The team will develop a prototype of a virtual reality environment for high school students who are learning a foreign language. Students will become active participants in virtual scenarios using the target language of instruction (Russian in Phase I), with listening comprehension, vocabulary acquisition and recall, and grammar development occurring implicitly in simulated real-world context. At the end of Phase I, in a pilot study with 30 high school students who have no prior experience with the Russian language, the researchers will examine whether the prototype functions as planned, if the content is engaging for novice language learners, and if participating in the virtual scenarios is linked to improved student engagement in language learning and in learning vocabulary
