Augmented reality (AR) is relatively new in English language teaching and gaining momentum among teachers as it can bring an ordinary environment, such as the typical language classroom, to life with stimulating visual imagery. Today’s learners have access to mobile phones and tablets with software that allows for viewing real-life objects (e.g., tables, walls, and even the students themselves) with virtual media overlaid in the camera of a mobile device. Thus, AR adds a new interface between reality and relevant digital information to allow learners to gather information about a particular place, its meaning, its users, and even the language that is appropriate in that place. This can lead to a high level of engagement with the context and environment and the language needed to convey the learner’s ideas (Klopfer, 2008) by manifesting a virtual learning playground from a traditional classroom.

Augmented Reality in Education

Augmented reality is not a new concept, though unfortunately it is most often associated with pure entertainment rather than language learning specifically. However, in recent years the beneficial pedagogical applications have received growing attention in the literature, with numerous authors detailing positive benefits. AR has been found to assist students in developing their ability to solve problems, think critically, and collaborate effectively (Wasko, 2013); provide an authentic learning experience (Klopfer, 2008); increase motivation and in-person and asynchronous collaboration (Dunleavy, Dede, & Mitchell, 2009; Billinghurts & Duersner, 2012); and provide better performance and foster a positive learning attitude (Jerry & Aaron, 2010). In addition, AR’s transferability and context sensitivity make it ideal for all learners (primary to university; Klopfer, 2008).

So, how do we do it? In this article, we provide initial suggestions and practical strategies to get started with AR in a way that situates the learner right at the heart of a virtual world brimming with the capacity to engage their creativity and engender cooperative collaboration.

Augmented Reality Applications

To use AR apps with your learners, you need two items: an AR-enabled application and a “trigger.” The app will allow you to see the augmented content, and the trigger is what makes the augmented content appear. So, in your classroom, the trigger can be any image or object (you decide yourself), and you simply point your mobile device at the trigger to activate the augmented content. Following, we introduce one simple AR app interface and provide some basic ideas that can have a positive impact on our pedagogical practice.

Aurasma

Aurasma’s (available for iOS and Android) image-recognition technology uses a mobile device’s camera to recognize objects in the real world and then overlay information on top of them, such as videos, animations, and links to web pages. Aurasma lets you create and share your own AR/content called an “aura.” Create a classroom channel and then add your aura. Have all your students follow, and this will streamline and standardize all of your content. Auras will make less-than-exciting lessons come alive, and students can work at their own pace and reveal information when they are ready for differentiated instruction. Following are some sample activities using Aurasma.

• Role-playing: Role-playing provides opportunities for immersive gaming environments where students can assume new identities. These new identities (e.g., nurses, engineers, and designers) can afford ideal preparation for future workplace environments by creating a rich context. Introduce new vocabulary on a given topic or unit and provide one trigger, which you have created prior to the class, for each student. Then have students mingle in class while carrying the trigger that is associated with their character. For example, if blueprints is one of the vocabulary items introduced as relevant for engineers, one of the triggers could be actual blueprints held by a student (or, more likely, a simple rolled-up poster). As they mingle, students will trigger each other’s auras and guess their occupation, weaving the vocabulary into their dialogue as they mingle. The content overlaid in the aura could even be generated from previous student work. The aura for the engineer, for example, could include pictures of activities that engineers do, or even just phrases describing engineering. The students could be awarded points for each correct occupation they guess or for identifying the items held by the other students. There are many alternative ways to incorporate role-play using Aurasma with your students, and it provides an excellent opportunity to focus on accuracy or fluency in an interactive environment (e.g., correct guesses vs. guesses per minute).

• Augmented handouts/worksheets: Providing extra content allows students opportunities to leverage additional resources for activities covered in class. This additional content is especially helpful if we teach classes with mixed abilities, and it is helpful with independent learning. As you prepare your lessons, look at images, words, and activities in your student books (or handout) and create an aura that will link to additional explanations or relevant websites or YouTube videos.

For example, an excellent use of this activity would be to provide nursing students with links enabling them to view a three-dimensional model of the human heart alongside a handout containing purely textual information. Another augmentation, for example, would be having environmental studies students view an animated depiction of the projected rise in sea level while reading a text describing the effects of climate change. These methods allow students to work at their own pace exploring differentiated materials in ways that best suit their learning styles. This method of augmentation transforms regular monomodal handouts into engaging multimodal methods of providing input to the students, and, more important, the students are able to take this enhanced input with them wherever they go.

• Embedded rubrics: Students can reference scoring criteria for assignments any time and from anywhere using AR. Although the technology isn't sophisticated enough to allow students to view their scores in real-time, they could easily view different aspects of a speaking quiz through their mobile device, reminding themselves of the different objectives and content they should cover. Though this would be less authentic for a speaking quiz targeting in-person discussions, it would be ideally suited for a job interview over Skype, as the speakers would already be looking at their devices during the conversation.

Why This Works

By allowing students to take the initiative to access and “play around” with extra content using AR and Aurasma, it's possible to scaffold them in learning disciplinary content knowledge and afford them opportunities to develop collaborative strategies around information sharing while they take ownership of their learning. AR combines real lesson objectives with the excitement of using devices in the classroom.

Conclusion

The adoption of AR for second language acquisition purposes has several benefits, including an authentic and engaging learning experience, increased motivation, better performance, and fostering a positive learning attitude. However, as we jump into AR, we should keep in mind that there are various practical limitations to incorporating AR with our learners, such as budget, time constraints, network connections, and increased demands on the teacher. That being said, incorporating AR with our learners is an exciting new avenue to explore, as it promises great potential to lead to more engaging and effective learning.

References

Billinghurts, M., & Duersner, A. (2012). Augmented reality in classrooms. Computer, 45(7), 56–63.

Dunleavy, M., Dede, C., & Mitchell, R. (2009). Affordances and limitations of immersive participatory augmented reality simulations for teaching and learning. Journal of Science Education & Technology, 18(1), 7–22.

Jerry, T. F. L., & Aaron, C. C. E. (2010). The impact of augmented reality software with inquiry-based learning on students’ learning of kinematics graph. In V. Mahadevan & G. S. Tomar, 2010 2nd International Conference on Education Technology and Computer (pp. V2-1–V2-5). Piscataway, NJ: IEEE.

Klopfer, E. (2008). Augmented learning: Research and design of mobile educational games. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Wasko, C. (2013). What teachers need to know about augmented reality enhanced learning environments. Techtrends Tech Trends, 57(4), 17–21.

Lucas Kohnke is a teaching fellow at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests include technology-supported teaching and learning, professional development using Information Communication Technology (ICT), and English for academic purposes course design.

Adam Leskis is a professional software developer, having left an 8-year career in teaching to focus more on the creation of digital materials for EFL learners.