Virtual Reality for ESL StudentsHee-Jung Jung hjung [at]
mail.wsu.edu Washington State University ESL students who wear
3D goggles and gloves enter the CAVE (see appendix) room that is
a multi-person, room-sized virtual reality system consisting of
three walls and a floor. As the language teacher starts the
program, all students wear special lightweight glasses that
allow them to be in a huge and well-organized Wal-Mart. They can
hold any product and put it into their shopping cart by using
lightweight gloves. As students shop around, they can talk with
other students or ask for some help from a saleslady so that
they can make the best choices by comparing products. After
that, they talk with a cashier to pay for their purchases. The
teacher then stops the program and reviews the scenes with the
students in the classroom. Description of Virtual
RealityRheingold (1991) defines virtual reality as an experience
in which a person is surrounded by a three-dimensional computer-
generated representation, and is able