What is a Language Lab – and why use one in teaching?

Today’s 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 usually consist of the following:

• Teacher has a computer with appropriate software for conducting language exercises
• Teacher and students wear headsets that block outside sounds and disturbances
• Students use a media player/recorder for listening to audio and recording speech
• Teacher and student positions are connected via LAN (local area network) and, in some cases, separate audio cabling
• A server computer or a separate storage device is often used to store lesson materials in a digital format

The purpose of a language lab is to have students actively participate in language learning exercises and get more practice than is otherwise possible in a traditional classroom environment.

In general, language labs offer the following benefits:

• Text, images, audio, and video can be easily integrated into lesson plans; teachers can alter materials to fit their requirements
• Teachers can manage and monitor students’ computers via his/her console, keep track of students’ work, and more
• Students can record their own voices and play back the recordings, interact with each other and the teacher, and store results
• Students can self-access for independent learning which includes access to resources outside class

What is the greatest benefit of using a language lab?

In an average foreign language class, all students combined speak the language for 23.5% of class time (DESI 2006, pg. 48-49). In a 45-minute-long class, this equates to approximately 10 ½ minutes. Remember, this is the total speaking time for all students put together.

As the class size increases, the amount of time each student gets to practice speaking decreases. In a class of 10 students, each student gets about one minute of speaking time. In a class of 30 students, each student speaks the language for about 21 seconds.

However, with a Language Lab all students in the class can speak the language simultaneously without distracting each other, regardless of class size.

Average speaking times with and without a Language Lab

*Note: actual speaking time per student can be considerably higher depending on what type of exercises teacher conducts.

Sources

1. Vanderplank, Robert; 2009; Deja vu? A decade of research on language laboratories, television and video in language learning; Cambridge University Press
2. DESI; 2006; German Institute for International Educational Research
3. Davies, Graham; Bangs, Paul; Frisby, Roger; Walton, Elizabeth. 2005. Setting up effective digital language laboratories and multimedia ICT suites for MFL. CILT, The National Centre for Languages and the Association for Language Learning