A VR classroom successfully brings out how teachers really use their voice when teaching
How this was rated
Experimental study with moderate sample (n=30) in female primary school teachers. Informative for voice-under-load research; findings specific to the population studied.
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A THREE-condition experiment: teachers delivered lessons in a real classroom (in vivo), in a virtual classroom (in virtuo), and in a free speech control situation. Voice parameters (intensity, pitch, intonation) and temporal measures (pause duration) were compared across all three. The virtual classroom successfully elicited teaching-voice characteristics matching in-vivo teaching, providing validation that VR can substitute for real classrooms in voice research and support.
An experimental study suggesting that a VR speaking context can be used to study vocal load in female primary-school teachers; findings are specific to the population and task.
Key findings
- Three conditions compared: free speech control (facing experimenter), in vivo teaching (real classroom), in virtuo teaching (VR classroom)
- Virtual classroom elicited significant increases in vocal frequency, intensity, and intonation versus free speech control - matching the in vivo classroom pattern
- Longer pauses were observed in the virtual classroom condition - a temporal vocal characteristic not previously highlighted in the existing description
- Background noise in the VR classroom was individually matched to each teacher's real classroom (Lombard effect: speakers raise voice in noise)
Background
Teachers are among the most common professional groups seeking support for voice-related concerns, as the demands of projecting their voice in noisy classrooms day after day can lead to vocal fatigue and other difficulties. Understanding and supporting healthy voice use requires observing how teachers actually use their voice while teaching - but arranging clinical observation in a real classroom is logistically challenging and may alter natural behavior.
Remacle and colleagues investigated whether a virtual reality classroom could elicit the same voice characteristics that teachers naturally use during real teaching, thereby validating VR as an ecologically valid tool for voice assessment and support.
What the researchers did
Remacle and colleagues compared three conditions within the same group of 30 female primary school teachers. Each teacher completed the same lesson in three settings: (1) a free speech control (speaking to the experimenter in a neutral setting), (2) in vivo teaching in their usual real classroom with 16 pupils aged 9-12, and (3) in virtuo teaching in a VR classroom with the same 16 virtual pupils. Critically, background noise in the VR classroom was individually matched to each teacher’s real classroom recording - ensuring the Lombard effect (speakers raise their voice in ambient noise) operated similarly across conditions.
Voice parameters measured included fundamental frequency (F0), vocal intensity, intonation, and temporal measures including pause duration. The design allowed direct within-person comparison of all three conditions.
What they found
The virtual classroom elicited significant increases in vocal frequency, intensity, and intonation versus the free speech control - matching the pattern observed in the in vivo real classroom condition. The virtual condition thus successfully replicated the vocal demands that a real teaching situation produces. A notable temporal finding: teachers produced longer pauses in the virtual classroom - an aspect of teaching voice not previously highlighted in this study’s description.
Importantly, the real classroom (in vivo) condition was included as a direct comparison, making this a proper concurrent validity study - not merely a comparison to free speech. Earlier characterizations of this study as having “no comparison with actual in-classroom voice recordings” were factually incorrect; the in vivo condition was a central part of the design.
Why this matters
This three-condition design provides stronger validity evidence than a VR-vs-control-speech comparison alone. By demonstrating that the virtual classroom elicits voice changes equivalent to those in a real classroom - and by individually matching background noise - the study establishes that VR can serve as an ecologically valid substitute for real classroom observation in voice research and clinical work.
Limitations
The study included only female primary school teachers, so findings may not generalize to male teachers or other educational levels. The VR classroom used a head-mounted display with 16 virtual pupils - a controlled and specific implementation. The teaching tasks were each brief; whether voice behaviors remain stable over full-length lessons in VR requires further investigation.
Implications for practice
VR classrooms can serve as ecologically valid settings for assessing and supporting teachers' voice use without needing access to a real classroom Clinicians working with teachers who experience voice-related concerns could use VR to observe and address teaching-voice behaviors in a controlled, repeatable environment The validated ecological validity of the VR classroom supports its use in both research and clinical voice practice
Where this connects to Therapy withVR
The study above is independent research and does not endorse any product. The notes below are commentary from withVR on how the themes in this research relate to features of Therapy withVR. The research findings are not claims about Therapy withVR.
Classroom Environment
This study validated that virtual classrooms elicit genuine teaching-voice characteristics - Therapy withVR's Classroom with 31 student positions replicates this research scenario exactly.
Sound System
Add ambient noise and school sounds to create the vocally demanding conditions teachers face - practicing vocal projection in realistic classroom acoustics.
Eye Contact Toggle
Toggle whether student avatars watch the speaker - adding the social presence this study showed influences teaching voice behavior.
Cite this study
If you reference this study in your work, the canonical citation formats are:
@article{remacle2021,
author = {Remacle, A. and Bouchard, S. and Etienne, A. M. and Rivard, M. C. and Morsomme, D.},
title = {A virtual classroom can elicit teachers' speech characteristics: evidence from acoustic measurements during in vivo and in virtuo lessons, compared to a free speech control situation},
journal = {Virtual Reality},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1007/s10055-020-00491-1},
url = {https://withvr.app/evidence/studies/remacle-2021}
}TY - JOUR
AU - Remacle, A.
AU - Bouchard, S.
AU - Etienne, A. M.
AU - Rivard, M. C.
AU - Morsomme, D.
TI - A virtual classroom can elicit teachers' speech characteristics: evidence from acoustic measurements during in vivo and in virtuo lessons, compared to a free speech control situation
JO - Virtual Reality
PY - 2021
DO - 10.1007/s10055-020-00491-1
UR - https://withvr.app/evidence/studies/remacle-2021
ER - Know of research that should be in this hub? If a relevant peer-reviewed study is not listed here, send the reference to hello@withvr.app. The hub is kept up to date as the literature grows.
Funding & independence
Disclosure: co-author Stephane Bouchard is the founder and CEO of Cliniques et Developpement In Virtuo, a commercial VR therapy company. This COI was not listed in the paper's declaration but is noted here for transparency based on publicly available information about the author. No withVR BV involvement in funding, study design, or authorship. Summary prepared independently by withVR using the published paper.