Bonjour, Dear Reader! A Virtual Journey with AR and VR

 
Hi again, my beautiful people! 💖✨
How are you? What’s new?

    For this time, I want you to grab your coffee (or croissant, very on theme 🥐) and let’s talk about today’s post. yeeey

    So this time, we had a task about Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in language teaching. Me and my friends Buse, Berfin, and Melis again accomplished a great job as a group, this time in a less stressful way. But before diving into our assignment and the process of it, let me explain to you what AR and VR are.

    So, Augmented Reality (AR) is basically real life… but with digital layers added on top. It allows us to see extra information like images, text, or animations while still being in the real world, using tools such as smartphones or tablets. In language classes, AR can make learning more interactive and visual instead of purely text-based. For example, students can scan a picture of a landmark with their phone and see 3D models, short explanations, or vocabulary pop up on the screen.

    Virtual Reality (VR), on the other hand, completely separates users from the real world and places them inside a digital environment. By wearing a VR headset or exploring a virtual space on screen, students can feel like they are actually “inside” another place. This creates strong immersion and meaningful context for language use. For example, students can take a virtual walk through a museum or a city and practice describing what they see as if they were really there.

    OK, now for today’s task. We created a digital worksheet using Canva where students explore Paris using VR and 360° content (we got the 360° videos from YouTube).  The studetns have to visit two famous landmarks, the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame Cathedral, and a museum; learn about French food (yes, baguettes and croissants made an appearance 🥖); and complete activities based on what they saw, mostly answering some questions and writing a postcard. The students also can discover some food items by accesing their 3D models (that we took from Sketchfab).

    Now let’s talk about the pain. Finding working, free, and student-friendly virtual tours almost broke us. Some links didn’t work, some were blocked, some had no English explanations—and that was the most important thing—and some just… disappointed us emotionally 😭 We solved this by searching and testing EVERYTHING (multiple times) 😀 and simplifying our plan instead of forcing something unrealistic. Teamwork saved us again. I am proud of us. 💪

    The hardest part was deciding on the city, but at some point I was so fed up that I just started the worksheet with Paris, and my teammates didn’t object, so from that point we worked together in finishing it. Lol. Also, we prepared a lesson plan again based on the ASSURE model, and for the evaluation part we also followed a separate framework. We had to make sure the materials and the use of AR/VR met the necessary criteria.

    Would I use AR and VR in my future classes?

    Absolutely, definitely yes. I also really enjoyed the videos and the tasks we put on the worksheet, so I think the students will enjoy them even more. BUT of course, we have to be careful when integrating technology in the classroom, and of course it’s not just about AR or VR. When used with clear tasks and guidance, tools like AR, VR, and other technology-based tools can make language learning more engaging, meaningful, and fun. Students don’t just learn; they experience the language, culture, etc. And that, I think, is pretty powerful 🌍✨

Until the next assignment,
Au revoir 💕