Although English language learners (ELLs) have an increasing presence in postsecondary education, their unique needs are often unmet by institutions of higher education, partly resulting from their diversity--they vary in their educational backgrounds, English proficiency levels, career goals, and reasons for learning English. Many ELLs spend…

In this paper, the literature related to the use of technology in the languages classroom will be explored. In relation to the teaching and learning methodologies and approaches past and present as well as current research, comparisons are made between the audio-lingual/visual classroom and the digital classroom by way of describing and comparing…

Practically since their availability, a succession of audiovisual recording devices (e.g., reel-to-reel, VCRs, PCs) has been used to capture language samples, and myriad playback and broadcast devices (e.g., phonographs, radios, televisions) have provided access to authentic speech samples. The espousal of audiolingual theory in the 1950s brought…

Three years ago, the language lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison encountered the same challenge many campuses face. Older analog technologies were getting harder--in some cases impossible--to maintain, thus making the move to digital technologies a necessity. A typical solution would have been to digitize existing materials and substitute…