The State of Extended Reality Technologies in Language Education and Research

Despite making headway in the entertainment sector, extended reality (XR) remains an experimental technology in many educational contexts. This chapter moves to enrich the understanding of XR for language researchers and educators with a review of the most current established theories, frameworks, and research. An exploration of recommended avenues for future research from recently published articles in VR for education will be discussed to provide readers with an outline of the current research conditions and suggested ways forward. The chapter concludes with an inspection of language learners' experiences using a high-immersion VR system for the purposes of learning paragraph structure. Trends in VR education and research point towards increasingly sustainable applications of the technology in the classroom with identified linguistic and affective benefits. As VR continues to evolve and its applications in language learning become more sophisticated, educators and researchers will need to stay acquainted with the prevailing usages. This chapter aims to assist in that endeavor.