Abstract
Virtual Worlds (VWs), such as those created in Second Life (SL) and similar platforms, have been developed for a range of educational purposes, including second language learning. While such environments have much to offer Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) learners, they remain infrequently used, largely due to the steep learning curve, time and technical skills necessary for development. Such investments are rarely supported or recognised in teachers’ workloads, and yet most educators using VWs start from scratch, rather than building on the existing work of others. Furthermore, there often is a perception that beginner learners are unsuited to online engagement, despite the fact that such novice learners may benefit more than advanced learners who generally have greater access to native speakers, and often spend time immersed in the target culture.
The present chapter addresses beginners in two senses: the student who is a beginner in CFL and may not have had the opportunity to engage with other speakers or be immersed in the target culture, and the educator who is beginning to use or develop VWs. The chapter will illustrate how Task‐Based Language Learning (TBLL) in VWs has been developed over a number of years with a view to enriching the CFL learning experience within a formal university curriculum, and will begin by focussing on our major project, Chinese Island, then draw briefly upon some other case studies based on this model before culminating with a discussion of the VEL project aimed at reducing barriers to entry for educators thinking about adopting TBLL and VWs, through the provision of shareable technical and pedagogical resources.
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Pasfield-Neofitou, S., Grant, S., Huang, H. (2016). Task-Based Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) in Second Life for Beginner Learners and Educators. In: Moloney, R., Xu, H. (eds) Exploring Innovative Pedagogy in the Teaching and Learning of Chinese as a Foreign Language. Multilingual Education, vol 15. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-772-7_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-772-7_12
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