“Another arrow in the quiver”: student perceptions of integrating virtual reality into the public speaking course
Samuel T. Allen, Brian F. Batista, Lily Zhang, Kaitlyn Haynal · Communication Education · 2024
This study examines the efficacy of integrating virtual reality (VR) as a tool for enhancing speaking competencies in the public speaking course. Specifically, we explore how VR speech rehearsals, targeted feedback, and safe exposure to speaking opportunities impact student self-efficacy. Over the course of a semester, students enrolled in the public speaking course completed three structured VR practice sessions and a series of corresponding questionnaires with open and closed-ended items. Our results indicate that most students found the scaffolded VR practice sessions beneficial in enhancing self-efficacy, including an enhanced sense of preparedness, and a smaller set of students found VR practice sessions helped reduce communication apprehension. Student feedback offered theoretical and practical understanding for best practices to effectively motivate student participation and integrate VR into the public speaking course. While VR shows promise as a complementary tool for enhancing oral communication skills, it is not a substitute for classroom instruction or in-person tutoring. We conclude by offering directions for further research into the uses and limitations of VR in oral communication pedagogy.