© 1999 by Association for Literary & Linguistic Computing
Language learning in a MOO: creating a transoceanic bilingual virtual community
The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK Z Corresponding author at: Modern Languages and Literatures, Loyola College in Maryland, 4501 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 2121-2699, USA
From January to May 1998, the authors tested the possibility of language instruction in a MOO employing the principles of tandem learning. The project participants were members of two language classes: a Group of adult evening school enrollees learning English as a second language in Germany and a Group of American college students in their fourth semester of college German. The two groups met together once per week for 2 h in real time in a MOO. Partnerships were formed with one member from the German Group and one from the American Group. The partners then cooperated in accomplishing certain tasks in their respective L2. The results of the project tend to confirm the efficacy of applying the primary tenets of tandem learning theory, learner autonomy, and reciprocity to language learning in a virtual reality community. The independence and sense of personal space which a learner can establish within a MOO as well as the partner relationships established as part of the tandem work fostered a growing sense of community as well as a strong commitment to the learning process within the Group of learners.