Gamified language learning in VR – Language Lab

Teachers are always looking for new ways to make their subject more appealing to students. More teachers are realizing that VR is one of the best tools to make this happen. When it comes to teaching languages, there are lots of apps readily available. In this article, I will explore Language Lab VR more in depth.

Language Lab is a VR app that allows students to interact with vocabulary in an interesting way. After selecting a language, you can get right to lessons, vocab games, or even multiplayer activities!

Students can start learning English, Dutch, Spanish, French, Hebrew, Japanese, Arabic, German, Italian, Korean, Chinese (Mandarin), Portuguese, Russian and Ukrainian.

The wonderful thing is that this app is not limited to only secondary education! Since the vocabulary revolves around common household items and different foods and kitchen appliances, it can also be used by students in the hospitality or tourism industry.

With this VR app, students can be transported into different scenarios, always with a robot companion that tells them to complete tasks containing said language. When learning utensils for example, students must pick up the correct utensil, and place it on a plate, cup or bowl. This helps students to visualize what they learn, which makes learning so much more effective!

Every teacher can agree with me that visual aid as a connection with certain vocabulary helps students remember said vocabulary so much easier!

A Spanish teacher approached me the other day with the following problem: students found it difficult to learn the vocabulary necessary for crafting sentences. Lots of teachers still gives the students homework to learn key words “the old-fashioned way.” This means have a table with two columns: the words in Spanish and their own language. These days there are lots of great digital tools to rehearse said learned words, but for learning those words, students are often left alone.

This lesson plan combines both learning and rehearsing knowledge in one ready-to-go lesson that can be implemented to use in any language!

Start by rearranging your classroom as follows: four student tables side-by-side at the back and four student tables side-by-side in the front. The tables in the middle can be arranged to your liking, in singles, or in groups.

The students in the back will learn today’s vocabulary in VR, the students in the middle will find the correct translation for said vocabulary in their textbooks or online. The students in the front will show off their knowledge in the “Hot Shot” VR game inside Language Lab.

In this “hot-shot” game, students show off their vocabulary knowledge by shooting the correct items with a plasma gun! The game tells a certain word, which could be one of the provided worksheet, and the student must shoot said object out of the sky. Points are being tracked as they progress through five levels. At the end, their total score is displayed.

Your laptop can be used to cast the 4 VR sets in front, so you can monitor their progress in-game and check their high scores.

Every 10 minutes, students rotate so they engage in a new activity.

At the end of this lesson phase, students will use the provided empty worksheet (tip: rearrange the words) to show off their newfound knowledge. Tell the students that their scores in VR combined with their test score get a total score, so there is still a chance for anyone to win today!

More and more schools want to see their students grown when it comes to digital literacy. With VR, they can use technology to their advantage. VR can completely immerse a student in the subject they need to learn. This, combined with the gamification elements in this lesson plan makes this language lesson a homerun!

The fantastic thing about the gamification is that students don’t even notice it’s happening. It starts the moment you announce that there is a tournament. Students these days love seeing progress with direct feedback in the form of points or levels gained. Then, during class, they see their points proudly displayed/written on the board and get to compete for the highest score!

The lesson plan provided is an example of how gamification combined with VR can result in a lesson that engages students to learn and rehearse their vocabulary knowledge. As always, the lesson plan provided describes a scenario that uses VR to its best ability, but feel free to create your own lessons using this app!

Word of warning: students with acrophobia (fear of heights) should not be using this app, as the user sometimes floats in the air, without a visible floor/ground.