Examining Nursing Students’ Perceptions of Virtual Reality for Language Learning and Culture Immersion: A Mixed-Methods Study

Virtual reality (VR) can potentially support immersive language learning and cultural immersion in the context of growing global migration of patients and professionals. For this reason, we aimed to examine nursing students’ perceptions of a VR simulation and explore their understanding of its usability in supporting language learning and cultural immersion. This is a mixed-methods study conducted between Autumn 2023 and Spring 2024. A purposive sampling was used to recruit 16 students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CALD) enrolled in an English language degree nursing undergraduate program from two universities of applied sciences in Finland. Quantitative and qualitative results were integrated following a convergent parallel design. Our findings demonstrate that native country significantly influenced perceptions of simulation fidelity, with African and European nursing students rating realism higher than Asian students. Cultural familiarity and engagement enhanced the learning experience, while motivation and cultural connection enhanced the effectiveness of VR-based learning. Motivation, cultural immersion, and task interest play a critical role in shaping students’ perceptions with VR-based education, underscoring the need to integrate these factors into design and implementation of VR-based education to enhance learning outcomes.