The impact of iVR-based debate on reducing college students’ anxiety and improving English debating performance

Debating in L1 is strenuous but more onerous in L2, causing public speaking anxiety (PSA). Immersive Virtual Reality (iVR) offers a potential environment for practicing English debate. Innocuous iVR environment contributes a personalized treatment for PSA; however, the number of relevant studies in EFL context remains limited. In this study, iVR was adapted in Indonesia. The study measured how iVR-based debate impacted PSA, the extent to which PSA and English debating performance differed between face-to-face and iVR-based debates, and the perceptions of two debate modes. An explanatory sequential design of mixed methods was employed, recruiting sophomores (N = 59) majoring in English. Both Class A (N = 29) and B (N = 30) received the same treatments, iVR-based debates, but with the switched sequences. Data were collected through Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA), English debate scoring rubric, reflection papers, and interviews. The simple linear regression affirmed the strong relationship between the students’ PSA and their English debating performance (p-values = .001 and .006). The β-values were negative (−.164 and −.080), indicating an inverse correlation between the variables. The paired-sample t-test confirmed the statistically-significant decrease in the PSA and statistically-significant increase in the English debating performance (p = .001). The thematic analysis revealed core categories: (1) the challenges of face-to-face debate, (2) the benefits of iVR, (3) the challenges of iVR-based debate, and (4) the commitments for further utilizing iVR. iVR provides an alternative learning environment to reduce students’ PSA and improve their English debating performance. This study recommends that educators adapt iVR-based debate activities in their English classrooms and mitigate potential drawbacks during implementation.