This project is a proposal for a case study that aims to describe and understand communicative and pedagogical processes involved in Second Life® in a context of second language learning and teaching interaction, by modeling in world lessons of Portuguese as a second language for Erasmus students. The purpose is to understand how an immersive context stimulates learning by evolving students in a virtual reality situation where real life language context situations are provoked and where ‘not possible in real life’ learning routines happen. This will experiment the advantages of this platform compared to real life teaching and learning contexts, as it allows a synchronous and simultaneous use of voice and text both by teacher and students.

1. University of Porto Portugal

2. Second Language Teaching in Virtual Worlds:The Case of European College Students under the Erasmus Programme Paulo Frias, Ricardo Cruz, Ricardo Fernandes Communication Sciences University of Porto Portugal

3. What are virtual worlds (VWs)? What is Second Life (SL)? Why should we use them in our teaching practice?

4. University of Porto simin Second Life

5. What are virtual worlds (VWs)? Hotel lobby simulation at the U.Portosim

6. What are virtual worlds (VWs)? An electronic space in wich real experiences happen (Mc Luhan, 1964) Hotel lobby simulation at the U.Portosim

7. Whatis Second Life? source: www.secondlife.com

8. Whatis Second Life? • Participants may develop simulated environments. • Every object in SL is created by its users. source: www.secondlife.com

9. Why should teachers use VWs?

11. Are VWs here to stay?

12. AreVWshere to stay? • World of Warcraft and The Sims were pioneers • Rising of new forms of interactive entertainment source: www.secondlife.com

13. How was Second Life born?

14. How was Second Life® born? • Linden Lab’s goal was to develop hardware to allowworld immersion experiences

15. Sociology and virtual worlds

16. New education paradigm • Challenging, dynamic and complex learning milieu where avatars are a new type of social agents

17. Virtual Identity • New age of ‘interaction face-to-face’ (Thompson, 1995): interaction throw a personalized 3D avatar

18. Immersion • Chance to share a history, a memory, so, ‘the aftermath brings the chance of build social rules’

19. Active learning • Pedagogical environment enhance learning skills • Motivate students to engage on the tasks

20. Theoretical proposal

21. Objectives • Understand communicational processes in Second Life, in a context of second language learning

22. Hypothesis • • Students can learn a foreign language in a VW • Students can overcome cultural limitations and expectations usual in traditional classrooms

23. Methodology • • Students can overcome cultural limitations and expectations usual in traditional classrooms • Focus group: evaluation of the sustainability • Lessons: computer-mediated communication

24. Discussion

25. Advantages • • Students can overcome cultural limitations and expectations usual in traditional classrooms • E-learning in VWs reduce costs • Stimulates the diversification of courses offered

26. Advantages • • Students can overcome cultural limitations and expectations usual in traditional classrooms • Formation outside the traditional classroom context • No rules: space, class attendance, time and rythm

27. Expected Results

28. Expected Results • Superior levels of interactions and assimilation • Engagement: reciprocity and cooperation • Active learning • • Students can overcome cultural limitations and expectations usual in traditional classrooms