A Design-Based VR-Assisted Learning System for Culturally Grounded Meaning Construction in Foreign Language Learning: Integrating Chinese Excellent Traditional Culture

Abstract

This study investigates how a VR-assisted language learning system can be designed to support culturally grounded meaning construction in foreign language learning through the integration of Chinese Excellent Traditional Culture (CETC). Drawing on cultural linguistics and cognitive–affective perspectives, our study adopted a multi-phase design-based research approach consisting of three interconnected studies. Study 1 employed a questionnaire survey to examine learners’ challenges and needs in expressing CETC in foreign languages. The findings revealed three major challenges: insufficient contextualized cultural input, difficulties in mapping cultural meanings to linguistic forms, and affective barriers such as anxiety and low communicative confidence. Based on these findings, Study 2 developed a VR-assisted language learning system integrating immersive cultural scenarios, multimodal input, and interactive communicative tasks. Study 3 further explored learners’ perceptions and experiences through immersive VR sessions and semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that learners perceived VR as potentially supporting contextualized cultural understanding, facilitating the perceived alignment between cultural meanings and language expression, and creating a relatively low-anxiety space for communication practice. The study suggests that the potential educational value of VR may lie not in immersion itself, but in its perceived capacity to mediate the interaction between cultural knowledge, language use, and affective engagement in culturally situated learning environments.