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This is written like an ad Virtual worlds are playing an increasingly important role in education, especially in language learning. By March 2007 it was estimated that over 200 universities or academic institutions were involved in Second Life (Cooke-Plagwitz, p. 548).〔Cooke-Plagwitz, Jessamine (2008) "New Directions in CALL: An Objective Introduction to Second Life", ''CALICO Journal'' 25, 3: https://www.calico.org/memberBrowse.php?action=article&id=716〕 Joe Miller, Linden Lab Vice President of Platform and Technology Development, claimed in 2009 that "Language learning is the most common education-based activity in Second Life".〔Team Engage, "8D taps language learners, bots, microtransactions", ''EngageDigital'', 20 May 2009: http://www.engagedigital.com/2009/05/29/out-of-stealth-8d-taps-language-learners-bots-microtransactions/〕 Many mainstream language institutes and private language schools are now using 3D virtual environments to support language learning. ==History== Virtual worlds date back to the adventure games and simulations of the 1970s, for example Colossal Cave Adventure, a text-only simulation in which the user communicated with the computer by typing commands at the keyboard. These early adventure games and simulations led on to MUDs (Multi-user domains) and MOOs (Multi-user domains object-oriented), which language teachers were able to exploit for teaching foreign languages and intercultural understanding (Shield 2003).〔Shield L. (2003) "MOO as a language learning tool". In Felix U. (ed.) ''Language learning online: towards best practice'', Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.〕 Three-dimensional virtual worlds such as ''Traveler'' and Active Worlds, both of which appeared in the 1990s, were the next important development. ''Traveler'' included the possibility of audio communication (but not text chat) between avatars represented as disembodied heads in a three-dimensional abstract landscape. Svensson (2003) describes the Virtual Wedding Project, in which advanced students of English made use of ''Active Worlds'' as an arena for constructivist learning.〔Svensson P. (2003) "Virtual worlds as arenas for language learning". In Felix U. (ed.) ''Language learning online: towards best practice'', Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.〕 The Adobe Atmosphere software platform was also used to promote language learning in the Babel-M project (Williams & Weetman 2003).〔Williams C. & Weetman C. (2003) Babel-M: A virtual environment for the promotion of language learning, (''Paragraph PAL'' ), 23 June 2003.〕 The 3D world of Second Life was launched in 2003. Initially perceived as another role-playing game (RPG), it began to attract the attention of language teachers. 2005 saw the first large-scale language school, Languagelab.com, open its doors in Second Life. By 2007, Languagelab.com's custom VoIP (audio communication) solution was integrated with Second Life. Prior to that, teachers and students used separate applications for voice chat .〔Erard M. (2007) "A Boon to Second Life Language Schools: New Technology will Allow High-Quality Audio in a Virtual World", ''Technology Review'', 10 April 2007: http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/18510/page1/〕 Many universities, such as Monash University,〔Monash University: http://www.monash.edu.au/international/dvc/virtualworlds/monashsecondlife.html〕 and language institutes, such as The British Council, Confucius Institute, Instituto Cervantes and the Goethe-Institut,〔Goethe-Institut: http://www.goethe.de/frm/sec/enindex.htm〕 have islands in Second Life specifically for language learning. Many professional and research organisations support virtual world language learning through their activities in Second Life. EUROCALL and CALICO, two leading professional associations that promote language learning with the aid of new technologies, maintain a joint Virtual Worlds Special Interest Group (VW SIG) and a headquarters in Second Life.〔EUROCALL/CALICO Virtual Worlds SIG: http://virtualworldssig.ning.com〕 Recent examples of creating sims in virtual worlds specifically for language education include VIRTLANTIS, which has been a free resource for language learners and teachers and an active community of practice since 2006,〔VIRTLANTIS: Free Virtual World Language Learning - Come speak with the world!: http://www.virtlantis.com〕 the EU-funded NIFLAR project,〔Networked Interaction in Foreign Language Acquisition and Research (NIFLAR): http://niflar.ning.com〕 the EU-funded AVALON project,〔Access to Virtual and Action Learning live ONline (AVALON): http://avalon-project.ning.com/〕 and the EduNation Islands, which have been set up as a community of educators aiming to provide information about and facilities for language learning and teaching.〔EduNation Islands wiki: http://edunation-islands.wikispaces.com/〕 NIFLAR is implemented both in Second Life and in OpenSim.〔NIFLAR (Networked Interaction in Foreign Language Acquisition and Research): http://niflar.ning.com/〕 Numerous other examples are described by Molka-Danielsen & Deutschmann (2009),〔Molka-Danielsen J. & Deutschmann M. (eds.) (2009) ''Learning and teaching in the virtual world of Second Life'', Tapir Academic Press, Trondheim, Norway.〕 and Walker, Davies & Hewer (2012).〔Walker R., Davies G. & Hewer S. (2012) Introduction to the Internet. Section 14.2.1 (Second Life) of Module 1.5 in Davies G. (ed.) ''Information and Communications Technology for Language Teachers (ICT4LT)'', Slough, Thames Valley University (): http://www.ict4lt.org/en/en_mod1-5.htm#secondlife〕 Since 2007 a series of conferences known as SLanguages have taken place, bringing together practitioners and researchers in the field of language education in Second Life for a 24-hour event to celebrate languages and cultures within the 3D virtual world.〔(SLanguages )〕 With the decline of second life due to increasing support for open source platforms 〔 Karlov, Maria (2012) "OpenSim gains record-breaking 2,177 regions",http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2012/09/opensim-gains-record-breaking-2177-regions/〕 many independent language learning grids such as English Grid 〔 http://englishgrid.com 〕 and Chatterdale 〔 Trombly, Anastasiahave (2012): http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2012/05/virtual-worlds-offer-variety-less-stress-for-language-learners/〕have emerged. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Virtual world language learning」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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