There has been a lack of both educational focus on computational thinking (CT) and research into effective methods of assessing CT competence. Today, there have been dramatic changes in how, what, and when students learn. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and artificially assisted digitalization promise more conscious, independent, and intrinsically driven learning by changing the learning environment and providing the potential for transformative learning experiences according to the learning needs of generation Z. Through a metacognition lens, this article seeks to explore virtual reality as an implication of meta-learning and characterizing the level of meta-learning in universities. Next, the feasibility of using virtual reality technology to investigate how this technology influences meta-learning is investigated. This paper aims to explore the perceptions of college students regarding student-centred approaches to Virtual Reality technology as possible predictors of academic achievement. A student-centered digital technology approach is designed in faculty computer English classes. A total of 350 population and 64 students were deliberately selected to be involved in this study. Following a mixed methods approach, quantitative data were collected from student questionnaires, and qualitative data explored the results of interviews with students learning English in virtual reality. The findings of this paper provide support for the use of an active learning environment where students are actively engaged during learning, and this paper also presents students’ perceptions in tertiary institutions as a new theoretical framework for meta-learning supported by smart gadgets that will enable meta-learning-future foreign language learners, or rather meta thinkers, to go beyond the ordinary level of knowledge and to higher and more advanced levels of intelligence. Given the important role of technology and metalearning in learning, this paper recommends a new English language education policy and curriculum.