Description
Travel constraints during the pandemic have necessitated the delivery of Chinese language modules at XJTLU in an online format, limiting opportunities for international students to engage with native speakers and immerse themselves in local Chinese culture. To address this issue, we have envisioned a proactive solution - pairing international students with their Chinese counterparts and tasking them with collaborative activities within a Virtual Reality (VR) environment, specifically Mozilla Hub. The statistics show that international students are very interested in practicing Chinese with native speakers and are willing to learn more about Chinese local culture.Inspired by the paper ‘Designing and Supporting Virtual Exchange: The Case of Chinese–English e-Tandem’ (Tim Lewis & Kan Qian, 2021), this E-tandem program aims to provide international students at XJTLU with an enriched avenue to practice Chinese and gain profound insights into Chinese culture through meaningful interactions with their language partners. VR technology is incorporated to create new immersive learning experiences that transcend the confines of traditional online education. Positive feedback on VR-facilitated interaction, performance, and engagement was received from participants. Meanwhile, VR dizziness and other technology-related issues were reported. We hope this E-Tandem program can be applied in various language teaching domains in the future.
| Period | 31 May 2024 → 2 Jun 2024 |
|---|---|
| Event title | No Fate: The Future is Not Set: School of Languages at XJTLU Conference |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Suzhou , ChinaShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |