MIXED-REALITY IN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND ITS EFFECT ON SOCIAL DISTANCE

Abstract

Creating genuine human connections, especially in one’s non-native language, relies heavily on knowing the cultural and social rules of the target language (Roever, 2017). One way to address and learn these differences is through second language (L2) pragmatics (i.e., how speakers express and interpret meaning). Despite the critical need for pragmatics in the language classroom, it is often ignored (Taguchi, 2012). However, emerging frameworks enable practical and scalable classroom implementation in meaningful and transparent ways. This thesis explores one such approach. In doing so, it describes insights from a pilot implementation of a mixed-reality experience (MRE) designed for the learning of second language pragmatics. Specifically, it discusses the implementation in light of four critical affordances of MREs for learning - (1) superseding social structures and hierarchies, (2) integration of supportive frames and schema, (3) leveraging multimodalities, and (4) facilitating immediate and possible futures – and its effect on understanding the principle of social distance.