Exploring the potential of Second Life to prepare language students for their year abroad

This article provides a description and discussion of the design, implementation and evaluation of a project which explored how the virtual environment Second Life (SL) could be used to support the preparation for their year abroad of a group of second year undergraduate students of Spanish. The goal was to use SL’s immersive opportunities to enhance students’ language skills, to promote a better understanding of cultural aspects of the Spanish speaking world, as well as to increase their confidence and their overall motivation. The impact of the project on students’ learning was evaluated by observations, questionnaires, individual and focus groups interviews, learning diaries and reflective evaluations. The results show that, generally, students perceived SL as having had an overall positive impact on their preparation for their year abroad. Most students felt that they improved their language skills, became more aware about some cultural aspects, and gained confidence and motivation.