The Effects of Spatial Sound on Immediate Memory Recall in a Web-based Virtual Reality Learning Environment

Virtual Reality Learning Environments (VRLEs) are increasingly adopted across educational domains due to their immersive and interactive capabilities. While prior research has largely focused on the visual and interactive affordances of Virtual Reality (VR), comparatively less is known about the influence of auditory modality on learning outcomes. In particular, the extent to which spatial audio affects information retention in immersive learning environments remains unclear. This study investigated whether spatial audio configuration influenced immediate memory recall performance within a WebXR-based VRLE, and whether this relationship was moderated by simulated room acoustic condition. Participants completed a short-story learning task within a controlled virtual classroom under two audio playback configurations and two room acoustic conditions. Immediate recall was assessed using recognition-based multiple-choice questions. A total of 39 participants completed the experiment, with 32 datasets retained following exclusion of invalid or uncontrolled submissions. Recall performance was analysed using a 2 × 2 mixed-design ANOVA, with spatial audio configuration as a within-subjects factor and room acoustic condition as a between-subjects factor. No statistically significant main effect of spatial audio configuration was observed, F(1,30) = 0.053, p = .819, ηp ² = .002, nor was there a significant main effect of room acoustics, F(1,30) = 0.065, p = .801, ηp ² = .002. No significant interaction was found, F(1,30) = 1.607, p = .215, ηp ² = .051. Sensitivity analysis indicated the design was powered to detect only relatively large effects (f ≈ 0.38), suggesting smaller effects may have gone undetected. Further research with larger samples and more demanding tasks is required to clarify the educational value of spatial audio in immersive VR contexts.