Second Life - Day 1

Introduction

This week I'm going to be entering Second Life and really exploring the world and the possibility that it holds for educational purposes. I didn't mention Second Life in my reviews last week because I knew that I'd be going in-depth with it this week. I've entered Second Life a few times in the past few weeks, though I am by no means an expert. There is a bit of a learning curve for navigating this world, but I hope I can truly explore experience all the possibilities that this world offers over the course of the week.

Learn It Town

I started my tour in Learn It Town, an island devoted to English language learners. The island is not so big that it's overwhelming, but it is big enough to cover all the bases of a typical town. There's a supermarket, gas station, restaurants, bank, hospital, and more. I even hopped on a Vespa and drove around town. Though of course, flying seems to be the quickest way to get anywhere.

I ran (flew, and drove) all over town, and here are some of the places that I found:

 ^^ In an empty restaurant. Students can practice ordering in English here.^^

 ^^ Outside the cinema. Everything looks so realistic! ^^

 ^^ Exploring the cinema ^^

 ^^ Students could practice proper etiquette for filling up their gas tank^^

 ^^If students need to practice medical English, they can head to Learn It Town's Medical Center^^

 ^^ I love the details in this world. No hospital is complete without vending machines. ^^

 ^^Sitting down for some sushi^^

 ^^Students can practice shopping for clothes, and maybe even making returns and exchanges?^^

^^Outside the bank.^^

^^At the supermarket. Students can role-play customer and check-out clerk.^^

Learn It Town seems like a great place for students to learn English for a variety of situations. All the daily tasks that require English can be found here. Of course you can role-play these scenarios outside of a virtual world, but being immersed in the space really helps bring everything to life. Immersion is the best way to learn a language, and in Learn It Town, students truly are surrounded by English. Also, I think students may feel more comfortable in the virtual world because they are speaking through an avatar, so they don't have to worry so much about making mistakes.

As I mentioned before, the learning curve in Second Life is a bit high. It took me a while just to run around the world (and not crash into walls and try to walk through windows). I think I probably could have interacted with more items by right-clicking on them. I'll try to remember to do that more in the coming days.

The focus Learn It Town seems to be on practicing English for everyday scenarios, such as going to the supermarket or ordering food in a restaurant. I was impressed by the level of detail, and think it could be a more interesting way for students to role-play.