Getting children to practise a second language outside the classroom is hard. Traditional methods — worksheets, textbooks, structured exercises — struggle to provide the kind of natural, contextual practice that builds real confidence. For Welsh immersion programmes, where learners may have limited exposure to the language beyond school hours, this gap matters.
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Gwynedd Council
Date
April 28, 2026
Services
VR Training
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Getting children to practise a second language outside the classroom is hard. Traditional methods like worksheets, textbooks, structured exercises often struggle to provide the kind of natural, contextual practice that builds real confidence. For Welsh immersion programmes, where learners may have limited exposure to the language beyond school hours, this gap matters.
Gwaith Gwynedd came to us with an idea: a virtual environment where children could practise Welsh not as a lesson, but as an experience. Moving through a living, interactive world, speaking and responding in the language as part of the game.
Aberwla has now been running for over two years, with continued use in Welsh immersion programmes across the region.
Three interconnected problems shaped the brief:
The challenge was to build something that felt like play, but delivered real language practice.
Aberwla - a fully navigable virtual reality world designed specifically for Welsh language learners. Children explore an imaginary Welsh town, moving through scenarios that reflect real-life situations: interacting with characters, answering questions, and navigating their environment entirely in Welsh.
The experience is built around multiple choice interactions, keeping participation accessible regardless of ability level, while the virtual world provides the contextual richness that traditional formats can’t replicate. Up to 30 learners can enter the space simultaneously, each with their own avatar, practising alongside their classmates in real time.
The multiplayer design is central to the concept. Language learning is a social activity, and Aberwla puts that at the heart of the experience. Children are practising Welsh with each other, not just responding to prompts on a screen.
Following the success of the initial commissioned version, a free downloadable edition of Aberwla is now available on the Meta and Pico app stores, extending access to schools and families beyond the original programme.
Aberwla won the Wales Technology Awards 2024 in the Best EdTech Product category — recognition of the project’s impact on Welsh language learning and its innovative use of immersive technology in an education context.
“I had no idea on where ‘this journey’ would have led me to, the journey and vision has finally come to fruition! I would have no hesitation at all in recommending them to anyone who has an ‘intangible’ idea or concept that they wish to turn into visual reality.”
Hywyn Williams — Participant Engagement Officer, Gwaith Gwynedd
Language acquisition depends on exposure, repetition, and confidence — and confidence comes from having space to practise without the pressure of formal assessment. Aberwla creates that space in a format that children find genuinely engaging.
For Welsh immersion programmes, this kind of tool addresses a real structural gap: learners can spend hours inside the language in a way that no textbook or worksheet can replicate. The multiplayer element adds a social dimension that mirrors how language is actually used — in conversation, with other people, in context.
The availability of a free downloadable version on Meta and Pico platforms also demonstrates how a commissioned educational tool can be extended to reach a much wider audience, compounding its value beyond the original brief.
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