Tecnam Yoon. (2014). The Application of Virtual Simulations using Second Life in a
Foreign Language Classroom. Journal of Education and Learning. Vol.8 (1) pp. 7884.

The Application of Virtual Simulations using Second Life in
a Foreign Language Classroom
Tecnam Yoon *
Department of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies
School of Education
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of virtual simulation-based language learning in a foreign
language class in Korea. Total 35 1st-year university students in Korea participated in this research to figure out the
effect of simulations. A virtual English learning community, ‘Cypris Chat’ in Second Life was selected as a
learning tool. For the data collection, a survey questionnaire was distributed and analysed quantitatively. The result
shows that the majority of the students had a positive attitude toward using a virtual simulation in English learning
and had better understanding in learning English by experiencing an authentic practice. The first section of this
paper provides a general overview of simulations in educational settings through an insightful literature review of
the current research in the area. The review includes a comprehensive outlook on simulations, an example of
successful classroom integration and some of the considerations researchers have found for their implementation.
The latter section addresses the research method, results and conclusions.
Keywords: Simulation; Simulation-based teaching; Simulation for Language Classroom; Language Learning &
Teaching

*

Tecnam Yoon, Doctoral Candidate, Language, Literacy, Culture Concentration, Department of Teacher Education
and Curriculum Studies, School of Education, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
E-mail: tyoon@umasss.edu

Introduction
Under the flag of the globalization in the 21st century, hundreds and thousands of students of
all ages in the world are learning a second, third or foreign language. In particular, the language of
English is now even called, ‘Globish’(global+English), or ‘Worldlish’(world+English), since it has
become an international language with global significance. Depending on each individual’s need and
objective, although there may exist a variety of reasons to learn English, one of the main obejctives to
learn English is because of its significance as an international standard for the language. For a long
time, language has been considered as the vehicle of communication by which human beings live,
share, and build ideas and understandings of the present, reflect on the past, and imagine the future.
(MDE, 1996). More recently, as the ICT (information and communication technology) skills are rapidly
developed, the use of English has became much widely spreaded. Surpringly, the advent of the Internet,
and social network media such as ‘Facebook’ or ‘Twitter’ made this phenamenon contributed English to
become a dominant language in the world. In other words, English becomes a language to learn to live
in a global era. Although educators in Korea put an emphasis on the importance of learning English, the
way teaching and learning English today does not differ from 1980s or 1990s. English is still taught
focused on the grammatical rules, syntactic structures, and rote memorization of vocabulary.
The main purpose of this paper is therefore, to explore how EFL college students in Korea
consider virtual simulations using Second life as a learning tool in English class, and how they perceive
such simulations can practically help them to engage in English learning, and to promote motivation.
So, this paper will provide a general overview of simulations in educational settings through an
insightful literature review of the current research in the area. The review includes a comprehensive
outlook on simulations, an example of successful classroom integration, and some of the considerations
researchers have found for their implementation. It also contains a revision of online simulations and
gaming in educational settings as people in general are spending an increasing amount of time engaging
in these types of activities. The final section views the results of survey questionnaires and students’
feedback on the use of simluations in English class.

What is Simulation?
Terminology in general, in the area of education can be somewhat of a slippery slope as the
same word can be defined by different authors in many diverse ways. The following section aims to
clear some of the most important terms related to simulations. Generally speaking, a simulation can be
defined as an operating model or representation of a real-world system that may or may not take on
certain aspects of reality for participants; they contain rules that allow users to make the simulation
activity flexible and variable and most importantly, the cost of errors for those involved is always low,
‘protecting’ them from harsh consequences of mistakes (Garris, et al, 2002). Jones (1995) furthers this
definition by adding that “the participants have (functional) roles, duties and sufficient key information
about the problem, to carry out these duties without play acting or inventing key facts” (p. 18).
Simulations have been used in language classes for decades and differ from role-plays in that
in role-plays the participant acts a part with minimum background information, while inventing a great
deal of the scenario and without an explicit reference system (García-Carbonell, et al, 2001; Naidu &
Linser, 2000). Peregoy & Boyle (2009) give an example of a simulation in a classroom where students
are playing the role of senators and Congress men and women. The task is to recreate the bill passing
process by writing a bill from the ground up, taking it through the various committees and finally,
voting on it. This is a clear representation of the difference between a role play and a simulation in the
sense that the former would not follow such a structured format and students would not be taking part in
the actual “reality” of Congress. This simulation results not only in the practice of target language, but it
provides learners with background knowledge in how bills are passed for further classroom activities,
especially if they will be reading abstract or complicated texts (Davis, 1996; Peregoy & Boyle, 2009).

Simulations in Education
Peregoy & Boyle (2009) mention that simulations are particularly useful for language learners
because “they provide direct experience for learning”; this is due to the fact that they are considering
and taking into account different channels of information, including the nonverbal one (p. 334). The
authors further say that this activity allows students to develop vocabulary as it is presented in context
through the background information they are receiving, making these new words meaningful.
Additionally to the benefits proposed by Peregoy & Boyle (2009), Ranalli (2008) presents a
more comprehensive list that researchers and teachers have found for the use of simulations in language
learning. Simulations are said to encourage language use in specific contexts, such as is promoted in
situated cognition; they foster metacognition and strategy use as they help students think of the

Tecnam Yoon. (2013). Journal of Education and Learning. Vol.8 (1) pp. 319-326.

79

language they need for the situation, set attainable communicative goals and the evaluation of the action
plan. Simulations also stimulate cross cultural communication and aid the reduction of fear of making
mistakes by lowering affective filters to facilitate language acquisition (Krashen, 1987). Ranalli (2008)
adds that simulations are learner centered and give students the chance to solve problems with minimal
teacher intervention. He closes by mentioning that coursework is made much more appealing as
instrumental motivation arises by “the function, the duties, the responsibilities and circumstances in
which the participants find themselves” (Jones, 1982, p. 10 as cited in Ranalli, 2008).

Computer-Based Simulations and Gaming
Aldrich (2004) defines computer based simulations or online simulations as computergenerated versions of real-world objects, processes or situations/contexts. These simulations can take
many formats such as two dimensional, text-driven, or three dimensional. Online simulations contrast to
games in that the latter tend to follow rules that differ from real life and have a competitive component
that allows the player to attain a challenging goal. Caillois (1961 as cited in Garris, et al, 2002) adds that
a characteristic of a game is that it is done voluntarily and is enjoyable. He supplements this information
by mentioning that games are completely separated from the real world, that is to say they do not aim to
represent any real life system and that although the costs of mistakes can have consequences, they can
be contained in the gaming arena. Garris, et al. (2002) add that it is not incorrect to consider simulations
and games similar in some respects, but that the key difference is that the former represents reality and
the later does not.
In addition to the benefits of simulations, adding the technological component brings additional
advantages. A characteristic that both gaming and simulations share is that they provide meaningful and
realistic contexts that allow language learners to make rich associations (Puroshtoma, 2005). These
simulations and games can even be considered as bridges between the students and the target-language
culture through accurate socio-cultural contexts and as the “voice” of students who are regularly shy
through synchronous chats (Brooks, 2007; Schwienhorst, 2002). Tsai, et al (2012) complement this by
mentioning that in general, educational games and simulations enhance leaning motivation and social
interaction.
When it comes to actually incorporating computer based simulations and games into the
curriculum, many authors suggest that briefing sessions (e.g. planning, linguistic preparation, role and
task familiarization) should take place before the simulations and debriefing afterwards (e.g. consolidate
student learning though the discussion of their experience) (Bambrough, 1994; Gaudart, 1999;
Waniganayake, et al, 2006). In fact, Garris, et al. (2005) mention that debriefing should be considered
as the most critical part of utilizing a game or a simulation in a language classroom. They state that is
the actual moment when students can review and analyze what happened or did not happen, if there
were difficulties and how they resolved them, and how this all connects to their own context and
learning process. They add that through debriefing, students can “draw parallels” between the game or
simulation, the learning experience and their lives (p. 455).

Research Methods
Simulations at Second Life
Second Life is the name of the virtual world in which online users can do about anything that
they can imagine, that is, a world without physical boundaries. The most common activities in Second
Life are talking, sharing, exploring, studying, playing, singing, dancing, building or more. In 2007,
Second Life launched a service used for a foreign language teaching and learning. Both Second Life and
real life language educators have started to utilize this virtual world for language teaching. As a result of
that, English as a foreign language has gotten a presence through several educational institutions, such
as the British Council. Through joining of British Council’s the Second Life virtual environment
(http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/second-life), learners from all over can experience interactive
English activities and quests. In this research, the Cypris Chat Group (http://www.cyprischat.org) was
selected, which was a virtual English language learning community located in Second Life, because it is
one of the most popular islands in terms of language teaching and learning.

School
With a 40-year history, it is a Private University with 11,150 enrolled students in which is
located in the suburban area of Seoul, Korea. The school offers 39 study areas, and fresh students of
each department should take basic, intermediate and advanced English courses in the first year. There is
a 6:1 student-faculty ratio with around 200 faculty members.

80

The Application of Virtual Simulations using Second Life in a Foreign Language Classroom

Class
It was an intermediate English class that met twice a week for 50 minutes. There was
homework to be turned in every class; it mainly comprised of reading assigned pages on the textbook
and answering exercises based on the grammatical points covered or watching videos. A typical lecture
began right on time with the teacher presenting the daily program and immediately beginning the
lesson. The teacher used a Power Point presentation in every single class. The presentations had lots of
images and very few words.

Participants
The class was comprised of 35 EFL students. Their average age was 20 years old at the time of
2011, and they all were enrolled in different academic programs. Based on the university curriculum,
students were required to take English courses, regardless of their majors or minors. In this class, there
were diverse students from different department of economics, education, music, chemistry, history,
communication and more. Before the first class started, they were asked whether they had any previous
experience to simulations, and the result was none of them had participated in any virtual simulation
based lecture before.

Classroom setting
The class was held in a computer-equipped classroom. There was a large whiteboard and a
screen in front, connected to the lecturers’ computer. The room was equipped with a surround sound
system, a state of the art computer station and a projector. For the class, first, students were required to
register on Second Life, and then to download and install it on each computer. After setting up Second
Life,
all
the
students
joined
the
Cypris
Chat
(http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Wellston/166/87/23).

Figure 1. A Screenshot of the Cypris Chat in Second Life

Procedures
In each class, 35 participants followed the learning steps within the given timeframe, advised
by Merryman (2012). First 10 minutes were assigned for warm-up when students had a little time
getting to know each other that is even from outside the class, and to navigate the learning content. For
the rest of the class, students were presented the topic, new vocabulary, expressions, or related material
to be learned. After that, they were encouraged to perform what they have learned. At the end of the
session, wrap-up with a little feedback to the group and questions were provided.

Tecnam Yoon. (2013). Journal of Education and Learning. Vol.8 (1) pp. 319-326.

81

Figure 2. A Screenshot of Participating a Conversation in the Cypris Chat

Data Collection and Analysis
A survey questionnaire was administered to participants who enrolled in the intermediate
English class. All of them in this research spent 10 hours using the Cypris Chat in Second Life. As
shown in Table 1 below, a total number of 12 survey questionnaires for these participants were
distributed after the all class sessions were over, and the survey consisted of 1-5 likert scale (strongly
disagree – strongly agree). The gathered data were analysed using SPSS 10.

Table 1. A Survey Questionnaire on a Simulation using the Cypris Chat
Questionnaire
1 2
1. Simulations (Cypris Chat) provided me with an opportunity to enjoy learning.
2. Simulations (Cypris Chat) made me a learning activity more interesting.
3. Simulations (Cypris Chat) made my interest for English learning deepened.
4. Simulations (Cypris Chat) helped me to have an authentic learning experience.
5. Simulations (Cypris Chat) were helpful to me in learning English.
6. Simulations (Cypris Chat) made me have a cooperative learning by interacting with
classmates.
7. Simulations (Cypris Chat) made English learning fun and pleasant.
8. Simulations (Cypris Chat) made me more engaged in the lesson.
9. Simulations (Cypris Chat) boosted me to study English more.
10. Simulations (Cypris Chat) made the class atmosphere more enjoyable.
11. Simulations (Cypris Chat) helped me like English study more.
12. Simulations (Cypris Chat) offered me an authentic opportunity to practice L2.
* Note: 5-point likert scale (strongly disagree=1, disagree=2, neutral=3, agree=4, strongly agree=5)

3

4

5

Findings
Students’ Response on English Learning using the Cypris Chat
In order to figure out students’ response on general English learning, 12-item questionnaire
was administered, and as shown below in Table 2, overall results (item #1, #2, #5, #10) show a pretty
high mean ranging from 3.689 to 3.844. Based on the given results, it can be interpreted that the Cypris
Chat simulation offered the meaningfully effective learning experience to students, and made student
engaged in further learning. In other words, by having a meaningful learning experience, students were
able to gain more interest and zeal for English learning which was considered difficult and stressful to
study.

Table 2. Descriptive Statistics on Students’ Response on English Learning
Item #
1. It provided an opportunity to enjoy learning.
2. It made a learning activity more interesting.
5. It was helpful in learning English.
10. It made the class atmosphere more enjoyable.

82

No.
35
35
35
35

M
3.832
3.844
3.689
3.806

SD
.581
.572
.651
.614

t
-.125
2.56
-.132
.301

The Application of Virtual Simulations using Second Life in a Foreign Language Classroom

Students’ Response on Understanding the Learning Content
Next Table 3 shows students’ response on the degree of understanding the learning content
which they learned. The results represent how the Cypris Chat helped them to have better understand
for real-world English communication. Items (#4, #6, #8, #12) also show a very high mean ranging
from 3.756 to 3.882. Most of the students strongly agreed that they were able to have an authentic
learning experience by using the Cypris Chat on Second Life.

Table 3. Descriptive Statistics on Students’ Response on Understanding the Learning Content
Item #
4. It helped to have an authentic learning experience.
6. It made me have a cooperative learning by interacting with
classmates.
8. It made me more engaged in the lesson.
12. It offered an authentic opportunity to practice L2.

No.
35
35

M
3.786
3.872

SD
.508
.597

t
.366
-.474

35
35

3.756
3.882

.470
.850

-.128
1.53

Students’ Response on Motivation
Below Table 4 shows students’ response on the change of motivation towards simulations. As
addressed previously in Table 2 & 3, the result of descriptive statistics (item #3, #7, #9, #11) here also
shows a high mean score from 3.872 to 4.000. Generally speaking, it is not always fun and easy to learn
English, but students expressed their strong willingness and interest towards learning English through
this research using simulations. In terms of the change of the affective filters, it is clear that simulations
using the Cypris Chat boosted students’ learning experience, and made their motivation level changed
into an enjoyable stage.

Table 4. Descriptive Statistics on Students’ Response on Motivation
Item #
3. It made my interest for English learning deepened.
7. It made English learning fun and pleasant.
9. It boosted me to study English more.
11. It helped me like English study more.

No.
35
35
35
35

M
4.000
3.921
3.872
3.925

SD
1.02
.655
.592
.721

t
.386
.366
-.128
.954

Conclusions
This paper addresses an overview of what a simulation is, how it has been used in language
classroom. As the research findings show above, the simulations using Second Life provided an
educational and interesting atmosphere for English learning. Besides, simulations provided learners
with a strong sense of motivation for general English learning. To sum up, one of the greatest
advantages to be gained from the use of simulations in English class is that students have more interest
and motivation in their study of English by experiencing the language in an authentic environment.
Therefore, it is concluded that the use of simulations in the English language classroom is promising
because it offers learners an opportunity to practice the target language practically. It is also expected
that students can enhance their communicative competence through activities using simulations.

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The Application of Virtual Simulations using Second Life in a Foreign Language Classroom