Congratulations to one of our graduating French minors, Savannah Sander, who participated in this year’s Undergraduate Research Symposium. Her work and and impactful journey at UIUC have been featured in LAS News: https://las.illinois.edu/news/blog/las-insider/2022-04-21/how-my-undergrad-research-making-difference.

Savannah is a Psychology major and French minor, and she was connected with Tricia Thrasher (PhD 2022, French SLATE) after her return from study abroad in Paris in Spring 2020. Together, they studied how virtual reality technology can be integrated in second-language learning classrooms to reduce foreign language anxiety. Savannah coded students' interactions in a 200-level French class in three learning environments: Zoom, the virtual reality (VR) platform "vTime XR," and an in-person classroom. Then she had students fill out questionnaires after being in each environment to assess their anxiety levels. At the end of the semester, she and Tricia conducted one-on-one interviews with the students where they discussed their experiences.

The results of this research showed that students generally demonstrated more complex language skills and reported lower levels of anxiety in the VR environment, which has promising benefits in foreign language classrooms and speaks to the changing landscape of language education technologies.

Savannah and Tricia's collaboration is also a wonderful example of a student’s work in LAS, intersecting passion for psychology and love for French.

Congratulations to Savannah and Tricia, and many thanks to Dan Maroun for advising Savannah throughout her years in our program.