Getting Immersed in Chinese: Task-based language learning in a 3D virtual world simulation

This thesis describes the development and implementation of a simulation constructed in a culturally rich online 3D multiuser virtual environment and the associated lessons, tasks, and assessment (collectively known as the Chinese Island approach). It examines the approach’s potential to provide learning opportunities not easily available in traditional foreign language classrooms. The thesis draws on second language acquisition and pedagogic theories to explain how the Chinese Island approach was developed and to examine how this was received by students. While the thesis focuses on undergraduate beginner learners of Mandarin Chinese, the potential of the Chinese Island approach is much wider.