Transforming communication skills in music education: A cross-cultural study of virtual reality training in the 21st century

The use of virtual reality technologies has proven effective for the development of communication skills. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of utilizing a virtual reality platform in the context of music education to develop communication skills in music students from various cultural backgrounds. The participants in the study were Chinese students and international students aged 18-26 years. They were randomly assigned to an Intervention group (n = 143) and a Control group (n = 145). The students in the Intervention group underwent an 8-week intervention using the VirtualSpeech platform, while the Control group followed a traditional program. Surveys were conducted before and after the 8-week intervention. The Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) and the Communicative Competence Scale (CCS) were used as questionnaires. In the post-test, the Intervention group significantly outperformed the Control group in Group Discussion and Public Speaking (PRCA-24), General Competence, and Behavioral Flexibility (CCS) (p < 0.05). Gender had a significant impact on the results in both scales, while cultural context and year of study at the university influenced the PRCA-24. These results have important implications for higher education practice, particularly in the field of music education, as they confirm the effectiveness of virtual platforms in developing key communication skills in students from diverse cultural contexts.