Cups clatter onto plates as silverware clinks in trays behind the counter. Someone’s keys fall to the marble floor while a group of high school students laugh at a joke you can only imagine the punchline to. Your mouth waters at the sight of freshly baked medialunas, and without noticing, you order some for yourself. You are at Le Moulin De La Fleur in Bogotá, Colombia. 

Except you aren’t. 

You are sitting in the corner of a room in the Newcomb Hall basement, with a controller in each hand and wearing a Meta Pro Quest 3 headset. This is the Language Learning Center’s new Language Virtual Reality Club.  

“[You] put on a headset and talk face-to-face, almost, with someone as if it’s in person. It’s a different method of learning that’s more interactive and more engaging,” student intern Aeryn Anderson said.  

Anderson leads demonstrations on how to use ImmerseMe, the virtual reality language learning program used by the LRVC. “I feel like you’re able to focus on it more, try out new ways and explore more methods [of language learning],” she said.  

“Traditional language learning is still necessary, but I believe young generations these days need something exciting and more fun to do outside class, and this is a way of getting them engaged with languages,” Abeer Al-Mohsen, assistant director of language education, said. 

Unlike traditional language learning, which might not convey the unique contingencies of the target language in the context of realistic situations, immersive learning mimics real-world experience while also maintaining a higher level of engagement. Users of ImmerseMe can pick from a variety of lessons, such as learning to order in a café, that range in difficulty from “Pronunciation mode” for beginners to “Immersion mode,” which requires more spontaneous conversation. Through dialogue with the country’s host, students can practice pronunciation and grammar with direct feedback from the virtual reality teacher.  

“It’s actually real scenarios…You are in Brazil. You are in Bali. You are in China,” Al-Mohsen said. 

Learning a new language does not have to just be a requirement for graduation. Learning languages can increase confidence, build long-lasting friendships and increase cultural understanding and global awareness. Through innovative VR programs such as ImmerseMe, that Colombian café you’ve been dreaming about might be closer than you think. Behind the doors of Newcomb Hall and down the stairs to room B10 every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., your two-way ticket awaits you.