Can 360 virtual reality tasks impact L2 willingness to communicate?

This paper presents a research proposal that aims at examining the impact of communicative tasks mediated by Virtual Reality (VR) on second language (L2) Willingness To Communicate (WTC) outside of the classroom. The study will take place in Montreal, a Canadian city known for its regional variety of French and the bilingualism of its population, which is challenging for international students trying to practice the target language outside of the classroom. A mixed-methods approach will be used to follow the evolution of WTC levels while exploring in more depth students’ perceptions of the virtual activities and their WTC.