Immersive 3D-Technologien optimieren das Fremdsprachenlernen: „EVEIL-3D – Lernen in virtuellen Welten“

Abstract

Using the example of the Franco-German research project EVEIL-3D, this article examines how the use of new communication technologies, in particular immersive 3D-technologies, represents an additional value for more effective foreign language acquisition. Serious games, similar to video games but designed with pedagogical aims, feature associative scenarios that regulate the learning process. In EVEIL-3D, secondary school students have to rescue the stonemason Arthur Steinbach who is stuck in the past in the crypt of Strasbourg cathedral. The learners can develop interaction strategies and improve their communicative competences by the contextual and autonomous usage of the foreign language. The students are immersed in a virtual environment via digital media which include a novel combination of motion capture and automatic speech recognition. The immersion intensifies the feeling of presence which in turn heightens motivation and has a positive impact on the learning process.

In addition, the project EVEIL-3D extends cross-cultural and interdisciplinary competences for teachers, students and project designers. Regular training courses are organized for teachers in order to discuss the advantages as well as the limits of the use of 3D technologies and virtual environments in class.