Promoting intercultural communicative competence and willingness to communicate in EFL learners through virtual reality: a mixed-methods examination

This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study investigated the effects of a virtual reality (VR) application on the development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and willingness to communicate (WTC) among English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. The study employed a pretest-posttest design with two distinct groups: an experimental group (n = 25) receiving VR-enhanced intervention and a control group (n = 25) receiving conventional instruction. For a more nuanced understanding, qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with a subset of participants from the experimental group (n = 9). Quantitative analysis revealed significant improvements in ICC and WTC levels among the EFL learners who received VR-enhanced intervention using ImmerseMe. Meanwhile, qualitative analysis resulted in identification of the benefits (i.e., increased confidence in intercultural communication, positive emotional experiences, enhanced cultural awareness, improved language proficiency, and real-world applicability) and challenges (i.e., technical difficulties and distractions, limited language practice and feedback, and cultural stereotypes) of ImmerseMe for enhancing ICC and WTC. The findings provide valuable insights for educators, researchers, and practitioners in terms of the effectiveness and benefits of ImmerseMe to enhance ICC and WTC in EFL learners with an eye toward developing programs that take into account potential challenges of learners.