The value of the language laboratory of self-instruction is stressed. Methods of using multi-phase drills are given, proceeding from cue repetition to open-ended situations. The presentation of prose texts in the laboratory is examined. (Author/JB)

Describes the history of use of language laboratories in foreign language instruction and argues that both the quality and quantity of such activities fell short of the laboratories' potential. (CB)

This issue begins with a description (by Henri Niedzielski) of 10 performance objectives devised for a course in French phonetics at the University of Hawaii. The other articles in this issue are concerned with the following topics: (1) a self-instruction approach that allows colleges to offer courses in nearly every language to as few as two…

Proposes a method to be used in the language laboratory to develop audiolingual skills and at the same time give the student an active role in the use of the laboratory. (AM)

The language laboratory is a potentially valuable teaching aid. The students' motivation must not be destroyed, however, by forcing them to sit behind a tape recorder in a booth for 45 minutes. They must be given breaks, the working pace must be changed several times, and they must be convinced that they are doing something useful for their…

A workshop was given to identify and point out the limitations of mechanical language laboratory drills, and to compare them to drills which have been classified as being meaningful or communicative. Mechanical drills do not require an understanding of the meaning of the sentence; there is not consideration of context; and there is no connection…

After finding that the English Pronunciation course required at Regensburg University reduced errors by only 14 percent, a course was developed in recognizing errors (one's own and others'), with emphasis on vowel reduction, speech rhythm, elementary intonation and liaison. As a result, errors were reduced by 67 percent. (IFS/WGA)

The successful incorporation of computer-assisted language learning into the college-level foreign language curriculum is a much-needed improvement over language laboratories. Foreign language departments have developed software packages for the Macintosh microcomputer involving language pattern drills and language error-analysis. (CB)

The theme of this issue of ELT Documents is the use of the language laboratory in language learning. An article by A. Maley summarizes the conference on the use of the language laboratory for advanced learners, held in Paris, 2-4 Oct. 1974, from which two main perspectives emerged. One is critical of the structuralist audio-lingual assumptions…