Virtual Reality for Telecollaboration Among Teachers of an Additional Language: Insights from the Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis

Abstract

As digital communication technologies advance, newer and more sophisticated cutting-edge ICT tools are being used for telecollaboration, including virtual reality (VR). Researchers have applied different models and approaches of multimodal analysis to understand the specific features of VR on students’ language learning (Dubovi, 2022; Friend & Mills, 2021) and intercultural communication (Rustam et al., 2020). Nevertheless, very little has been done to look into language teacher telecollaboration via VR technologies. This present study recruited student teachers of an additional language (LX) (Dewaele, 2017) from different geographical locations and cultural backgrounds to participate in a project aimed at cultivating their critical views on LX teaching and intercultural communication skills. The participants interacted and discussed LX teaching/learning issues in VR environments. Their interactions were video recorded and analyzed. By applying multimodal (inter)action analysis (MIA) (Norris, 2004) as the analytical framework, this study systematically unpacked the thematical saliencies and significant moments of the participating LX teachers’ intercultural interaction in the three VR meetings. Not only did they take on different approaches when hosting the meetings, but they also shifted attention/awareness during the intercultural communication processes. As communication became complex, they were challenged to overcome differences to reach the goal of collaborative LX teacher intercultural learning. Based on the findings and limitations of the present study, suggestions and caveats for future design and research of intercultural telecollaboration in VR environments are provided.