Multiplayer Virtual Reality-based English for Medical Purposes Learning: The Middle Eastern Students' Communicative Competence

Speaking and writing skills, as the components of communicative competence, are the core of learning the language for specific purposes. The intimate connection of students' acceptable academic and professional performance with their productive skills highlights new methods of teaching and learning. To investigate the potential of virtual reality in learning English for Medical Purposes productive skills, this interventional study with control and experimental groups was conducted using a mixed design with a sequential explanatory approach in 16 sessions in flipped classrooms. During the study, in addition to soliciting the participants' attitudes, their progress and performance were assessed. In addition, the participants' perceptions were identified by conducting semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data analysis was performed in a descriptive and inferential manner using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and analysis of variance with repeated measures. Qualitative data analysis was done in a theme-oriented manner. The results showed that the participants considered the concerted practice as an effective way of learning English for Medical Purposes productive skills. Although virtual reality enhanced English for Medical purposes productive skills learning and communicative competence, the multiplayer framework of these games for concerted practice of skills significantly facilitated learning speaking and writing. The participants' favorable attitude towards practicing English for medical purposes through cooperative multiplayer virtual reality can be an example of the successful application of socio-cultural theory in university language learning.