The present study employed immersive virtual reality (iVR) technology to create a multimodal enriched learning environment and investigated the effects of pre-training on sleep-dependent consolidation of novel word learning. Native Chinese speakers were randomly assigned to either a pre-training group or a control group. Both groups learned two sets of novel words, one on Day 1 and the other on Day 2. All participants completed an explicit recognition task and an implicit semantic priming task on Day 2. The results reveal the sleep-dependent consolidation effects in the implicit measures, with enhanced semantic priming observed for words learned on the previous day following a sleep interval. Moreover, the pre-training yielded additional benefits for sleep-dependent consolidation, as evidenced by the improved sleep-dependent consolidation effects of the pre-training group as compared with the control group. However, no sleep-dependent consolidation and pre-training effects were observed in the explicit recognition task. These findings suggested that pre-training serves as an effective strategy to reduce cognitive load and facilitate novel word learning in iVR environments. This study provides new evidence for the pre-training principle of cognitive load theory from the perspective of sleep-dependent consolidation.

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) has shown positive effects on second language (L2) learning, yet the mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear. Based on the Cognitive Affective Model of Immersive Learning (CAMIL), the present study used structural equation modeling to examine how affective (situational interest, intrinsic motivation, emotions) and cognitive variables (cognitive load, embodied learning, self-efficacy) contribute to receptive L2 vocabulary learning through IVR. A group of native Chinese speakers was asked to learn Korean words in an IVR environment. They were then administered a lexical recognition task that measured learning outcomes. The results revealed two sequences of associations through which IVR affected vocabulary recognition performance: a cognitive path that intersected with presence and self-efficacy; and an affective path that intersected with presence and emotions. Situational interest and intrinsic motivation also demonstrated a sequence of associations with receptive L2 vocabulary recognition. Although further independent confirmation is needed, these findings put forth theoretically meaningful patterns regarding the cognitive-affective mechanisms of IVR-based L2 learning.