Why You Should Invest in a Language Lab
Long gone are the days of learning grammar by copying from the blackboard. Today, language labs are undoubtedly the most effective way to learn languages. Thanks to new technologies, teachers can interact with their students by providing them with the most appropriate activities for each language skill.
What is a language laboratory?
It is a computer classroom converted into a multimedia classroom. Thanks to a hardware and software system, the teacher can control the students’ computers, interact with them and provide them with multimedia activities so that they can practise languages. It is a fun and interactive method where the teacher is always in control and the students can communicate with each other.
Traditionally, language learning is usually divided into four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. In more traditional methodologies, some of these skills are more difficult to practise in a conventional classroom because of the large number of students.
However, language labs allow the four main language skills to be practised interactively, regardless of the number of students. For example, students can chat with each other, also through group chats.
What are the advantages of educational technology for language teaching?
- Real-time interaction: Educational technology enables real-time interaction between students and teachers, as well as collaboration between students themselves. Language labs equipped with online communication tools, such as chat and video conferencing, encourage speaking practice and the exchange of ideas in any language. Students can engage in conversation exercises, participate in discussions and receive immediate feedback from their teachers. This helps build fluency and confidence in the language.
- Access to multimedia resources: A language lab equipped with educational technology offers students access to a wide variety of multimedia resources such as videos, audio and interactive games. These resources enrich learning by providing an immersive experience. Students can listen and repeat sentences, practice pronunciation and improve their listening comprehension with the support of digital tools designed specifically for language learning.
- Personalisation of learning: Learners have their own needs and learning pace. Educational technology ensures that content and activities can be adapted to the individual needs of each student. These language labs allow the creation of personalised study plans and provide specific materials for each student’s skills and goals.
- Objective assessment: Educational technology also facilitates objective assessment of student progress. Language labs allow quizzes and tests to be taken, answers to be automatically marked and results to be available immediately. This saves teachers time and provides students with detailed feedback on their performance. It also helps to identify areas for improvement and highlight their strengths.
- Preparation for the globalised world: This type of laboratory prepares students to face the challenges of a globalised world. Fluency in other languages not only gives them academic and employment advantages, but also allows them to understand and appreciate different cultures. In addition, familiarity with the use of technology in learning provides them with valuable digital skills that are increasingly in demand.
At Soroll Electrònic we design and install our Optimas School tool in any school. We turn any computer classroom into a real digital classroom, either as a language laboratory or to teach any other linguistic discipline. Do you want to check the complete catalogue? Click here to download it!
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