Volume 56, Number 4 TechTrends • July/August 2012 15
Using Second Life to Assist
EFL Teaching: We Do not Have
to Sign in to the Program
By Feihong Wang, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and
Enming Shao, Zhejiang International Studies University
Abstract
Second Life (SL) has been gaining increased
attention in Education since it was launched in
2003. Language educators explored SL mainly as
a virtual learning environment where learners
can interact with native speakers (e.g., Hislope,
2008; Wang, Song, Xia, & Yan, 2009). Although
most studies concluded positively about using SL
for language learning and teaching, none of them
have solved or avoided the practical issues asso-
ciated with SL. These practical issues made SL-
based language learning conceptually applicable
but difficult to conduct. The purpose of this study
was to use SL to assist language learning without
the cost of tackling SL-related problems. In this
study, students from an English-as-foreign-lan-
guage (EFL) class in China were assigned to de-
velop a Chinese version of the Second Life man-
ual by translating English materials from various
media. The findings of this study indicated that
SL served appropriately both as a language learn-
ing task and a motivation factor.
Keywords: design-based study, foreign lan-
guage learning, Second Life
ducational researchers and practitioners
have paid considerable attention to the in-
structional use of Second Life (SL) since it
was launched by Linden Lab in 2003 (Foster,
2007). Universities constructed virtual repre-
sentations of themselves in SL (e.g., De Lucia,
Francese, Passero, & Tortora, 2009). Educa-
tors explored SL for the potential of assisting
teaching and learning of various subjects, such
as language teaching (e.g., Blasing, 2009), busi-
ness (e.g., Tuten, 2009), hospitality and tourism
(e.g., Huang, Backman, & Backman, 2010), mu-
sic (e.g., Greenberg, Nepkie, & Pence, 2009), and
computer science (e.g., Cargill-Kipar, 2009).
In regard to foreign language (FL) teaching,
a variety of language courses have been offered
in SL these days, such as English, Japanese, and
Spanish (Erard, 2007). Language educators and
researchers have put their attention mainly on
using SL as a language learning environment
where learners can have real time interactions
with native speakers (e.g., Deutschmann &
Panichi, 2009; Hislope, 2008; Shepherd, 2007;
Swaine, 2007; Wang, et al., 2009). Although
studies found SL a promising tool for assisting
language learning, they also disclosed problems
that would affect the instructional use of SL,
such as the steep learning curve, the high-end
hardware requirements to install the program,
and the high-speed broadband to run the pro-
gram smoothly (Campbell & Trobe, 2009; Fos-
ter, 2007; Stevens, 2006; Swaine, 2007; Vogel,
Guo, Tian, & Zhou, 2008; Wang, et al., 2009;
Wang & Hsu, 2010).
These SL problems might deter instruc-
tors from integrating SL into their classrooms
for several reasons. First, schools and univer-
sities might not have the computers that meet
the hardware and broadband requirements for
conducting SL-based learning activities. Sec-
ond, even when instructors have access to qual-
ified computers, the frequent update require-
ment of the SL program might still be a prob-
lem. It is too time-consuming for an instructor
to complete the work; therefore, instructors
might need help from a technical staff. Third,
under the circumstances that instructors over-
come all the technical issues, such as schedul-
ing the computer lab, installing the SL program,
and having technicians to update the program
regularly, there are still problems on the student
side. Second Life’s steep learning curve can be
intimidating for novice users. Although re-
searchers tend to assume that today’s students,
E

16 TechTrends • July/August 2012 Volume 56, Number 4
the so-called “digital natives” (Prensky, 2000),
are able to adjust to the SL learning environment
easily because they have grown up using com-
puters, the Internet, video games, and other dig-
ital technologies, this is not necessarily the case.
Students might still have difficulties in navigat-
ing and using SL’s three-dimensional interface
(De Lucia, et al., 2009; Sanchez, 2007). Some
researchers suggested setting training sessions
ahead of time to solve this problem (e.g., Inman,
Wright, & Hartman, 2010; Jarmon, Traphagan,
& Mayrath, 2008; Sanchez, 2007). However,
neither using the limited class time nor adding
extra class time for training sounds practical.
Considering all the practical issues related to
SL usage, the current SL-based language learn-
ing approach, to some extent, sounds good but
is not practical for daily instructional practices.
The purpose of this study was to forward
the idea that the use of SL for language teach-
ing and learning does not have to be constrained
by SL’s limitations. As researchers pointed out,
a successful learning activity does not depend
on technology (Colpaert, 2006), but on its
design (Hampel, 2006; Hauck & Youngs, 2008;
Zhao, 2003). Second Life is an opportunity
space limited only by imagination (Vogel, et al.,
2008), as is the use of SL for educational pur-
poses. This design-based study provided an
example of using SL to assist English as for-
eign language (EFL) teaching without having to
sign in to the program. In this study, SL was
used as a task and a motivation factor instead of
a learning environment.
Method
A total of 39 freshmen from Zhejiang In-
ternational Studies University in China partici-
pated in the study. Students’ reflection papers,
group work, and final work were collected and
analyzed. Students’ reflection papers were coded
qualitatively to develop common themes ac-
cording to four research inquiries: 1) students’
perception of the learning activity in general, 2)
the integration of SL, 3) the collaborative learn-
ing approach, and 4) the contribution of the
learning activity to their English learning.
This study took the design-based research
approach. In design-based research, the re-
searcher and the instructor manage the research
process collaboratively in the course of iterative
analysis, design, development, and implementa-
tion. Through this approach, the researcher and
the instructor design and implement the activity
systematically, as well as refine and improve the
initial design through the implementation of the
activity (Wang & Hannafin, 2005). In this study,
a task-based, authentic, collaborative learning
activity was designed and implemented. Wang
and Hannafin (2005) summarized five basic
characteristics for design-based research: prag-
matic, grounded, interactive, iterative, and flex-
ible. This study fit these five basic characteristics
because the three activity’s design principles
(task-base, authenticity, and collaboration) were
chosen to improve the practice; the design was
conducted in real-world settings; the instructors
were involved in the design process; and the de-
sign process was iterative and flexible.
This research collaboration was initiated
when the researcher contacted the instructor
and shared some thoughts about using SL to
support language instruction in China. The ini-
tial research attempt encountered problems as
discussed in the literature, such as difficulty in
finding the suitable computer lab and the lack
of technical support. Through repetitive brain-
storms, the original research idea was changed
to the current research attempt.
Activity Design and Procedure
The learning activity was informed by social
constructivist principles as they applied to EFL
learning. Constructivists consider learning as a
social and active process (Vygotsky, 1978). Cen-
tral to the constructivist theoretical perspective
is the belief that knowledge is constructed, not
transmitted, and that learners play an active role
in the learning process (Jonassen, 1999). Three
basic principles summarized by Wang (2010)
were applied: task-base, authenticity, and col-
laboration. The task of the activity was to de-
velop a SL user manual in Chinese by translating
SL’s English tutorials, instructions, and manu-
als. Students were grouped into pairs or triads
to translate assigned webpages or video clips.
After the completion of the group translation,
students were gathered together to share their
work and to develop the final SL manual. This
learning activity also included an optional task,
testing the manual in SL, for students who would
like to move one step further. This SL-assisted
learning activity aimed at helping students learn
and practice listening comprehension, transla-
tion skills, and new English words.
Results
Students were grouped into 11 teams with
each group having 3 to 4 members. Figure 1
shows a brief example of one type of student
work. The image on the left was from the section
of the video that was chosen to translate. The im-

Volume 56, Number 4 TechTrends • July/August 2012 17
age on the right was the English language content
that students obtained based on their listening
comprehension. Translating the English content
into Chinese was the next step of the task.
Students’ reflection papers were written in
English based on their own choices. Because
these students were only English learners, their
expressions might not be perfect. However, we
could still get a glimpse of their thoughts through
their expressions.
First of all, most students felt positive about
the learning activity. Students found the activity
an interesting way to learn English (Participant
16, 24). The SL element worked well as a moti-
vation factor. For example, one student com-
mented, “The game (SL) is interesting. I haven’t
touched such a game before, so it attracted my
attention at right (away)” (Participant 22). An-
other student said, “I was fascinated by the video
of The Second Life. The beautiful characters, flu-
ent pronunciation, and exquisite designs never
failed to attract me” (Participant 26). The SL ele-
ment also seemed especially motivating to gam-
ers. One of them said, “through this activity, I
realized that we could learn English while play-
ing games” (Participant 14). They also made con-
nections between SL and English learning. One
student said, “maybe learning English is hard
and boring. However, it is can not only make us
a nice future, but also give us more ways to play
games. Isn’t it an interesting thing?” (Participant
9) After the completion of the task, some stu-
dents even wanted to “get into ‘A second life’ as
soon as possible” (Participant 25).
Students also considered the activity ap-
propriate for their learning of English. Students
believed that the activity was effective in helping
them learn new English words (Participant 19,
23, 37, 38) and sharpen their skills of transla-
tion (Participant 20, 21, 36). Because the activity
pointed out the holes in their vocabulary, some
students were more motivated to learn English
through the activity. One student said, “I felt
that my English words are so poor, and I should
learn more about it” (Participant 32).
Students also found collaborative learning
approach helpful in learning and completing
tasks (Participant 7, 13, 18, 27, 28). One stu-
dent said, “a group of people working together
and helping each other is very good” (par-
ticipant 30). Another student said, “we all un-
derstand that the power of the group is huge,
and the power of one people is so small” (Par-
ticipant 31). A team leader commented from a
different angle, “as a team leader, I learned to
be more diligent and to help my team mem-
bers” (Participant 11).
Conclusion
This study exemplified the possibility of
integrating SL into the EFL teaching without
having to sign in to the program and tackle its
inherent problems. Students were assigned to
develop a SL manual in Chinese by translating
SL’s English tutorials, manuals, and instruc-
tions. Overall, this learning activity was suc-
cessful. Students practiced their reading, listen-
ing, and translating skills. Students’ reflections
indicated that the game-like aspects and the at-
tractive look of SL served well as a motivation
factor to gain and maintain their attention dur-
ing the activity. In addition, students also fa-
vored the collaborative approach of the activity.
The findings of this study indicated that ways of
integrating a technology into education can be
various. As this study exemplifies, an instructor
does not have to be tech-savvy to enrich his/
her class with technology. With an appropriate
design, everything is possible.
Figure 1. Screen shots of students’ sample work.

18 TechTrends • July/August 2012 Volume 56, Number 4
Feihong Wang (fwang06@vt.edu) has her Ph.D in Instruc-
tional Design and Technology at Virginia Tech. Dr. Wang is
currently working as a research associate in the same pro-
gram. Dr. Wang’s work has focused on technology-assisted
language learning, game-based learning, collaborative learn-
ing, and distance-learning.
Enming Shao semchyzw@gmail.com is an English teacher
in Zhejiang International Studies University in China. He is
dedicated in English education as a second language and in-
terested in applying creative teaching methods to strengthen
students’ English skills.
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