The Effects of Immersive Virtual Reality on Language Learning: Causal Effects on CEFR-Aligned Grammatical and Lexical Performance and Within-VR Comparative Effects on Communication and Intercultural Competence
Huijun Niu · Journal of Educational Computing Research · 2026
This randomized controlled trial tested the effects of immersive Virtual Reality (VR) enhanced with artificial intelligence on English language development, operationalized as performance on an author-developed, CEFR-aligned language proficiency battery emphasizing grammatical and lexical performance, in undergraduate Chinese EFL learners (N = 477). Participants were assigned to NLP-enhanced VR, ML-enhanced VR, SA-enhanced VR, or a traditional instruction control condition. Posttest scores on an author-developed, CEFR-aligned proficiency measure were analyzed using mixed-effects ANCOVA to account for recurring laboratory sections. The NLP-enhanced VR condition yielded substantially greater grammatical and lexical gains than all other conditions (F(3,473) = 1139.45, p < .001, η 2 = .88), with post hoc tests confirming its superiority. Communication competence and intercultural competence were measured only within the three VR arms. No reliable between-arm differences were detected for communication competence (F(2,354) = 0.02, p = .982) or intercultural competence (F(2,354) = 1.06, p = .349), so no causal claims are made versus the control group for these outcomes. Findings indicate that context-sensitive, NLP-driven conversational support in immersive VR can causally enhance foundational linguistic subsystems—vocabulary, grammar, and sentence-level syntax—as measured by the CEFR-aligned assessment, while the durability and communicative transfer of these gains require verification through delayed and independent measures.