and lose focus and the information will be more persistent. However, taking students to a zoo to learn vocabulary is expensive and time consuming. But there is a way out: VR.

VR is the technological advancement that is able to take you to a zoo without removing you from your seat. Basically, it is glasses with screen on them. You take them on and you are in another place. With the help of this technology, teachers can enable their students to experience the same zoo environment in the classroom. They get to see the animals that they are learning their names of. To give another example, students can learn how to order food in a virtually created restaurant. This way of using VR will provide both motivation for the students and persistence of knowledge.