Language Lab

Language Lab

What is a language lab

      Modern language labs are known by many names, digital language lab, multimedia language lab, language media center and multimedia learning center to name but a few.

            Language labs are audio and audio-visual systems that help students learn new languages through listening and speaking.In their everyday, old-school language labs required hardware to be set up in classrooms. The teacher occupied one master console while students sat at booths with mics. The teacher fed students educational content through a cassette-based system which the students could then listen and respond to at their own pace.

        With a language lab, all students in the class can speak simultaneously without distracting each other regardless of the class size. Without a language lab, in a class of more than 10 students, each student gets less than one minute of speaking practice.

https://youtu.be/rN8kRNblev8

History of Language Lab:

         The word ‘laboratory’ originated in the late 15th century. It refers to a specific structure or a room for mixing chemicals and preparing medicines by science experts. Scientists used to follow structured steps to perform their experiments and research purpose. With the progress of science few types of mechanical and electronic equipment were added to this structure. Later on this structure was introduced for teaching learning process. Any learner can develop one’s subject knowledge practically in controlled conditions. Observe and improve through own experience is the key concern of any laboratory. Today specific requirements of subjects and technology have changed the form of laboratories. It has transcended the boundaries of various subjects. Nowadays laboratory is been used by engineering and language students as well. Popularly it is abbreviated as lab. Language learning has its separate requirements like all other subjects. There are four skills to master as Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. The sequence of all these skills is also important.

               Language laboratories have also greatly improved and are rapidly becoming more complex and expensive. Each student commonly has a tape recorder as well as headphones and a microphone in his booth. There is also visual equipment such as videotape recorders, overhead projectors, opaque projectors, and slide and movie projectors.Since 1950s, language laboratories have well been developed.

                 Knowledge gives birth to technology and technology helps in knowledge spreading. It is known fact that any new invention in technology proves to be a boon for those who uses it in a better way. Educational purpose is one of the best way of utilizing this discovery. Such best examples are invention of printing press, radio, television and computer. The best use of printing press is in printing material related to teaching learning process. In the same way radio and television were invented for information broadcasting and entertainment but they both are also being used for educational purpose. The history of teaching through technology is dated behind in 1943. A red letter day was when a separate department for learning English was established in BBC in the year 1943. After two years of meticulous work, in 1945 BBC World Service came up with the first English language teaching programme. Initially the program was known as ‘English 43 by Radio’ and after changing few more names today it is known as ‘BBC Learning English’. According to Wikipedia also “The Light Programme was a BBC radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and music from 1945 until 1967, when it was rebranded as BBC Radio 2. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the long wave frequency which had earlier been used – prior to the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 – by the BBC National Programme.”

               The history of the American language laboratory can be divided in to five periods, 1)tht beginning period, before World War II, 2)the establishing period,  until 1958 when the National Defense Education Academy, which supplied largely amounts of money for education, was passed, 3) the developing period, until the end of the 1960s 4) the diminishing period, until the end of the 1970s,  and 5) the revival period,  until today. 

Advantages of language lab:

        Students learn much faster in the language lab. Use more resources and varied activities than in a traditional classroom.Language labs allow students to practice the language with a much wider variety of activities and exercises based on the computer. Language labs are an intuitive tool for both the student and teacher.It is very useful to enhance our Listing Speaking Reading Writing  Skill.Language lab software can help to learn language in simple,easiest way and it improves our vocabulary.

Disadvantages of Language lab:

It is difficult to get a student’s attention whenever they are on the computer. Muscular-skeletal injuries and vision problems can arise whenever students spend too much time using the computer. The authenticity of a particular student's work is also a problem as online just about anyone can do a project rather than the actual student itself.The assessments that are computer marked generally have a tendency of being only knowledge-based and not necessarily practicality-based.

                                    

Past, Present and Future of Language Laboratories :

 LANGUAGE LABORATORIES: PAST:

          According to Kitao  language laboratory has their root in United States of America since 1950s. He divided the history of the American language laboratory to five periods; namely, the beginning period, the establishing period, the developing period, the diminishing period, and the revival period.

A) Media: In 1950s, language laboratories were established to provide language training with advanced technology for language learners. In early history, phonographs, a kind of record player was used to record sound and became a tool for teaching foreign languages in the nineteenth century. The first of them was established at the University of Grenoble in 1908.

B) Criticism:  However, these original language laboratories (1970s-1980s) were heavily criticized on their reliability and effectiveness in teaching foreign languages.The traditional CALL used in the early 1980s was computer-based materials for language teaching requiring interaction between learners and the computer screen. Tasks are; for example, filling in gaped texts, matching sentence halves and doing multiple-choice activities

 LANGUAGE LABORATORY: PRESENT:

Since 1950s, language laboratories have well been developed.
A) Podcasts: Using a podcast is similar to listening to radio or watching a TV show. However, a podcast allows you to listen to or watch on a topic that interests you whenever you want to. Teachers can use podcasts to present extracts of authentic audiovisual material. Learners can download these materials from the internet. The content can be used both inside and outside the classroom.Nowadays, technology helps teachers become podcasts content producers, providing learners with supplementary pedagogical material that supports independent learning, revision, extension or “catch-up” material.

B) Blogs:  Blogs have existed on the Internet since 1998. Later in August, 1999, Blogger, a free blog hosting service was launched.Blog is an online personal journal that can be updated as frequent as the author wishes. Blogs are popular in several areas and that makes it no wonder education can’t afford to ignore. As blogs provide space and tools for writing, EFL writing can employ it as a powerful teaching tool.Blogs benefit academic in several ways. In some universities, blogs were used to be a mean for exchanging of information with students in other countries.The tutor blogs are created by the teacher to communicate with students regarding class activities. The student blogs are owned by the students as a personal blog or as a gateway to communicate with others. The last type of blog is class blogs. Students enrolling the same course may be assigned to use these blogs as a class project.

C) Wikis: Wikis and blogs are quite similar in some senses. They both require the EFL learners to write and share on the web pages. A wiki can be used in the context of doing project work ranging from a simple low-level project e.g., making a poster presentation about a famous person, to high-level e.g., investigative work where learners research a subject and present polemical views and opinions in a report or debate.

 FUTURE OF LANGUAGE LABORATORIES:

While e Learning will undoubtedly be with EFL management, it is very difficult to say what the labs in the future EFL classes will be like. In fact the question is whether language laboratories will exist.EFL teachers need to reconsider if there is the need for a lab that provides physical space for equipment and materials, teachers and students. Or what we need is simply technology that allows, enables and manages the learning.

conclusion:

         The language laboratory is a very helpful tool for practicing and assessing one’s speech in any language. It provides a facility which allows the student to listen to model pronunciation, repeat and record the same, listen to their performance and compare with the model, and do self-assessment. Since the language laboratory gives every learner of any language freedom to learn at their own pace, it is flexible and does not necessarily require a teacher all the time.