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Category: Project

Description: The present study contributes to the methodological debate regarding the development of innovative data collection methods in variationist SLA by examining second language (L2) learners’ user experience with immersive virtual reality (VR) technology. Questionnaire data were collected from 32 L2 German learners (L1 English) regarding their VR experience. We home in on participants’ subjective judgements of system usability, workload, VR sickness, spatial presence, and satisfaction. Quantitative analyses did not indicate that any biological, linguistic or social factors influenced user experience scores, highlighting that VR can be regarded as a robust elicitation instrument regardless of differences in, e.g., age, L2 varietal proficiency and exposure. We conclude with potential ways to exploit the strengths of VR in the expanding field of variationist SLA.