A French Foreign Language Lesson for Children with German as a Second Language in Virtual Reality: A Case Study

A French Foreign Language Lesson for Children with German as a Second Language in Virtual Reality: A Case Study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Case Report A French Foreign Language Lesson for Children with German as a Second Language in Virtual Reality: A Case Study Thomas Keller, Karin Bolliger, Britta Massie This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5302651/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Students with German as a second language (GSL students) have to cope with a huge volume of language learning. This is increasingly evident in early foreign language lessons in English or French. As a result, GSL students are faced with the challenge of having to learn another foreign language in a foreign language. As part of this study, a virtual learning unit (VRLU) for communicating in French for children with German as a second language (GSL) was developed using the teaching book "dis donc!" and tested with five GSL children in a sixth grade class. It was investigated how the VRLU affects motivation and to what extent it provides the GSL students with low-threshold access to communication. The research paradigm for this study is based on "Design Science Research". It combines current language learning and behavioral theories as well as design aspects relating to virtual reality. Diagnostic methods such as direct behavioral observation, flow questionnaires and various interviews were used in four field tests. It was shown that the VRLU developed specifically for the GSL students had a positive effect on the motivation of the students as well as on the confident and clear speaking of the foreign language French. Various scaffolds (aids) used in the VRLU proved to be effective. The most popular scaffolds among the GSL learners were the explanations in their first language (L1), the modelled repetitions and superimposed dialog boxes. On the one hand, the data from this study shows the great potential of VRLU for the tailored foreign language acquisition of GSL students. On the other hand, the study also clearly showed that the development of VRLU is a multidisciplinary and time-consuming challenge. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5302651","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Case Report","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":378862131,"identity":"c6f14633-c25d-4e97-8042-1ce7c3ca1c7f","order_by":0,"name":"Thomas Keller","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAnklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACCQbmxgMfGA6A2GzEamFsODiDZC2HeUjSItne2HDY5s8deYMDzM8eEKVFmudgw+EcnmeGGw6wmRsQpUVOIhGoReIw47YDPGwSxGmRf9hw2MLgsD3xWqQlgN5nSDicSLwWyZ7EhoM9Bw4n7z/MZkacFonjhw8++PHnsO3M9uZnxGlBAGYS1Y+CUTAKRsEowAMAtKozEjmvA4sAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Zurich University of Applied Sciences","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Thomas","middleName":"","lastName":"Keller","suffix":""},{"id":378862132,"identity":"3b0570ac-29f8-461b-bc6b-eef46d877c37","order_by":1,"name":"Karin Bolliger","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Teacher Education in Special Needs","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Karin","middleName":"","lastName":"Bolliger","suffix":""},{"id":378862133,"identity":"404fb76a-c936-4bd1-8143-1a6a7adbfbbd","order_by":2,"name":"Britta Massie","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Teacher Education in Special Needs","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Britta","middleName":"","lastName":"Massie","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-10-21 08:53:21","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5302651/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5302651/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":69769047,"identity":"81481aed-71d5-4b5c-b85f-728bfd955853","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-11-25 06:17:01","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":658756,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscriptv3.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5302651/v1_covered_f06c63d7-8f99-41e7-97dd-f474c1e713b6.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"A French Foreign Language Lesson for Children with German as a Second Language in Virtual Reality: A Case Study","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5302651/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5302651/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eStudents with German as a second language (GSL students) have to cope with a huge volume of language learning. This is increasingly evident in early foreign language lessons in English or French. As a result, GSL students are faced with the challenge of having to learn another foreign language in a foreign language.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs part of this study, a virtual learning unit (VRLU) for communicating in French for children with German as a second language (GSL) was developed using the teaching book \"dis donc!\" and tested with five GSL children in a sixth grade class. It was investigated how the VRLU affects motivation and to what extent it provides the GSL students with low-threshold access to communication.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe research paradigm for this study is based on \"Design Science Research\". It combines current language learning and behavioral theories as well as design aspects relating to virtual reality. 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