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Humanities Faculty

Chair of English Language Education

  1.  University of bamberg
  2. Faculties
  3. Humanities
  4. Institutes
  5. English and American Studies
  6. Chair of English Language Education
  7. Research
  8. VR and ESD in ELT

VR and ESD in ELT

As part of the BMBF competence network lernen:digital, this sub-project aims to develop research-based teacher training modules on virtual reality (VR) and ESD in ELT.

Persons

Project management: Prof. Dr. Theresa Summer

Research assistants: Michelle Zirkel and Claudia Schnellbögl

Student assistant: Michelle Zeitler

Cooperation

Subprojects

  • Foreign language teaching (University of Bremen: Prof. Dr. Andreas Grünewald & Leona Droste, University of Würzburg Prof. Dr. Maria Eisenmann & Jeanine Steinbock)
  • Evaluation team 
  • digi4all 

Software company

AR2VR  

Information

Duration: 06/2023-12/2025

Funding: European Union (NextGenerationEU), BMBF

Competence network:  

lernen:digital 

DiSo-SGW 

Critical friends

Dr. Martina Bredenbröcker (ALP Dillingen)

Martin Fritze (Head of English at Abensberg secondary school)

Prof. Dr. Regina Kaplan-Rakowski (University of North Texas)

Dr. Ricardo Römhild: (Post-Doc, University of Münster)

Melissa Schneider (ALP Dillingen)

Dr. Jennifer Wengler (Universität Hannover)

Training

Target group: English teachers from all types of schools (secondary I, secondary II, vocational schools)

Format: Blended learning (1 kick-off online, 2 in-person sessions in Bamberg)

Start: September 2024


Further information can be found here and in the flyer(380.1 KB)

Publications & presentations

A variety of publications, presentations, workshops and school visits.

See below for details.

Insights

Project team of English Language Education in Bamberg (from left to right: Michelle Zirkel, Theresa Summer, Claudia Schnellbögl)

Meeting with critical friends at the University of Bamber on 19 June 2024 (from left to right: Claudia Schnellbögl, Michelle Zirkel, Martin Fritze, Melissa Schneider, Martina Bredenbröcker, Theresa Summer)

Kick-off of the DiSo-SGW project at the University of Bamberg from 25 - 26 October 2023 (from left to right: Maria Eisenmann, Andreas Grünewald, Leona Droste, Claudia Schnellbögl, Theresa Summer)

Teacher trainings on virtual reality and education for sustainable development

Michelle Zirkel in a one-on-one interview during a teacher training course

VR-Workshop at the Casimirianum Gymnasium Coburg on 16 July 2024 (from left to right: Michelle Zirkel, Heidi Schmitt, Theresa Summer, Claudia Schnellbögl)

VR-Workshop in the SprachenLLab with the Franz-Ludwig-Gymnasium in Bamberg on 10 December 2024 (from left to right: Claudia Schnellbögl, Cordula Schwarzl, the four students of the seminar, Theresa Summer)

During the VR workshop in the SprachenLLab with the Franz-Ludwig-Gymnasium in Bamberg, the students immerse themselves in a VR world created by the student using the AR2VR app.

School visit at the Realschule Großostheim on 18 December 2024 (from left to right: Theresa Summer, Claudia Schnellbögl, Michelle Zirkel)

VR-Workshop at the Realschule Großostheim on 18 December 2024

VR-Workshop at the Mittelschule Stegaurach on 19 December 2024 (from left to right: Michelle Zirkel, Franziska Hahn, Theresa Summer, Claudia Schnellbögl)

The project team on the way to the VR workshop at Stegaurach secondary school (from left: Michelle Zirkel, Claudia Schnellbögl)

Publications & presentations

  • Zirkel, M. (forthcoming). Innovation in der Lehrkräftebildung: Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung und sprachliche Bildung durch immersive virtuelle Realität im Englischunterricht. In Morek, M. & Meer, D. (eds.). Unterricht auf einem bedrohten Planeten. Perspektiven und Herausforderungen einer Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung im Unterricht der sprachlichen Fächer. Sprachlich-literarisches Lernen und Deutschdidaktik (SLLD-B).
  • Schnellbögl, C., Zirkel, M., Bösendörfer, A. & Summer, T. (2025). Foreign Language Teachers' Perspectives on Global Education, Digital Media, and Extended Reality. In Summer, T. & Gießler, R. (eds.). Digital Textualities and Spaces in ELT. Tübingen: Narr Francke Attempto. 181-202.
  • Summer, T., Eisenmann, M. & Grünewald, A. (2025). Teacher Training Courses for Integrating AI and VR into Foreign Language Education. In T. Summer & R. Gießler (eds.). Digital Textualities and Spaces in ELT. Tübingen: Narr Francke Attempto. 203-222.
  • Zirkel, M. & Summer, T. (2024). Empowering English Language Teachers to Use Immersive Virtual Reality for Global Citizenship Education. WorldCALL2023: Official Conference Proceedings. Nagoya, Japan: The International Academic Forum. 217-224. DOI: 10.22492

  • Summer, T., Zirkel, M., & Schnellbögl, C. Crossing Boundaries in ESD: Critical Perspectives on Virtual Reality Apps. Language Education for Sustainable Development (international conference), Münster, 26.03.2025.
  • Summer, T., Zirkel, M., & Schnellbögl, C. BNE und iVR im Englischunterricht. Die Welt neu sehen: Austausch zum Themengebiet VR/AR in der Bildung. Netzwerktreffen VR/AR des Kompetenzverbunds lernen:digital, 03.02.2025.
  • Summer, T. Symposium: Digitale Souveränität und immersive virtuelle Realität im Sprachenunterricht (mit Anja Ballis), Vortrag zu BNE und iVR im Fremdsprachenunterricht. Transfertagung lernen:digital, Potsdam, 01.10.2024.
  • Summer, T. Teilnahme am lernen:digital Community Call „Digital souverän“: “Digital souverän: Wie ​​​​​​​können Schüler:innen für eine digitale Lebens- und Arbeitswelt befähigt werden?”, 27.06.2024.
  • Zirkel, M. The Potential of Immersive Virtual Reality for Teaching the SDGs in the Context of English Language Education. eLearning Africa 17th International Conference & Exhibition on Digital Education, Training & Skills Development, Kigali, Rwanda, 29.-31.05.2024.
  • Zirkel, M. & Summer, T. Projekt DiSo-SGW: VR Fortbildungen für Englischlehrkräfte. Das Potenzial von immersiver Realität für den Fremdsprachenunterricht und BNE. “Digitale Schule der Zukunft” – 5. Treffen der Gymnasien in Oberfranken. Coburg, 30.01.2024.
  • Zirkel, M. The Potential of Immersive Virtual Reality for English Language Classrooms. Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität München, 17.01.2024.
  • Summer, T. Virtual Reality and Global Learning in English Language Education: Innovations for English Teacher Education (mit Michelle Zirkel). WorldCALL Conference, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 09--13.11.2023.

We regularly offer VR-workshops at our university. School visits took palce at the following schools: