The effect of second life on speaking achievement

Abstract

The number of studies that focus on the impact of Second Life (SL) as a virtual language learning tool on speaking achievementsof EFL learners is quite limited. Thus, this paper aims to provide insight for SL’s effect on Turkish EFL learners’ speakingachievement levels. Forty-four EFL learners from Balikesir University participated in this experimental research. The participantswere divided into two groups as an experimental group of 20 learners and a control group consisting of 24 students. An interview grading their speaking performance was administered to both groups as pre-test and post-tests. While the control group participants took traditional speaking classes, the experimental group did the same speaking activities on SL. Considering the interview scores, results indicated that learners who used SL had a better performance than the ones who participated intraditional activities. Keywords: english as a foreign language, second life, speaking, achievement.