["Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Volume 42, Issue 3, June 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\n\nBackground\nPrevious research has shown that adding a pedagogical agent (PA) exhibiting humanlike embodiment cues into lecture videos has the potential to facilitate multimedia learning; however, empirical evidence regarding the impact of learning with these embodied PAs in virtual reality (VR) settings remains limited.\n\n\nObjectives\nThis study aims to investigate the effect of the media environment type and the presence of embodied PA on learners' learning performance, intrinsic motivation, social presence, and cognitive load in VR lecture video settings.\n\n\nMethods\nA total of 125 participants were divided into one of four experimental conditions formed by a 2 (embodied PA: present vs. absent) × 2 (media environment: 2D screen vs. immersive VR) factorial between‐subjects experimental design.\n\n\nResults and Conclusions\nResults indicated that (a) VR significantly enhanced intrinsic motivation and social presence; meanwhile, the interaction effects between the two variables were observed: (b) embodied PA in VR led to better learning performance and social presence than on the screen, while this effect on learning performance was reversed in no‐PA conditions; moreover, (c) under screen conditions, no‐PA resulted in higher learning performance and social presence than embodied PA. These findings highlight that the media environment serves as a boundary condition for embodied PA effectiveness, support the combined use of embodied PA and VR to enhance learning content, and also indicate the advantages of delivering verbal‐narrated video instruction via a 2D screen when it is difficult to create embodied PA and afford VR equipment.\n\n"]