FEEL THE THRILL OF THE METAVERSE & LANGUAGES! TEXTO JAVIER HERNÁNDEZ MEJÍA

What do you think of the possibility of taking your English lessons immersed in the facilities of either Oxford University or Cambridge University? It would be awesome, wouldn’t it? Nowadays, state-of-art-technology has allowed the whole world to explore all the areas of knowledge through the implementation and operation of the Metaverse. So, what do these top-tier British schools have to do with the Metaverse? Although many students of all nationalities cannot afford to pursue an education at these prestigious colleges, they still might get a good glimpse into the actual academic adventure by being absorbed in a Virtual Reality simulation.

That is to say, by wearing a Metaverse headset, students can experience an online virtual campus where they are enabled to interact with their professors and classmates in shared virtual spaces through their avatars. If you don’t mind my asking, what is an avatar? An avatar is an online customized representation of a user, and this digital character can be either static or animated. Ultimately, a key feature in the learning process lies in the interaction of all the avatars immersed within this virtual universe.

As for language learning concerns, Metaverse technology is not an exception. On the contrary, hundreds, if not thousands, of students in America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania are striving to upgrade basic skills such as listening, speaking, writing, and reading in a wide range of tongues. Undoubtedly, emerging technologies constitute a quantum jump with reference to language instruction worldwide.

* Licenciado en Negocios Internacionales por la ESCA, del IPN. MBA en la Escuela de Graduados del Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, de manera conjunta con The Thunderbird School of Global Management en Arizona, Estados Unidos. Obtuvo una Certificación CELTA (Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults) en la Universidad de Texas, Austin. En 2003, ingresó a trabajar al Tec de Monterrey. Ha impartido cursos de preparación para el examen de admisión al Tec de Monterrey para niveles de preparatoria, licenciatura, maestría y doctorado.

Picture this scenario: Susan Miller is a 24-year-old American student residing in Boston, Massachusetts. She is majoring in European art at Sorbonne Université through an online master’s degree in Paris, France. To graduate Magna Cum Laude, she is required to master the DALF test (Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française). Since Miller is in love with the works of art exhibited at the Louvre Museum, she’s been improving her knowledge of French meaningfully while “strolling around” the Richelieu Rooms, the Sully Rooms, and the Denon Rooms which represent the most famous art galleries in the whole world. Simultaneously, she’s been attending several lectures and symposiums in French at the Auditorium du Louvre. Not only has she enhanced her proficiency level, but also Miller’s avatar has “personally” met outstanding world painters such as Jean Clouet, Leonardo da Vince, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, and some others.

Hadn’t it been for the Metaverse headset and teleporting, it would have been impossible for Miss Miller to delve thoroughly into the details of the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, The Winged Victory, Psyche revived by Cupid’s kiss, The Coronation of Napoleon, and many other renowned pieces of art displayed at the French Musee du Louvre. Proudly, she is passing her French test with flying colors and is rehearsing to deliver an inspirational commencement speech.

Teleporting is the ability to be instantly teletransported across space to a remote virtual or physical location. By relying on this feature, immersive avatars are enabled to visit international landmarks such as the pyramids in Egypt, the China Wall, and the Red Square in Moscow. The leap in the quality of the assimilation of knowledge has proven to be remarkable in most cases.

Then, what is the Metaverse? What is this groundbreaking technological wonder? In brief, it is a collective virtual shared space, the future internet. We also count on a more sophisticated, jargonfilled definition by Mather Balls. “The Metaverse is a massively scaled and interoperable network of real-time rendered 3D virtual worlds that can be experienced synchronously and persistently by an effectively unlimited number of avatars with an individual sense of presence, and with continuity of data, such as identity, history, entitlements, objects, communications, and payments”.

Breaking down the metaverse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zppKxiIPiA

We can discuss neither the Metaverse nor Virtual Reality thoroughly without bringing up the details of what Augmented Reality stands for. So, what is Augmented Reality? On the one hand, it is the integration of digital information such as sounds, visual elements, and further sensory information into the user’s environment in real time. On the other hand, unlike Virtual Reality, which creates totally artificial surroundings, Augmented Reality renders real-life conditions with generated perceptual information overlaid on top of it. In fact, Augmented

Reality is created to modify natural settings artificially with the sole purpose of blending digital and threedimensional components. Such a merger becomes a new virtual universe that allows users to hone their decision-making skills, learn new concepts, or simply have fun in Metaverse mode.

Imagine yourself petting a cute lion cub, walking along the moon with an astronaut, running away from a starving dinosaur, or snowboarding in the Swiss Alps. All of these scenarios come to life thanks to the virtues of Augmented Reality combined with Artificial intelligence in real time. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a short video is worth a million words. For a better understanding of how the blend of the Metaverse and Augmented Reality works, take a thorough look at the attached video. See it for yourself!

INDE - The world’s leading augmented reality company https://youtu.be/JNdpGNf8TDQ

The Metaverse, together with Augmented Reality, offers a flawless fusion of physical, augmented, and Virtual Reality. This emerging universe also constitutes a public online environment that can be accessed via the internet from any location on planet Earth. It leads its national and international users to experience a “virtual scene” by simulating the three dimensions in real time.

Certainly, the Metaverse will eventually become an essential teaching tool in plenty of fields such as medicine, science, technology, business, history, languages, astronomy, art, etc. Avatars, interesting content, high-definition images, and full stereo sound interact actively to catch the students’ full attention.

New generations of students are used to absorbing information through top-notch gadgets; therefore, the more tech-based an educational system is, the more likely it is to generate a keen interest in keeping up with the times. Unlike a video game, whose main goal is to finish the challenge with a victory, a quest for knowledge throughout the Metaverse triggers an endless number of experiences that strengthens internet surfers with useful and updated data.

The Metaverse consists of a Virtual Reality that empowers individuals to interact not only with one another but also with digital 3D items. By the same token, Metaverse explorers, through their avatars, can ramble along with their friends, visit jawdropping places, meet up with celebrities, collaborate on projects, wear fashionable clothing, and attend international mega-events in Virtual Reality.

How can new generations of students and professors migrate from a traditional education approach to a new digital platform? The digitalization of the learning process is evolving progressively as the Metaverse breaks through. The pandemic paved the path for the transition to a hybrid educational methodology. This unprecedented stage represents a paradigm shift that leads us to move from a hybrid system to a fully immersive virtual universe.

How can these emerging technologies enhance the quality of learning? One of the main features available in this breakthrough consists of customizing its configuration for students to learn at their own pace and level of difficulty, so students themselves will be able to experience immersive environments on their own; the new comprehension skills of the 3D data generated in these surroundings combined with

Artificial Intelligence have the potential to redefine the learning process to render it more efficiently through personalization.

It has been proven repeatedly that gamification both speeds up the assimilation of concepts and makes it fun. Instead of attending formal lectures or traditional lessons, Metaverse users will have the option to choose game mode settings. Playing virtual games will empower the avatars to interact directly with limitless possibilities in the stages of an educational game. Total immersion in a unique universe of high-definition images, bright colors, stereo sounds, useful data, non-stop action, and unparalleled excitement becomes unbeatable when it comes to acquiring new knowledge.

Little does the teaching community know the scope of the transformation of education encouraged by Artificial Intelligence across the entire globe. Unquestionably, this new approach will set the path for the creation of a multi-sector teaching universe made up of universities, educational institutions, public organisms, and private corporations. On the basis of interoperability, all of these components are expected to interact simultaneously and continuously through a standardized megametaverse universe.

Interoperability is regarded as one of the overriding features to be perfected within the Metaverse macro-system.

Consequently, a smooth exchange of digital assets created in one Metaverse would be available for those browsing on other interlinked technological platforms. If the repertoire of information topics from a large number of fields is available, the quality of the research assignments will prove priceless.

Furthermore, users might as well get acquainted with trendy concepts such as blockchain and non-fungible tokens, NFT’s. A comprehensive understanding of these terms will allow scholars to navigate more accurately through interoperability. It is therefore advisable to get familiarized with these concepts.

In a nutshell, I would like to wholeheartedly encourage all our readers to explore this innovative approach to learning. Don’t miss the opportunity to make inroads into the Metaverse to boost your language proficiency considerably. The virtual sky is the limit!