The English Language Institute at Kanda University of International Studies moved into a new building at the beginning of the 2017 school year. This custom-designed state-of-the-art facility features 10:00 69 Sunday 10:00 10:40 11:20 12:30 2:00 2:40 3:20 an experimental classroom, the purpose of which is to research the use of technology before introduction into regular classrooms. The first project conducted in the room utilises fully immersive virtual reality systems (HTC Vives) and software to develop a pilot lesson for English majors on a Freshman literacy course. Using commercial software, Owlchemy Labs’ Job Simulator (2016) was chosen as the Kitchen Chef scenario matched (a) the need for practicing procedural texts and (b) the topic of the course material which was recipes. With a focus on genre analysis and communication, the non-VR course materials were analysed in terms of lesson aims, outcomes, grammar, vocabulary, functions, genre and communication/interaction patterns. The next stage was to determine whether these areas could be catered for, and/or improved, through the use of technology. For example, in contrast to current course materials, Kitchen Chef provides the opportunity to directly interact with numerous utensils and ingredients. Therefore, only after such considerations did work start on designing the new VR lesson. This show and tell comprises a description of the instructors’ journey from starting the project up to trials. Notes kept throughout document both the challenges faced and the decisions made along the way. Hopefully, this session will provide a useful set of considerations regarding the successful inclusion of VR in language courses.
