Why Talking Matters: The Missing Key to Mastery in XR Learning

“We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience.”

– John Dewey

In today’s classrooms, we’re embracing immersive learning—putting students inside worlds they could once only read about. But there’s a critical piece many XR technologies are still missing: the student’s voice.

We don’t mean “voice commands.” We mean authentic, collaborative, in-the-moment oral language—where students talk through ideas, ask each other questions, and build meaning together. This kind of language production isn’t just helpful—it’s essential for true understanding and comprehension.

And only mixed reality, not traditional virtual reality, creates the right environment for that kind of deep, social learning. This is because it draws upon research-backed pedagogy we’ve been practicing for decades.

Mastery Requires Talking, Not Just Experiencing

Research across cognitive science, linguistics, and education confirms what great teachers have always known: we learn best when we talk through what we’re learning. Oral language is not a side effect of understanding—it’s often the engine that drives it.

When students speak about what they’re seeing and doing, they are:

• Processing information more deeply

• Making sense of abstract concepts through conversation

• Clarifying misunderstandings in real time

• Reflecting, not just remembering

This is what Dewey meant. It’s not the immersive experience alone that builds mastery—it’s the reflection, the discussion, the meaning-making that happens through language.

For Multilingual Learners, this is doubly true.

Why Multilingual Learners Need to Talk to Learn

Multilingual Learners (MLs) don’t just need access to content—they need access to language-rich interactions that support them in understanding, expressing, and expanding their thinking.

Language acquisition is fundamentally social. As research from Lytle & Kuhl (2017) and others shows, social interaction activates the brain’s capacity for language in ways no passive system can replicate.

But many XR tools—especially traditional VR—put MLs at a disadvantage:

• Students are isolated in headsets, unable to talk or even see each other.

• Experiences are silent or pre-scripted, with no room for spontaneous dialogue.

• Teachers are cut off, unable to scaffold or model academic language in the moment.

This not only limits learning—it widens equity gaps, especially for students who are still developing proficiency in English.

Only Mixed Reality Makes Language Central

Mixed reality (MR) doesn’t remove students from the classroom—it transforms the classroom into an immersive, shared learning space.

With platforms like Reframe, students engage in virtual experiences while still present with their peers and teacher. They can:

• Talk through what they see in real time

• Use gestures and facial expressions to support communication

• Collaborate on problem-solving tasks grounded in a common environment

• Receive immediate language scaffolding from teachers and classmates

This makes oral language a natural part of learning—not something that happens later, after the headset comes off.

Shared Language Builds Shared Understanding

When all students experience the same content together—visible in the same physical space—they build shared reference points. That makes it easier to:

• Point to what they’re discussing

• Ask for help when they’re stuck

• Co-construct meaning, even across language barriers

These moments are powerful for every student—but essential for Multilingual Learners. They reduce language anxiety, increase willingness to speak, and give all students equal footing to participate.

Teachers Stay Central in Mixed Reality

In Reframe’s mixed reality environment, teachers aren’t sidelined—they’re empowered. Teachers can:

• Embed vocabulary and sentence frames into experiences

• Pause the activity to model thinking out loud

• Prompt student discussion during the lesson, not after

• Support students using visual and verbal cues in context

This real-time guidance is what helps students turn new experiences into long-term understanding. Again, Dewey was right: it’s not just about seeing or doing—it’s about talking, reflecting, and making meaning with others.

Reframe: Where Language Powers Learning

Reframe was built on this simple truth: a student’s best resource is another student.

By merging immersive content with real-time student interaction and teacher facilitation, Reframe ensures that oral language remains central to every immersive experience.

For Multilingual Learners, that means:

• Lowering cognitive load

• Increasing access to academic content

• Supporting both social and academic language growth

• Feeling seen, heard, and supported in every lesson

The Future of XR in Schools Must Be Social

If your XR tool doesn’t let students talk to each other with shared context in the moment, it’s not helping them learn.

At Reframe, we believe the future of XR in education isn’t about replacing classrooms—it’s about enriching them. We’re not building virtual escape pods. We’re building language-rich, socially grounded, mixed reality environments where every student—especially those learning English—can thrive.

Because mastery doesn’t come from isolation.
It comes from experience, reflection, and language—together.