Speaker: Prof. Yu-Ju LAN (National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan)
Moderator: Prof. Vivian Wen-Chi WU (Asia University, Taiwan)
Curated by: APSCE Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (TELL) SIG
Date: 16 December 2022 (Friday)
Time: 15:00-16:00 (GMT+8)
Register before 14 December 2022: https://new.apsce.net/webinar/30
Abstract
Metaverse emphasizes the integration of the virtual and the real. It outlines a blueprint of the future online world, providing people with a living and working environment that is real and is not limited by space. After Facebook changed its name to Meta and announced that the Metaverse would be the focus of Facebook’s future development, the “Metaverse” has become the panacea for a range of fields, e.g. academia, industry, education, etc., and a wide range of media continues to discuss its future and development. Learning languages in the metaverse is contextualized and interaction-oriented which improves learners’ motivation, engagement, sense of presence, and decreases their anxiety, and consequently enhances their learning outcomes. However, nothing comes without negatives. While we embrace the benefits of the metaverse, we should also ask how we can reduce the negative impact of VR on users, especially young people, or children. In this talk, the current research on the metaverse for FL learning, as well as its future research direction will be discussed
Bio:
Dr. Yu-Ju Lan is a Research Chair Professor in the Department of Chinese as a Second Language at National Taiwan Normal University. She is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Educational Technology & Society, Associate Editor of Language Learning & Technology, and on the editorial board of Ampersand. She is the founding president of the Taiwan Pedagogy and Practice in TELL Association. Her research interests include technology-enhanced foreign language learning, virtual reality, AI Chatbot, and online synchronous teacher training. She has published over 50 SSCI journal papers. Dr. Lan has proposed the principles of designing tasks and VR contexts based on empirical evidence. As the need for using VR in learning grows, her pioneering works could provide essential implications for academia, education, and industries. For her outstanding research performance, she was awarded the Outstanding Research Award by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Taiwan, in 2022.
