Integrating Second Life into an EFL Program in China: Research Collaboration across the Continents

Educational researchers and practitioners have paid considerable attention to the use of multiuser virtual environments (MUVEs) in recent years in order to support learning across curricula. Among MUVEs, Second Life (SL) is one of the most popular environments, with over 18 million account-registered users as of May 2008. This paper reports a research collaboration between Georgia State University in the United States and Yantai University in China which explores various facets of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learning within SL. The ultimate purpose of this research collaboration is to find appropriate ways to integrate SL into an EFL program in China. The paper reports the research collaboration background of the EFL Program in SL, including its implementation and evaluation, and suggestions for implementing similar programs for international collaboration. (Contains 2 tables.)