Augmented and Mixed Reality in Language Learning

Abstract

The use of Extended Reality technologies in education, and especially in language learning, has attracted the interest of language experts for the last 15 years. However, the recent technological progress as well as the simultaneous dramatic reduction of the cost of the necessary hardware has led to an impressive growth of the XR market, creating, thus, new perspectives concerning the adoption of XR technologies in education. The educational XR market is also growing very fast, not only thanks to the offer of innovative applications, but also due to technological developments in network technologies. Advances in wireless and cellular networks can make XR experiences more immersive and more accessible to local and remote users. This paper aims to present the current developments in the field of utilization of Augmented (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) technologies in language education and to explore their future perspectives. Towards this end, AR/MR technologies, the theoretical bases of their use in language education, as well as the available for each technology hardware and software solutions are presented in more detail. Examples of AR/MR technologies in language learning applications, as well as the conclusions drawn from the literature review concerning the benefits and limitations AR/MR applications in language learning will also be presented. Finally, market data and future research directions will be discussed, in order to identify the perspectives of these technologies in language learning.