View of LANGUAGE LAB: ITS IMPORTANCE AND ROLE IN LEARNING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

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LANGUAGE LAB: ITS IMPORTANCE AND ROLE IN LEARNING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

Dr. DIGVIJAY PANDYA Associate Professor, Pacific University, Udaipur.

ABSTRACT

Communication implies carrying and receiving of messages in which language is being used as a medium to serve the purpose. People speak many languages throughout the world but when it comes to talk about the Global Language there emerges the name of English.

It is not easy to learn any foreign language and that is what the biggest hurdle of the way of all those students who want to develop command over the global language. As, the vocabulary, pronunciation, way of expression etc. are altogether different from the respected native language, students find it too hard to get proficiency in it. This need to be acquainted with the Global Language requires some solutions. Language laboratory is a technological approach to impart the related knowledge of English. It not only offers a new way to get affinity with the language but by making it more interesting accelerates the process of learning too. It is a break through to all the traditional teaching pedagogies. Audio – visual study material, advance soft- wares‟ assistance and scope for the related exercises give a good boost to the students‟ spirit of learning. It provides an interactive learning environment that enables the students to get practical knowledge of the acquired proficiency in the language.

Introduction:

What is language? As we all know that it is a medium of communication.

Communication implies sending and receiving of messages in which language is being used as a medium to serve the purpose. People speak many languages throughout the world but when it comes to talk about the Global Language there emerges the name of English. The importance of English is not because of its users who are spread throughout the world but what it is used for. We don‟t need English to live but to make progress. The importance of English is growing with every passing minute because of its copious use in each and every sector of work.

Language Laboratory

Language Laboratory is one of the most effective teaching methods of the present language acquisition pedagogies. It is an audio-visual computerized device for teaching and learning. It can play a significant role in the learning of the Global language i.e. English in a mirthful atmosphere and triumphant way.

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The Computer Assisted Language Laboratory (CALL) not only motivates the students‟ learning attitude but provides an interactive learning. If we try to go deep into the matter than we see that the first language lab was established at the University of Grenoble, France in around 1908. Till the end of 1990s the laboratories were tape-based systems using reel to reel or cassettes.

The present status of these laboratories is far more satisfactory as now the installations are generally on multimedia computers. The features like master consol and easy access to all the connected units of computers through networking are truly helpful and convenient not only for learners but for teachers too. Sharing the course material, voice recording, listening, reading and writing exercises, situational conversation etc. are some other effective features of the language based soft-wares. It gives equal weightage to LSRW (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing) skills of language learning.

With the advancement of computer hardware and multimedia technology this method is becoming more and more user friendly. There are several related soft-wares available in the market. Some of them are as follows:

 Rosetta Stone Language Library by Rosetta Stone Inc.

 Oréll Digital Language Lab (ODLL) by Oréll Technology Empowered

 Digital Language Lab (DLL) by Sun-Tech I.T. Solutions Limited etc.

These soft-wares are designed by using „Function Oriented‟ concept of teaching. Their study material is molded according to the user-friendly interface.

Common Features of the modern language lab soft-wares:

 The teacher will have a master consol unit to control all the connected computers.

 Teacher and students wear headphones to listen to the respected lessons/units.

 Students have a recording unit for practice and accuracy check.

 Teacher and students positions are mostly connected via LAN (local area network).

 A server computer or a separate storage device is often used to store lesson materials in a digital format.

Operation of the software:

At first the teacher switches on the master program and transfers it onto the students‟ recorder. Then the teacher allows the students to control and use the software as per instructions. There after the students can go through the lessons one by one. During listening to the lessons and solving the exercises they can here and record their voice with the help of microphone. This is

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known as an audio-active comparative system which allows overdubbing by the use of a two-channel tape recorder.

Merits of Language Lab

1. Audio-Video clarity: All the related topics and videos are of good quality so that there remains no ambiguity on the understanding level of students or teachers.

2. Students’ Attention: There laid an emphasis on making the lessons more attractive and interesting rather than dull and monotonous that increases the level of students‟ attention positively.

3. Better Comprehension: The use of diagrams, images etc. develop better comprehension ability among students as it is scientifically proved that images have more lasting impression on our mind rather than words.

4. Colloquial Touch of the Language: The way things are discussed through the medium of lessons, units, topics etc. is not solely formal but sometimes informal so that the target students can acquaint themselves with the informal way communication too.

5. Individual Attention: The facility of master consol unit provides complete control over each and every student‟s activity. The teacher can easily monitor every student independently and can check and guide his/her movements without disturbing others.

6. Self Evaluation: The students, by recording his/her voice for checking the accuracy level, can evaluate themselves. This enables them to measure their progress and work accordingly.

7. Independent Learning: The freedom to read, revise and evaluate on their own boosts the spirit of learning independently among students.

8. Helpful to win over English phobia: The automated learning environment lends a hand to develop confidence among students to confront with the language and their persistent efforts of learning help them to win over English phobia.

In this throat cutting competitive world, the scenario of world education is changing rapidly. Varied art forms have long been used as a medium of communication and in modern context we can understand them as the part of non-verbal medium of communication. As the aim of written and oral communication is altogether different, it is crystal clear that oral communication is much more inclined towards the clarity of understanding rather than accuracy of grammatical rules. In this regard Language Lab plays a vital role to impart the knowledge of communicative English in the best possible way.

Why to use Language lab:

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“In an average foreign language class, all students combined speak only 23.5%

of the class time.” (DESI 2006, pg. 48-49)

If we try to compare this ratio of students speaking the foreign language to the length of the class that is around 55 minutes than it equals to approximately 12.92 minutes per class. As this time is the speaking time of all students put together, the time each student gets to practice speaking becomes less as class size increases. Let‟s see how much speaking practice each student gets during a 55 minute foreign language class in relation with the class size:

Sr.No. Class Type Speaking Time

Class Size (10 Students)

Speaking Time

Class Size (30 Students)

01 Traditional Class 1.29 minute per student 43 seconds per student 02 Language Lab 15 minutes per student

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15 minutes per student

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In the Language Lab, all students can practice speaking simultaneously without disturbing or distracting each other regardless of the class size and that is how they get comparatively more time to speak. Where in any traditional class of 10 students, a student gets 1.29 minutes of speaking practice there in the Language Lab he/she gets around 15 minutes for the same purpose.

Besides this he/she makes practice of listening, reading and writing skills too.

(Note: * Actual speaking time per student can be considered higher depending on what type of exercises teacher conducts.)

Foreign language learning lends itself naturally to the use of media. The content that is now used in modern language labs is much richer and up to the mark including audio, video, flash based games, internet etc. Apart from this the speed, accuracy and variety of the delivery of media from teacher to student and vice versa is quick, easy and interesting.

Because of the accuracy of pronunciation as all the audio-video material is presented by the native speakers of English, there leaves no scope for any error. Students feel good when they learn in such a different and native ambiance. Other than the traditional classroom, lab creates an easy atmosphere. Language lab plays a crucial role in learning English as a second language.

Eventually we can say that language lab is the ray of hope and need of the present time to learn English as the second language. The quality and accuracy of the language proficiency will definitely be of the desired standard when it is being taught through the medium of Language Lab. Indeed, we need a properly trained person to handle the lab and can instruct the students accordingly but once they (students) get acquainted with the use of language lab software their language deficiencies cannot resist them to progress in life.

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The highly advance technology along with lucid pedagogical approach stands out in the race of teaching – learning methods of language acquisition.

References:

1. Allen and Cambell : Teaching English as a Second Language Tata McGraw Hill Pub.Co.Ltd.

2. 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.

3. DESI; 2006; German Institute for International Educational Research.

4. E. Sureshkumar and P.Sreehari: A Handbook for English Language Laboratories CUP.2009.

5. John Elllison Kahn Ed. Reader‟s Digest: How to Write and Speak Better 2008.

6. Julian Dakin: The Language Laboratory and Language Learning , Longman Group LTD. 1980.

7. Krishna Mohan and Meera Banerji: Developing Communication Skills 2nd Edition Macmillan, Pub.2011.

8. Language lab From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

9. Technology in the Service of Foreign Language Learning: The Case of the Language Laboratory - Warren b. Roby.

10. Vanderplank, Robert; 2009; Deja vu? A decade of research on language laboratories, television and video in language learning;

Cambridge University Press.