Liberty professor explores virtual reality in language teaching as Fulbright Scholar in Indonesia

Liberty University Professor of Linguistics Dr. Jaeshil Kim returned to campus this fall after spending January through July in Indonesia, where she served as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar. At a Faculty Scholar Talk in November, she relayed her experience to the Liberty community, emphasizing that her Fulbright journey was much more than an academic opportunity.

Kim has partnered as a senior consultant since 2010 with Bridge Builders Global, a nonprofit mission organization stationed in Vietnam that focuses on education development in Southeast Asian countries. She has assessed the needs of teachers, principals, and other school administrators, particularly in underprivileged areas, and funneled valuable resources from the U.S. to these locations. She transferred this passion for assisting teachers into her Fulbright experience.

Kim’s Fulbright grant proposal involved two main components: teaching undergraduate and graduate students at a university and giving in-person and hybrid learning environment workshops to university staff. Though she began her Fulbright journey with these objectives in mind, she had many different opportunities during her time in Indonesia that led her to realize that being a Fulbright Scholar is far more than just an academic opportunity.

“This experience opened my eyes so much to the Muslim communities, cultural exchange, and my own faith,” she said. Indonesia’s population is 87 percent Muslim and about 8 percent Christian.

Kim was hosted by Universitas Airlangga in Surabaya. While there were many lessons she gleaned from living there, Kim said there is “much to learn” from Indonesia’s approach to unity and diversity.

During her Faculty Scholar Talk, Kim showed the Coat of Arms for Indonesia and the Great Seal of the United States, which both emphasize unity and diversity. She said, however, that Indonesia seems to place a bigger focus on unity, while the United States focuses more on diversity.

“Unity and diversity are very evident in daily interactions (in Indonesia),” she said. “They live out their national motto (“Unity in Diversity”) in their everyday lives.”

Kim said she was shocked when she arrived at Universitas Airlangga and was told she would be sharing office space with other faculty. She quickly understood, however, that the shared space was one of the many ways Indonesians practice unity. Her colleagues would also bring lunch to share and eat together daily. Kim said she soon realized that eating together fostered strong community.

“Unity and diversity are not just about tolerating differences; it’s actually celebrating differences,” she said. “By engaging in their communal culture, I actually found a place — not by trying to change or impress anyone but just by showing up and listening and allowing myself to be welcomed. I think this is the core of unity and diversity: finding common ground through shared life. It was a transformative experience that reshaped my perspective of diversity and unity both in Indonesia and back home.”

It was through communing with her colleagues that Kim adjusted her Fulbright objectives to remain open to what the university needed. This led her to co-teach a pilot course with another faculty member, where they infused virtual reality with language teaching to help students learn, use, and incorporate VR technology into their own language teaching practices. While they originally only expected 20-30 students to enroll, they had over 100 participate.

When the course was created, Kim and her co-teacher quickly realized they did not have the funds to purchase the required virtual reality headsets. Kim submitted a proposal for additional funding through Fulbright, and she was given a $2,000 grant, which she used to purchase three virtual reality headsets.

“This experience not only changed my approach to language learning and teaching, but it reminded me of the potential of young students who are given an opportunity,” she said. “Co-teaching this course was a highlight of my Fulbright experience. Emphasizing the importance of collaboration and flexibility, it underscored the purpose Fulbright has of not only being an academic exchange but fostering real connections, mutual learning, and cross-cultural (experiences).”

Kim hopes to incorporate virtual reality language learning into the curriculum in Liberty’s Department of Modern Languages starting next fall.

Along with teaching, Kim said the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offered opportunities to network with individuals she would have never met otherwise. She met with government officials in the American Embassy and U.S. Consulate office and other distinguished scholars and linguists and provided training workshops at other universities in Indonesia where she trained more teachers.

“It’s not just a scholarship,” Kim said. “It’s a life-changing experience that connects you with people passionate about teaching, learning, and making a difference.”

Kim said while she approached her Fulbright journey with the objective of wanting to help the teachers in Indonesia, it was a mutually beneficial experience where they had just as big of an impact on her as she did on them.

“God works profoundly through relationships,” she said. “He showed me the value of letting others into your life and caring for them. My time in Indonesia taught me a deeper trust in God’s timing and purpose. I arrived with clear goals, but God had different plans. By staying open and living my faith naturally and authentically and being willing to meet people where they were, I believe I had a greater impact than I could have planned.”