Tricia Thrasher, Director of Research at Immerse VR, Visits World Languages Department

Tricia Thrasher, director of VR research at Immerse, visited the University of Arkansas campus on Sept. 24-25 to kick off the collaboration between the educational tech company Immerse and the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures.

On Sept. 24 at the CORD, Thrasher held a presentation on the future of VR education at the "VR at UARK" event, organized by Trevor Francis and Curtis Maughan. The event included seven speakers from various departments on campus and keynote speaker Dr. Thrasher. More than 45 students, faculty, staff and U of A community members were in attendance.  

Later that day, Thrasher joined professor Curtis Maughan's course, titled "Serious Games and The Past," where she discussed the process of developing interactive, game-like experiences for second language acquisition. Holding a Ph.D. in applied linguistics and second-language-acquisition teacher education, Thrasher showed the class how she leveraged her education in the humanities to secure a high-level position in the educational tech industry.

Tricia Thrasher, director of research at Immerse VR, presents her research on the rising popularity of virtual reality post-pandemic and projected increase in popularity in higher education institutions by the end of 2024.

Curtis Maughan, WLDH Studio Director, presents his ongoing curriculum and research on VR, as well as the WLLC partnership with Immerse.

Thrasher spoke with Larissa Rocha, a studio researcher, as part of the WLDH Studio's forthcoming podcast "Language Bytes." They talked about forging a path from language to industry, and the challenges along the way. Thrasher went into detail about how her research interests and French language skills were joined in her current position at Immerse.

Finally, Thrasher held a guest lecture titled "Immersive Classrooms: Exploring the Role of VR in Education," in which she discussed the potential of virtual reality for second language acquisition, as well as the roadmap for integrating Immerse in language courses at the U of A. Thrasher also shared case studies from other universities that have used Immerse, and she outlined the game-like features that Immerse is currently incorporating into their platform.

On the morning of Sept. 25, Thrasher assisted Maria Comsa, teaching assistant professor of French, and Sung-Hye Yang, instructor of Spanish, with onboarding their respective elementary French and Spanish courses with Immerse. Comsa and Yang will be exploring how supplementing language learning at the beginner level with Immerse may impact speaking proficiency for their students. A follow-up event will be held on Nov.19 when Comsa and Yang will present their findings. 

Reflecting on the whirlwind of activity on her visit, Thrasher had the following to say: "Getting to visit the University of Arkansas to kick off our new research collaboration was truly inspiring! I'm excited to see how integrating Immerse into language courses will enhance the way U of Arkansas' French and Spanish learners practice speaking outside of class time. We will be measuring the impact this has on students' learning progress, and I look forward to seeing the preliminary research findings in November."

About Dr. Tricia Thrasher 

Thrasher holds a Ph.D. in applied linguistics and second-language-acquisition teacher education and is currently the director of research at Immerse, a virtual reality language learning company. At Immerse, she currently leads the development of the company's research agenda, overseeing all internal academic and user research, as well as over 30 external research partners around the world who conduct research with the Immerse platform. With funding from Meta, she is also spearheading a large-scale research initiative on optimizing the use of VR and AI for language instruction in schools at scale. Her current research interests include immersive learning technologies (virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality), emotional responses to learning (anxiety), and the use of AI for learning. Thrasher has been the recipient of several awards, including the ACTFL Award for Doctoral Dissertation Research in World Language Education and CALICO Journal Article of the Year award. She has also received grants for research on virtual reality for language learning from organizations such as Meta, Duolingo, Language Learning, and NFMLTA. Learn more about Immerse VR 

Contact Curtis Maughan (WLDH Studio) for more information on the integration of VR into world language courses and VR education more broadly: cmaughan@uark.edu.