The Effect of Metaverse Tools on Children’s Attitudes Toward Listening and Speaking in Learning Turkish as a Foreign Language.

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Bilgisu G., Uzdu Yıldız F.

Uluslararası Türkçe Öğretimi Araştırmaları Dergisi (UTÖAD) (Online), cilt.6, sa.2, ss.298-317, 2026 (TRDizin)

Özet

This study, based on a master’s thesis conducted at Dokuz Eylül University, investigated the effects of metaverse technology on the listening and speaking attitudes of children learning Turkish as a foreign language. The study employed a mixed-methods design integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches. The participants were twelve children aged 7–10 who were studying Turkish at the A1 proficiency level at a primary school in İzmir. The intervention was conducted in a virtual classroom designed by the researcher on the ZEP (zep.us) metaverse platform. It lasted for two and a half months and consisted of 20 sessions held twice a week. Quantitative data were collected through listening and speaking attitude scales administered within a one-group pretest–posttest design, whereas qualitative data were obtained from reflective student journals and a focus-group interview. The quantitative data were analysed using a paired-samples t-test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, while the qualitative data were examined through thematic analysis. The findings revealed a statistically significant decline in students’ attitudes toward speaking, whereas no statistically significant change was observed in their attitudes toward listening. The qualitative findings indicated that the controlled use of microphones in the virtual classroom restricted spontaneous peer interaction, while technical difficulties negatively affected students’ motivation to speak. Nevertheless, most participants perceived the virtual environment as engaging because of its game-like features and opportunities for avatar use. Overall, the findings demonstrate that the use of technology alone does not necessarily lead to positive learning outcomes. They also highlight the need for pedagogically balanced, accessible, and interaction-oriented metaverse applications that promote active student communication in foreign language education.