A Review of Research on the Effects of Second Life on Speaking Anxiety

Abstract: recent studies suggest that second life (sl) is a useful tool for educational purposes, specifically for the language learning. however, few studies provide data regarding the effect of sl on speaking anxiety of english as foreign language (efl) learners. thus, this paper aims at reviewing the studies on the role of sl as a language learning tool on efl learners’ speaking anxiety levels. in this sense, a certain number of studies on sl as an educational and as a language learning tool were reviewed in the light of anxiety levels of the efl learners. the studies revealed that sl is a pragmatic tool for language learning activities of efl learners. moreover, it was concluded that sl as a language practice environment reduces learners’ anxiety levels. however, the studies conducted so far indicate that there has been a lack of empirical data on the effect of sl on the efl learners’ speaking anxiety, especially in turkish efl learning context.