The digital transformation of foreign-language education in higher vocational colleges is shifting from whether to adopt virtual environments to how intelligent technologies can sustain support for occupational language learning. Early research on the educational metaverse emphasized three-dimensional representation, immersive interaction, and collaborative resource development. However, virtual space alone does not automatically produce reliable language-learning outcomes. Recent advances in generative artificial intelligence, conversational agents, extended reality, and learning analytics now enable virtual environments to generate tasks in real time, simulate multi-party workplace communication, provide individualized feedback, and retain process-based evidence of learning. Drawing on situated learning, engagement theory, and the Cognitive-Affective Model of Immersive Learning, this conceptual article proposes a four-layer framework comprising (a) a scenario layer organized around occupational tasks, (b) an intelligent interaction layer centered on multi-turn dialogue, (c) a learning-evidence layer based on process data, and (d) a governance layer addressing safety, ethics, and equity. The framework is translated into a course-design model that aligns occupational task chains, learning task chains, and assessment evidence chains. A phased implementation pathway is also proposed, focusing on low-cost pilots, teacher capacity development, college-industry collaboration, and risk governance. The central argument is that technological choices should remain subordinate to occupational competence goals: immersion can generate sustainable learning gains only when it is integrated with authentic tasks, high-quality feedback, and structured reflection.

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