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This insightful book offers language teachers and teachers in training the opportunity to delve into 3D virtual worlds and see the benefits they provide for effective language teaching. Based on a decade of experience teaching and researching in Second Life (SL), Chen demystifies the dos and don'ts of SL teaching and research, whilst vividly walking readers through each step of the journey.
Written in an accessible, jargon-free, and personalised tone, the book is divided into three parts. Part I builds the foundation in SL research, task-based language teaching (TBLT), and understanding fundamental skills for SL teaching. Part II showcases the author's SL teaching blog that generously unveils their task-based, SL-enabled lessons, participant observations, critical reflections, and lessons learned from each SL session. Part III is complete with the highlights of the author's SL research and hands-on resources and tips for readers. Each chapter also features a "Checkpoint" section to gauge reader understanding of chapter content, followed by a "Your Task" section to promote learning by doing in SL.
Teachers and curriculum designers will find the well-detailed and guided lesson planning useful when starting their first SL class. Graduate students and novice researchers will also find the systematically recorded data collection helpful for their SL research.
List of contents
Part 1 - Before we take off 1. Language teaching and learning in Second Life 2. Task-based language teaching in Second Life 3. Second Life features and logistics Part 2 - Let’s get our hands dirty 4. Course preparation—A bumpy road 5. Pretest: A rollercoaster ride 6. Lesson 1 (Greetings) 7. Lesson 2 (Food-part 1) 8. Lesson 2 (Food-part 2) 9. Lesson 2 (Food-part 3) 10. Lesson 2 (Food-final) 11. Lesson 3 (Holiday/Festival/Clothing-part 1) 12. Lesson 3 (Holiday/Festival/Clothing-part 2) 13. Lesson 4 (Music) 14. Lesson 5 (Sports) 15. Lesson 6 (Arts-part 1) 16. Lesson 6 (Arts-part 2) 17. Lesson 7 (Jobs) 18. Posttest 19. Lesson 8 (Travel & Farewell party) Part 3 - Weave it all together 20. Snapshots of my Second Life Research 21. Second Life resources for teaching and research
About the author
Julian Chen (they/them) is an Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and TESOL, and the Coordinator of Asian Languages Program at Curtin University, Australia. Their research synergises technology-enhanced language learning, task-based language teaching, 3D virtual learning, netnography, and action research.
Summary
This insightful book offers language teachers and researchers the opportunity to delve into 3D virtual worlds and see the benefits they provide for effective language teaching. Teachers and curriculum designers will find the well-detailed and guided lesson planning useful when starting their first SL class.
