This study was conducted in order to better understand how, if at all, language centers (LCs) are relevant in current technological and methodological contexts of second language education. Five language centers housed by four different institutions of higher education in the western United States were examined. Two representatives from each of…

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…

Language laboratories, developed in the 1970s under the influence of the Audiolingual Method, were superseded several decades later by computer-assisted language learning (CALL) work stations (Gündüz, 2005). The World Wide Web was developed shortly thereafter. From this introduction and the well-documented and staggering growth of the Internet and…

Self-access and language advising are relatively recent and increasingly common types of language support offered in schools and tertiary institutions around the world. There is a great deal of anecdotal support for the positive contribution of such support to student learning. Self-access and language advising hold strong potential as…

This paper reports on the development of a self-access center (SAC) within a university context, and focuses on the kind of support mechanisms provided to learners to enhance their self-directed learning (SDL) skills. After providing background information on the center and its counseling service, the paper shows how changes in the university…

This article reports on how foreign language instructors at Arizona State University at Tempe are encouraged and taught to use technology in their teaching. Section one introduces the reasons why technology is helpful for foreign language instruction. Section two describes foreign language instructors' attitude toward using technology in their…

Illustrates the conditions (facilities, support staff, and faculty training) necessary for developing the technology-based teaching of languages and the sophisticated use of computers and video and audio equipment, including the type of environment which provides access to materials and information and opportunities for testing, publication, and…

This article furnishes statistical data from a survey of university language/learning laboratories. The nature of the facility, distribution of disciplines and technologies, supervisor information including academic rank, title, degree, sex, salary, and information about other employees in 89 universities are included. (CHK)

This bibliography cites books, articles, and bibliographies that deal with language laboratories. Entries include both European and American publications, and most have been published since 1965. (CLK)

Discusses the planning, preparing, assessing, and evaluation of language laboratory technology and pedagogy. (AM)

Describes problems associated with listening to recorded materials and the benefits of using a speech compressor/expander. The device speeds up or slows down recorded speech without distortions and has been used with success in second language instruction, research, and testing. (JN)

Few learning centers exist without some level of digital services. On the most basic level, this may be a low-end computer with a printer for word processing. On a more advanced level, there may be dozens of high-end networked computers connected to the Internet. Dartmouth College's Language Lab has gone through various transformations. Until…

Examines the benefits of language laboratories for learning Japanese. After reviewing related literature and selected issues on educational technology, the article presents results from a survey of Australian college students using a language laboratory. Overall, students appreciated and were positive about the language laboratory, though some had…

Educators are now realizing, due to recent technological advances in the cassette tape field, that they can have a complete and educationally sound lab system that will adapt to nearly any independent study situation without having to spend large sums of money. Under budgetary constraints and the desire to provide for a learning lab with the…