A virtual reality-based collaborative argument mapping approach in the EFL classroom

In language learning, it is important to foster students' computational thinking and improve their skills of building arguments and dialectical structure, teamwork, and decision accuracy. This is especially so in English language courses which aim to promote students' cultural learning interest, creative thinking, and oral presentation. Collaborative argument mapping is an appropriate strategy to elicit those objectives. However, in the emergency distance learning (EDL) context, when online instruction lacks real-world learning and face-to-face interaction, it is challenging to teach units on cultural issues in authentic contexts. Therefore, in this study, the virtual reality-based collaborative argument mapping approach was developed to address this problem. A quasi-experiment was designed with a total of 45 EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students. The experimental result showed that the virtual reality-based collaborative argument mapping approach (VR-CAM) improved the students' English oral presentation more than did the non-virtual reality-based collaborative argument mapping approach (non-VR-CAM). Although the VR-CAM group scored higher than the non-VR-CAM group on cultural learning interest, the two groups did not significantly differ. Furthermore, in the computational and creative thinking aspects, students who learned with VR-CAM performed significantly better than those who learned with non-VR-CAM over time.