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…

THIS CRITIQUE OF RAYMOND F. KEATING'S 1963 "STUDY OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LANGUAGE LABORATORIES" CONSISTS OF FOUR ESSAYS DISCUSSING THE BIASED THINKING AND FAULTY RESEARCH PROCEDURES WHICH CHARACTERIZE THE REPORT. THESE ESSAYS EXAMINE SUCH FAULTS IN THE REPORT AS THE TOTAL LACK OF DEFINITION OF WHAT IS UNDER INVESTIGATION, THE USE OF…

Seven reasons excerpted from "Language Laboratory Learning" (1960) by Fernand Marty are cited for a preference for individual rooms or closed booths to language laboratories with open booths. The author specifies additional psychological and acoustical advantages of the closed booth system. Weaknesses inherent in the open booth laboratory are also…

This article describes a typical audio-active-record student control panel and operational requirements, which, due to inefficiently designed controls, may have a negative influence on student attitudes and performance. A model panel, developed at the University of Hawaii, incorporating student needs illustrates improvements in technical design.…

Language laboratory effectiveness in secondary schools and related research are discussed. Criteria for five elements determining the laboratory's effectiveness are described: (1) the teacher, (2) the teaching materials, (3) the testing and grading programs, (4) the student practice sessions, and (5) the equipment. Some general remarks are made…

Linguistic acquisition as a mutual objective in the foreign language classroom and in the language laboratory leads to the conceptualization of duties proper to a linguistic coordinator. Distinct from the chairman of the department and the laboratory director, the linguistic coordinator's function and educational preparation described in this…

Discusses the outcomes of an investigation into the motives and appreciation of autonomous language learners among students and staff of the Department of Individual Foreign Language Studies at the University of Amsterdam. The results showed so much variety that any conclusions or correlations were hard to make. (Author/SED)

The language laboratory could make a larger impact than it does on undergraduate language study. The growth of attractive new technology makes even more important the careful evaluation and exploitation of existing technology. A major obstacle in doing this is the lack of careful and rigorous research about the effectiveness of the language…

A summary of the purpose of the project, a discussion of experiment design, some statistical analysis of test results, and implications are included in this article. Attempting to determine which of three audio-assistance systems--the audio-active, audio-record language laboratory, or the classroom tape recorder--is most effective in foreign…

THE EFFECT OF AUDIOLINGUAL FRENCH INSTRUCTION IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ON THE PUPIL'S ACHIEVEMENT IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL LANGUAGE PROGRAM, AS SHOWN BY THIS FOLLOW-UP STUDY, IS DEPENDENT UPON PROGRAM ARTICULATION THROUGHOUT THE GRADES AND COORDINATION BETWEEN TESTING AND THE LEARNING SITUATION. THE PROCEDURE FOR THE STUDY INVOLVED 354 GRADE 9 PUPILS…

Student replies to a questionnaire evaluating the use of the language laboratory revealed positive attitudes regarding the effectiveness of the individual practice the lab provides. They emphasized the need for a language lab monitor. Cross tabulations examined attitudinal differences among old and new users, professorial encouragement, and…

A cost-effectiveness study in the teaching of foreign languages would, if implemented, aim to determine the results of cost-effectiveness by the introduction of new aims, methods, and equipment; to estimate the efficacy of existing resources; and to examine any other means by which productivity per student-cost could be improved. The following…