A Review of Virtual Reality and English for Academic Purposes: Understanding Where to Start

Virtual reality (VR) has garnered increasing attention as a pedagogical tool for language learning. Yet, despite the many affordances of using virtual reality learning environments (VRLEs), there remains a paucity of research investigating the use of VRLEs for English for academic purposes (EAP). While BALEAP’19 conference presentations related to VR were well attended, suggesting there is interest in VR and EAP, many practitioners and researchers may be hesitant to explore using VR for EAP due to difficulties in selecting suitable equipment, understanding VR related terminology, and selecting or creating appropriate VRLEs for their pedagogical and research purposes. The objective of this article is to reduce the difficulty of some of these initial obstacles by providing overviews of relevant literature, VR terminology, technology, and software, as well as providing examples of potential uses of VR for EAP and a framework for investigating VR in EAP pedagogy and research.