The language laboratory is an audio or audio-visual installation used as an aid in modern language teaching. They allowed a teacher to listen to and manage student audio via a hard-wired analogue tape deck based systems with 'sound booths' in fixed locations.
A. Appearance and configuration
The 'traditional' system generally comprises a master console (teacher position) which is electrically connected to a number of rows of student booths (US: carrels), typically containing a student tape recorder and headset with a boom arm microphone.
The teacher console is usually fitted with master playback source equipment (tape recorder), some means of monitoring of each booth in the class via the teacher headset and an intercom facility offering 2-way communication between teacher and student.
Better tape laboratories housed the tape machine behind a protective plate (leaving only a control panel accessible to the students) or locked the cassette door.
B. Operation
Once the master program had been transferred onto the student recorders, the teacher would then hand over control of the decks to the students. By pressing the record key in the booth, the student would simultaneously hear the playback of the program whilst being able to record his or her voice in the pauses, using the microphone. This is known as an audio active-comparative system. From a technological point of view, this overdubbing was made possible by use of a two-channel tape recorder.
C. Problems
Language laboratories in the 1970s and 1980s received a bad reputation due to breakdowns. Common problems stem from the limitations and relative complexity of the reel to reel tape system in use at that time. Design played a part too; the simplest language laboratories had no electronic systems in place for the teacher to remotely control the tape decks, relying on the students to operate the decks correctly. Many had no way to stop the tape running off the reel in fast rewind or forward wind, which meant time wasting and greater chances of failure through misuse.
The installations were usually maintained under contract by service engineers, but these often served a county or similar wide area, and would only call at 3-monthly intervals. This meant that if several booths malfunctioned, then for much of that time the laboratory was out of action.
D. Change of Media
The demise of the traditional language laboratory came in the 1980s, with the falling out of favour of the audio-lingual method commonly in place in 1960s teaching methodology.
Many schools transformed their old language labs into computer suites. However, the advent of affordable multimedia capable PCs in the late 1990s led to a resurgence and transformation of the language laboratory with software and hard drives in place of reels of analogue tape.
In the 1990s new digital, hybrid PC based systems allowed extended functionality, Media is 'managed' on these hybrid systems by language lab providers creating a supplementary network over and above the existing PC network for audio connections and communications in fixed locations.
E. Present Day
All professionally run networks are able to work with these ‘software only’ language lab solutions and deliver media synchronously.
Software only systems can be easily installed onto an existing PC based network, making them both multi locational in their access and much more feature rich in how and what media they manage.
The content that is now used in the new language labs is much richer and self authored or free: now not just audio, but video, flash based games, internet etc. and the speed and variety of the delivery of media from teacher to student, student to teacher, is much quicker and therefore much more engaging for both teacher and student.
Students can now access and work from these new 'cloud' labs from their own devices at any time and anywhere. Students can interrogate and record audio and video files and be marked and assessed by their teachers remotely.
F. Digital language labs
Digital language labs have the same principle. A software-only language lab changes the concept of where and what a language lab is. Software can be installed and accessed on any networked PC anywhere on a school, college, or university campus. Software-only systems can be located in one room, from room-to-room or campus-to-campus.
G. Functionality
One of the key differences with the ‘high end’ ‘software only’ products is their ability to work ‘live’ with the students as they record and work with media, thus enhancing the immediacy of the teaching and learning experience.
The next generation digital language labs allow teachers to monitor, control, deliver, group, display, review and collect, audio, video and web based multimedia content. The student player is linked to the teacher console and can play audio, video and web based formats. Students can rewind, stop, start, go back to last silence, record, fast forward, repeat phrase and bookmark.
H. Advantages
-Provides equal opportunity to all the students to hear the instructor irrespective of place where they are seated.
-Instructor can speak to individual or group of students in privacy without interrupting rest of class.
-Motivate students to talk freely and lose the shyness when talking in front of their friends.
-Develops the listening and communication skills, since they hear correct pronunciation through their headphones.
-Teacher can look after each student, which is not possible in case of the regular classroom.
-In a lab instructor can communicate with many students by pressing a mouse key in order to talk with students. Efficient use of time and learning efficiency is much more than usual classroom learning.
-The students can learn the lesson at their own pace thus allowing the classroom as student-centered approach.
I. Disadvantages
-It is very expensive to set up the language lab.
-The lab can engage maximum of 60 students hence space is also difficult for school.
-Student does not have enough patience to listen to pronunciation and practice them so the recording of pronunciation is useless.
-As the teacher listens to students randomly the response can be unorganized and ineffective as there are many students to attend to.
-As technology changes rapidly, there should be a provision for upgrading in the medium of instructions, which may be burden for school in terms of finances.
J.
In the current digital age, we are all connected regardless of the geographic distance.
As a result, we are exposed to different languages, cultures and traditions of people from all over the world. As we live in multilingual and multicultural world, language lab can greatly help students to learn language of their choice, as it will allow students to learn at their own pace.
The language lab provides access to native-speakers via audio-video aids so that they learn correctly.
The language lab provides access to native-speakers via audio-video aids so that they learn correctly.
As strong communication skills are essential in almost all of the professional careers, language lab can help in acquiring this important skill.
A. Appearance and configuration
The 'traditional' system generally comprises a master console (teacher position) which is electrically connected to a number of rows of student booths (US: carrels), typically containing a student tape recorder and headset with a boom arm microphone.
The teacher console is usually fitted with master playback source equipment (tape recorder), some means of monitoring of each booth in the class via the teacher headset and an intercom facility offering 2-way communication between teacher and student.
Better tape laboratories housed the tape machine behind a protective plate (leaving only a control panel accessible to the students) or locked the cassette door.
B. Operation
Once the master program had been transferred onto the student recorders, the teacher would then hand over control of the decks to the students. By pressing the record key in the booth, the student would simultaneously hear the playback of the program whilst being able to record his or her voice in the pauses, using the microphone. This is known as an audio active-comparative system. From a technological point of view, this overdubbing was made possible by use of a two-channel tape recorder.
C. Problems
Language laboratories in the 1970s and 1980s received a bad reputation due to breakdowns. Common problems stem from the limitations and relative complexity of the reel to reel tape system in use at that time. Design played a part too; the simplest language laboratories had no electronic systems in place for the teacher to remotely control the tape decks, relying on the students to operate the decks correctly. Many had no way to stop the tape running off the reel in fast rewind or forward wind, which meant time wasting and greater chances of failure through misuse.
The installations were usually maintained under contract by service engineers, but these often served a county or similar wide area, and would only call at 3-monthly intervals. This meant that if several booths malfunctioned, then for much of that time the laboratory was out of action.
D. Change of Media
The demise of the traditional language laboratory came in the 1980s, with the falling out of favour of the audio-lingual method commonly in place in 1960s teaching methodology.
Many schools transformed their old language labs into computer suites. However, the advent of affordable multimedia capable PCs in the late 1990s led to a resurgence and transformation of the language laboratory with software and hard drives in place of reels of analogue tape.
In the 1990s new digital, hybrid PC based systems allowed extended functionality, Media is 'managed' on these hybrid systems by language lab providers creating a supplementary network over and above the existing PC network for audio connections and communications in fixed locations.
E. Present Day
All professionally run networks are able to work with these ‘software only’ language lab solutions and deliver media synchronously.
Software only systems can be easily installed onto an existing PC based network, making them both multi locational in their access and much more feature rich in how and what media they manage.
The content that is now used in the new language labs is much richer and self authored or free: now not just audio, but video, flash based games, internet etc. and the speed and variety of the delivery of media from teacher to student, student to teacher, is much quicker and therefore much more engaging for both teacher and student.
Students can now access and work from these new 'cloud' labs from their own devices at any time and anywhere. Students can interrogate and record audio and video files and be marked and assessed by their teachers remotely.
F. Digital language labs
Digital language labs have the same principle. A software-only language lab changes the concept of where and what a language lab is. Software can be installed and accessed on any networked PC anywhere on a school, college, or university campus. Software-only systems can be located in one room, from room-to-room or campus-to-campus.
G. Functionality
One of the key differences with the ‘high end’ ‘software only’ products is their ability to work ‘live’ with the students as they record and work with media, thus enhancing the immediacy of the teaching and learning experience.
The next generation digital language labs allow teachers to monitor, control, deliver, group, display, review and collect, audio, video and web based multimedia content. The student player is linked to the teacher console and can play audio, video and web based formats. Students can rewind, stop, start, go back to last silence, record, fast forward, repeat phrase and bookmark.
H. Advantages
-Provides equal opportunity to all the students to hear the instructor irrespective of place where they are seated.
-Instructor can speak to individual or group of students in privacy without interrupting rest of class.
-Motivate students to talk freely and lose the shyness when talking in front of their friends.
-Develops the listening and communication skills, since they hear correct pronunciation through their headphones.
-Teacher can look after each student, which is not possible in case of the regular classroom.
-In a lab instructor can communicate with many students by pressing a mouse key in order to talk with students. Efficient use of time and learning efficiency is much more than usual classroom learning.
-The students can learn the lesson at their own pace thus allowing the classroom as student-centered approach.
I. Disadvantages
-It is very expensive to set up the language lab.
-The lab can engage maximum of 60 students hence space is also difficult for school.
-Student does not have enough patience to listen to pronunciation and practice them so the recording of pronunciation is useless.
-As the teacher listens to students randomly the response can be unorganized and ineffective as there are many students to attend to.
-As technology changes rapidly, there should be a provision for upgrading in the medium of instructions, which may be burden for school in terms of finances.
J.
In the current digital age, we are all connected regardless of the geographic distance.
As a result, we are exposed to different languages, cultures and traditions of people from all over the world. As we live in multilingual and multicultural world, language lab can greatly help students to learn language of their choice, as it will allow students to learn at their own pace.
The language lab provides access to native-speakers via audio-video aids so that they learn correctly.
The language lab provides access to native-speakers via audio-video aids so that they learn correctly.
As strong communication skills are essential in almost all of the professional careers, language lab can help in acquiring this important skill.
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