Enhancing language teaching with augmented reality: Insights from the ARIDLL project

Abstract

Augmented Reality (AR) enhances reality by incorporating digital elements, potentially improving the understanding of abstract or imperceptible concepts and problem-solving skills. Despite its potential, AR faces technological challenges and a lack of pedagogically-sound resources. In language education, AR offers multimodal environments that can boost motivation, engagement, and promote interactive and collaborative learning among peers. However, its adoption is limited due to insufficient AR literacy among teachers and a lack of resources. The Erasmus+ funded Augmented Reality Instructional Design for Language Learning (ARIDLL) project aims to address these gaps by establishing a professional community, providing AR training for teachers and instructional designers, and developing open educational resources. By utilising MirageXR, an open-source AR platform, the project facilitates AR integration into language teaching, fostering sustainable and innovative learning environments. This paper outlines the rationale for ARIDLL and showcases an AR activity developed for English for Specific Purposes. It concludes with a discussion of the project’s next steps to ensure the creation of pedagogically-sound AR learning activities for language teacher communities