VR in the situated language framework: Leveraging the ecological validity

This chapter examines the use of Virtual Reality (VR) within the situated language framework, which holds that language comprehension is grounded in perceptual, motor, and contextual experiences. Concepts are understood through multi-modal simulations tied to specific contexts—so-called situated conceptualizations—and involve recognizing affordances (context-dependent action possibilities) and drawing on sensorimotor schemas linking perception, action, and language. Traditional methods have struggled to reproduce such dynamic, real-world contexts under experimental control. VR emerges as a transformative tool, reconciling experimental control with ecological validity by treating them as orthogonal dimensions. It enables immersive, controllable environments that preserve naturalistic interaction. Key advantages include the study of multimodal communication, removal of artificial trial structures, consistent simulation of social partners via virtual agents, improved reproducibility, and integration with technologies like EEG and eye tracking. Empirical research confirms VR’s utility in psycholinguistics, revealing its effectiveness in exploring predictive processing, embodied semantics, syntactic alignment, and bilingual language control. In communication research, VR has enabled studies on gesture-speech synchrony, prosodic accommodation, avatar-based interaction, and subtle cues like listener blinks. In Second Language Acquisition (SLA), VR supports oral and written production, vocabulary acquisition, and communicative competence by embedding learners in realistic, task-based environments. These findings align with situated and experiential learning theories, emphasizing engagement, presence, and reduced anxiety. In sum, VR is not merely a simulation tool but a methodological revolution for studying language as a dynamic, multimodal, and context-sensitive phenomenon, offering unprecedented opportunities for theoretical advancement and applied research.