In most teacher education courses, preservice teachers are provided with hypothetical situations so they know how to deal with different situations in classrooms. However, most situations are unreal and written. Augmented reality (AR), however, can superimpose another layer (audio, video, and picture) to the written scenario to make it more concrete. Similarly, preservice teachers can learn to use AR in their future practices with language learners.

To better understand the needs of educators, Cengage Language School conducted a qualitative study during the 2013 American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) conference. The results of the study implied that educators predominantly embrace cutting-edge technologies to better help students engage in the target language and culture (Strang, 2014).

According to the findings of this study, 64% of instructors interviewed were willing to utilize a digital component in their teaching time. The issue, however, lies in finding an efficient tool that fosters communication in the target language rather than repetition. The overwhelming majority of educators were prone to go beyond and above memorization.

My experience indicates educators and language learners have exhausted a variety of tools and digital platforms to fully realize their potentials. AR, however, has been among the oft-neglected tools that can be harnessed by educators to aid increasing interaction, immersion in the culture, and motivation while learning a language.

AR Technology: Definition

Azuma (1997) defines AR as a technology that enables us to blend virtual images with real environments. In this sense, AR tools allow users to experience the real world by including digital information superimposed on it. Two basic forms of AR are location-aware (modifies navigation to different places by adding text, audio, image, animation, and/or 3D objects) and vision-based (recognizes images to facilitate understanding of a text) forms.

Khoshnevisan and Le (2018) conducted a systematic literature review to critically analyze the impact of AR technology on language education. Analysis of the AR-related studies in the last decade indicates that AR is a facilitative tool that contributes to literacy and vocabulary development in students. Additionally, Khoshnevisan and Le (2018) found that in the vast majority of the studies, AR was proved to be key in increasing the motivation level of students across different age groups, levels, and genders. In addition, they report that one of the drawbacks of AR is educators’ lack of knowledge. Not only do teacher educators need to utilize AR to showcase the realities in classrooms, but also they need to introduce AR to preservice teachers to employ it in their own practices.

Preservice teachers bring certain expectations to classrooms that are partly formed by their prior knowledge and partly formed by the training courses they have passed. It is not surprising that their expectations do not align with the reality of teaching in a physical classroom. In some cases, their expectations may undermine the complexities of teaching tasks in a real classroom (Atay, 2007). AR-infused material can be useful for teacher educators to portray the realities of a classroom.

AR Pop-Up Books

Wu, Lee, Chang, and Liang (2013) posit the abstract concepts of a paper book may be misunderstood by the learners because of the complexities in the printed books. However, AR has successfully lowered the level of complexity by providing authenticity and visualization of unobservable objects and concepts. Research suggests that printed books are unlikely to be substituted with electronic versions because of the printed books’ tangibility (Sellen & Harper, 2002). AR books resemble the printed books except that videos, audios, and pictures are superimposed on the page. Accordingly, AR enriches users’ learning experiences and takes the electronic books to the next level. Figure 1 shows a sample of AR books used in Japan.

Figure 1. AR pop-up book. (Source: https://the-digital-reader.com/2012/04/08/augmented-reality-shows-up-in-a-japanese-textbook-video/)

AR and Teacher Education

There is a myriad of teacher education courses to keep practitioners up to date concerning how to accommodate the needs of language learners in different settings and contexts, how to familiarize practitioners with technologies, and, most important, how to integrate these technologies into language education. Practitioners must be able to diagnose students’ learning needs and choose from the vast array of best practices in language teaching approaches and strategies (in ESL, EFL, and second language acquisition) to create their instructional material. Only then will these practitioners be able to appropriately tailor the course material based on the students’ needs.

Consistent with this backdrop, during a teacher education course, AR course participants should be challenged to pose new questions that current research literature has just begun to address to push the course boundaries toward a state-of-the-art pedagogy. Such a course must seek reflective participants who are prepared to make language learning both fun and comprehensible for all language learners. To achieve that, the participants should be willing to incorporate cutting-edge technologies such as AR into language education.

Conclusion

There are several pedagogical concerns—regarding AR—that need to be addressed. One of the major drawbacks of AR-infused studies is that educators are, by and large, unfamiliar with technologies such as AR. It is then advisable that more AR-infused material is designed for educators. Alternatively, AR can be an integral part of teacher education courses, so educators can design new material using AR to cater to the students’ needs.

Despite the drawbacks, the findings of AR studies suggest that the unique affordances AR offers to support the teaching and learning process outweigh the existing constraints (Khoshnevisan & Le, 2018). Teacher educators can use AR to showcase the realities in a physical classroom. These AR-infused scenarios, coupled with field experiences, can portray a more complete image of classrooms for preservice teachers.

Finally, it is advisable for educators to seek to promote the integration of cutting-edge technologies into the learning process. This not only helps learners experience a rich environment while learning a language in both EFL and ESL contexts but also enhances the expertise and knowledge of educators to effectively incorporate technology into language education.

References

Atay, D. (2007). Beginning teacher efficacy and the practicum in an EFL context. Teacher Development, 11, 203–219.

Azuma, R. T. (1997). A survey of augmented reality. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 6(4), 355–385.

Khoshnevisan, B., & Le, N. (2018). Augmented reality in language education: A systematic literature review. In Proceedings of the GLOCER Conference (pp. 59–74). Sarasota, FL: ANAHEI.

Sellen, A., & Harper, R. (2002). The myth of the paperless office. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Strang, T. (2014, April 9). Leveraging technology to meet the needs of today’s language learners and educators. Retrieved from https://blog.cengage.com/ilrn-leveraging-technology-meet-needs-todays-language-learners-educators/

Wu, H., Lee, S., Chang, H., & Liang, J. (2013). Current status, opportunities and challenges of augmented reality in education. Computers & Education, 62, 41–49.