Our Research

Engineering studies are characterised by a clear practical component (laboratories, case studies and work placements) that is connected with real professional environments.  ESP courses need updating to adapt to rapidly evolving globalised and digitised environments. To connect ESP with technology-rich environments and communication in the professions, the project IMMER-LIT aims to investigate how realistic immersive scenarios (VR & COIL) contribute to DL development. Both VR and COIL  transform learning environments, reaching beyond the classroom and facilitating the development of a wide range of linguistic, communicative and disciplinary competences. These new scenarios call for new research perspectives to bridge the gap between ESP courses and authentic disciplinary practices. 

IMMER-LIT is approached from an ethnographic perspective, with the analysis of participants’ practices and perspectives, combining a wide range of data that are mainly of a qualitative nature (e.g. students production, interviews, journals and open-ended questionnaires). This project is expected to generate knowledge about the affordances of VR and COIL to increase the relevance and authenticity of ESP in engineering, linking ESP practices to real engineering communication practices. In turn, IMMER-LIT will provide scientific evidence to inform the design of policies and practices that can contribute to the consolidation of VR and COIL in ESP.