Integrating Corpus Linguistics and Extended Reality for ESP Learning Material Design


  •  Mariasophia Falcone    

Abstract

This study examines the potential integration of Extended Reality and corpus linguistics, with a primary focus on English for Specific Purposes. While this technology has increasingly shown potential for effective implementation in educational contexts, its application to discipline-specific language learning at the university level remains limited. To address this gap, the development of learning materials for the ESP-XR app is presented. The app is designed to support interactive learning of medical, legal, and business English through context-specific, discipline-oriented content. To ensure that the language input reflects real-world professional usage, the design process for the learning materials relied on a corpus-informed approach. Domain-specific lexical items were identified through keyword analysis of specialized corpora and then used to construct immersive, avatar-based Dialogs that simulate authentic workplace communication. Additionally, the learning activities combine multimodal input with interactive gap-fill exercises, supported by gamification and Task-Based Learning principles. By aligning the core affordances of XR with the principles of corpus linguistics, the study attempts to outline a pedagogically informed approach to designing XR-based ESP materials.



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