Virtual Reality applications are predicted to create a paradigm shift in education, but there is little empirical evidence of their educational value. Virtual Reality affordances to support language learning have not yet been realized. This quasi-experimental study investigated the effect of a Virtual Reality application on foreign language learning and compared engagement, engrossment, and immersion between two versions of the application (Virtual Reality and mobile). Twenty experimental group undergraduate students used a head-mounted Virtual Reality display and twenty control group students used a mobile application for learning Italian as a foreign language. Data sources included: (a) a 10 open-ended questions pre-test and post-test measuring vocabulary skills, and (b) a validated questionnaire with 21 seven-point Likert scale items measuring engagement, engrossment, and immersion. Findings revealed a statistically significant difference in the experimental group students’ vocabulary performance when students’ pre-test and post-test scores were compared. Engagement, engrossment, and immersion received relatively high scores by Virtual Reality participants. The study did not find a statistically significant difference between the two conditions. The study provides preliminary empirical data indicating that Virtual Reality applications can be both effective and engaging for language learning, even though they were not found to be superior to mobile applications.

Digital storytelling, including text, images, audio, music, and video, has been researched as a means of enhancing learners’ motivation, autonomy, and engagement and as a way to improve oral and speaking skills in foreign language learning. This study examined the relation between adults’ engagement in digital storytelling (scaffolded by an interactive learning environment) and their speaking skills and motivation when learning a foreign language. The study used a pre-test, post-test control group design with two groups of 20 Russians who were beginners in learning Greek as a foreign language (n = 40). The 12-h intervention was technology-supported only for the experimental group. Even though the comparison of participants’ recorded speech pre- and post-intervention revealed a statistically significant decrease of mistakes made during speech from pre- to post-intervention for both groups, an independent samples t-test to compare the groups’ post-intervention speaking performance revealed a statistically significant difference in favor of the experimental group (t(38) = 4.05, p < 0.05). The analysis of results from a motivation questionnaire administered pre- and post-intervention showed a statistically significant increase in the motivation of the experimental group only. Findings provide an indication that digital storytelling, scaffolded by an interactive learning environment, supports the development of adults’ speaking skills in a foreign language and increases their motivation.

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet

Resilience, a person's mental ability to deal with challenging situations adaptively, is an important life skill. Supporting students in building psychological resilience and coping during crises (with the COVID-19 pandemic being a prime example) is crucial. Very few mobile applications (apps) for mental health explicitly report behavioral change techniques. Moreover, only a handful of the apps that support resilience are gamified, or use smartphone sensors readily available in modern smartphones for health self-management, or were designed for use by a nonclinical population. This study describes the design of a prototype for a gamified, theory-based mobile app that utilizes the Internet of Things to provide personalized data and enhance undergraduate students’ resilience. A total of 74 participants evaluated the prototype and completed an online questionnaire during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The questionnaire included questions examining the design's feasibility for supporting resilience and questions on the System Usability Scale evaluating its usability. Regarding the evaluation of the prototype on improving psychological resilience, positive responses ( M = 3.76 out of 5, SD = 0.82) were received for all functions (goal setting for studying, socializing and physical exercise, progress monitoring using sensors or self-reporting, reflection, motivational badges). The System Usability Scale returned an evaluation score of 72.9, indicating a satisfactory degree of usability. The resilience app is a promising proof of concept. Combining Internet of Things capabilities with active user interaction while incorporating behavior change techniques in a gamified environment was well accepted by students. Implications for the design of gamified environments for well-being are drawn. Future research will empirically validate its design using quasi-experimental methods.