The Virtual World is the New Foreign Language Classroom

Over the past few months I've been noticing more and more students of foreign languages attending a Literary Night that I host in Second Life. The foreign language these students want to learn? English. 

One man visiting our Literary Night came to listen to us read and to listen to us discussing the latest movies, TV shows, and general life happenings.  He stated that he was learning English and that he would be there to just listen for a few nights, if that was alright with us. By the third night, he had selected readings from his English class and asked us to critique him. By the fourth night, he had attempted to write a poem in English, and asked us our opinions. The fact that this man was learning English was not the extraordinary part. The six months it took him to become fluent in English using books, the internet, and Second Life was the impressive element. Six months to fluency!

His story was not dissimilar from other students from his group in Second Life. All of them used Google Translate or Babelfish to translate the written word to their native language, then visited areas in Second Life that spoke the language they were learning. Initially they would lurk and listen, reading the chat area and translating it via special attachments on their avatars. As their confidence grew, they began to ask the people who spoke fluently to critique their own speaking ability. 

I've used Second Life myself to brush up on French and Italian, both languages I learned in school, but no longer have the opportunity to speak with anyone in my immediate social circle. The students of English are very accommodating and will often 'trade' language skills in exchange for the language they are studying. A complete win-win for all involved, and without the embarrassment of one party knowing more than the other. Both of us are there to learn from one another, we are both teacher and student, we are equals. In some ways, it makes learning the other language that much easier because there is no pressure and no fear of judgement.

Equality and curiosity are languages we should all speak fluently.