MIND THE GAP: SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION COMES OF AGE IN A DIGITAL WORLD

As the tsunami of the 4th industrial revolution (Schwab, 2016) breaks on the shores of the 21st century only those industries ready for its impact will survive and thrive. Those involved in the teaching of English as a second language are at the front of the wave with unprecedented demand for their services. English has not only reinforced its position as an international language with the advent of globalization and the use of the internet but is also now being taught at the primary school level and is increasingly the language of instruction in universities worldwide. Market estimates for the global, academic plus non-academic, English language learning sector put it at up to US$63.3 billion for 2013 within which the digital language learning segment accounts for 5% (Adkins, 2014; GSV Advisors, 2012).

The teaching of English as a foreign language grew into it’s own in the 20th century when the debate about the theoretical foundations of language teaching methods were laid, drawing on the work of linguists and psychologists (Curran, Deguent, Lund, Miletto, & Van der Straeten, 2000; Richards & Rodgers). A historical review of the methods and approaches for language teaching provides the basis for this project. Research in second language acquisition clearly shows that the ‘drill and rote’ learning of the 1970’s followed by the communicative approach and then the later task-based orientation of the 1990’s do not adequately address the needs of today’s language learners and it is only in the past twenty years that the idea of in-context learning has even taken hold.

The innovation discussed in this project combines 360° immersive videos with gamification mechanisms moving into the future of language learning as it allows for navigation in high quality virtual worlds which link the mind to the body, something currently under-exploited (Macedonia & von Kriegstein, 2012; Repetto, 2014).

As with any innovation, however, two of the key issues are diffusion and long-term adoption. Drawing on well-established models (Abernathy & Utterback, 1978; Rogers, 1983), the research questions address the introduction and future development of the Immersion Learning System 360° (IILS360°). The identification of strategies to prevent a fall into the chasm as described by Rogers (1983) that exists between the early adopters of a new technology and the considerably larger market of early users is the main objective of the research.

A multiple-technique ethnographic case study approach was selected to provide an in-depth look at the past, present, and future practices of a specific English Language provider with a focus on the proposed integration of immersive videos as a tool for going one step further with the in-context approach currently being used. Data collection techniques include participant observation, chains of conversations and semi-structured interviews with key informants concerned by the planned introduction of the IILS360°.

This paper is an in-depth study of one institute, its specific in-context method of teaching English as a second language, the evolution that this method has seen and how it is expected to evolve in today’s digital world. A discussion of the acceptance of technological innovation (Davis, 1989) and the challenges faced provides ideas for future research and practitioners alike.