Chapter 1 Language Learning in Virtual Reality: Theoretical Foundations and EmpIrical Practices Yu-Ju Lan Abstract This chapter focuses on the theoretical foundations of virtual reality (VR) for language learning and their empirical practices. Two main theory umbrellas, sociocultural theory and embodied cognition, form the trunk of the theoretical foun- dations of this chapter. The former emphasizes the importance of social interaction in the development of cognition, while the latter argues that the representation of knowl- edge is grounded in a person’s experiences of interacting with and perceiving the environment, which involves bodily sensation, perceptions, and actions. Although there are plenty of theories supporting foreign language learning, the abovemen- tioned theories are chosen because they give prominence to experience-oriented learning and support kinesthetic learning. Experience-oriented learning refers to situ- ated cognition and benefits learners’ pragmatic linguistic skills. By involving foreign language learners in VR, the three features of VR (immersive, interactive, and imag- inary) match the essential components of successful language learning, i.e., learners’ active involvement in an authentically meaningful and social interaction. Therefore, the two theories mentioned above, sociocultural theory and embodied cognition, well bridge the features of virtual reality and the essential components of successful language learning. Following the description of the theoretical foundations, the essen- tial components of implementing the abovementioned theories in empirical practices are elaborated. Based on the theoretical foundations and the implementation princi- ples, five categories of empirical practices are introduced, including social connec- tion, game-based learning, self-exploration, cooperative task-based learning, and learning by creation. Finally, some reminders and suggestions are given to conclude the chapter. Keywords Constructivism · Contextualized learning · Embodied cognition · Foreign language learning · Sociocultural theory · Virtual reality Y.-J. Lan (B ) National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei City, Taiwan © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 Y.-J. Lan and S. Grant (eds.), Contextual Language Learning, Chinese Language Learning Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3416-1_1 1