<![CDATA[The need to adopt more innovative and interactive learning technologies is becoming increasingly important in the digital era. Virtual Reality (VR) technology has emerged as a potential solution to improve the quality of learning in higher education. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of implementing VR to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes in listening skills courses. It was hypothesized that the immersive VR experience would significantly improve motivation and understanding compared to conventional methods. The research adopted a pre-experimental quantitative design with a one-group pretest and post-test-only method, complemented by descriptive analysis. The respondents were 33 undergraduate students at the University of Bengkulu taking listening skills courses. Data were collected through pre-test and post-implementation tests (for outcome comparison), quantitative questionnaires (for engagement and motivation), and interviews. The VR content utilized a 360-degree video simulation from local tourist attractions in Bengkulu City, specifically designed as a stimulus for critical listening practice. The results showed that students gave an overwhelmingly positive assessment, with the average response score across all measured components (novelty, effectiveness, motivation, engagement, immersiveness, and content understanding) exceeding 4.20 on a 5-point Likert scale. Specifically, content understanding and motivation scored 4.33, confirming the positive impact. These findings indicate that VR technology significantly enhances the quality of listening instruction by fostering engagement and deeper content understanding. However, this study still has limitations, such as the small number of respondents and limited knowledge of VR technology. Although challenges related to technology adaptation and infrastructure persist, VR demonstrates great potential as an effective, immersive pedagogical tool in higher education.]]>
