Overview

Public Speaking in VR began as my final project in the MSc Virtual and Augmented Reality program at Goldsmiths, University of London, developed in collaboration with LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore. The goal was to design a VR-based English presentation training application to support students who experience anxiety when speaking in a foreign language.

Originally a semester-long project, it was extended for two years with support from the Goldsmiths–LASALLE Partnership Innovation Fund (PIF). Over this extended period, the system was further developed, tested, and academically refined—leading to multiple international conference presentations, peer-reviewed journal submissions, and a total of £10,000 in grant funding.

The application offers immersive, customizable environments where students can practice giving English presentations to a virtual audience, helping them build confidence and fluency in a low-stress setting. It was specifically designed for use in language classrooms, serving as a supplemental tool to encourage repeated practice and reduce fear around public speaking.

My Role

• Lead Developer & Game Designer
  – Designed and developed the full application using Unity (C#) for Meta Quest
  – Integrated AI-driven avatars, hand tracking, gaze tracking, and avatar customization
  – Led UX prototyping and overall system architecture
• Research & Evaluation
  – Conducted user testing and data analysis using SPSS and Python
  – Designed experiments to assess impact on language anxiety
• Academic Contributions
  – Co-authored peer-reviewed publications

Development Environments and Tools

Engine: Unity (C#)
Platform: Meta Quest
Core Technologies: Hand Tracking, Gaze Tracking, AI Avatar Controller, Avatar Rigging & Customization
Research Tools: SPSS, Python
Languages Supported: English

Core Features

• VR Presentation Training: Simulates realistic classroom environments with a virtual audience to help students practice in a controlled space.
• Anxiety Reduction through Repetition: Students experience repeated exposure to speaking scenarios, which gradually reduces their foreign language anxiety.
• Interactive & Personalized: Users can customize avatars and receive dynamic feedback via AI-driven interactions.
• Research-Based Impact: The system was evaluated through in-depth data collection and analysis, contributing to academic research and real-world outcomes.

Publications & Honours

• 03/2025  |  Frontiers in Virtual Reality
  Reducing Foreign Language Anxiety through Repeated Exposure to a Customizable VR Public Speaking Application
  Park, Seonjeong et al.
• 03/2024  |  ACEID 2024 Conference Presentation
  Harnessing Virtual Reality: Tackling Foreign Language Anxiety and Elevating Public Speaking Skills
  Carlisle, Damaris; Park, Seonjeong; Gillies, Marco; Pan, Xueni
• 01/2023 – 09/2024  |  Goldsmiths–LASALLE Partnership Innovation Fund
  Received £10,000 in funding to support ongoing research and development of the VR public speaking system.
• 03/2023  |  IEEE VR 2023 – Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VRW)
  Reducing Foreign Language Anxiety with Virtual Reality
  Park, Seonjeong; Carlisle, Damaris; Gillies, Marco; Pan, Xueni