The operational characteristics of a modern equipment facility (random-access multiple-program system) being planned and constructed for the University of Michigan language laboratory and how it compares with the system it is to replace are summarized in this article. A technical description of the structural makeup of the system precedes an…

Language laboratory use in the first three semesters of German study is outlined. First semester pattern drills and second and third semester conversation exercises are described. A rationale for the student for laboratory use is included. (AF)

A university professor examines attitudes and theories relating to foreign language teaching commonly accepted by instructors and students in U.S. high schools and universities. The author attempts to distinguish the factual from the legendary, or the folklore as he refers to it, in such areas as the audiolingual approach, selection of textbooks,…

Not all poor people live in cities, but as the problems of those who do are intensified by the urban press, the needs of the urban poor of all racial and cultural backgrounds deserve emphasis. The children of these poor are oriented to the physical and visual rather than to the aural. They are content-centered, problem-centered, externally…

Language laboratory equipment and use in England are described, and guidelines are provided for the choice and purchase of equipment. An introduction explains laboratory function, advantages, and instructional techniques and describes a sample session. A section on preliminary planning explores staff requirements, types of courses, laboratory…

Primary types of three-phase pattern drills for language instruction are illustrated and discussed in this teacher's guide. French, German, Italian, and Spanish sample drills are developed in each of five classifications: (1) replacement, (2) transformation, (3) analogy, (4) fixed-increment, and (5) paired sentences. Instructional procedures,…

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.…

The Language Laboratory Teaching Machine (LLTM), as it is conceived to function at a typical high school, serves as an independent teaching facility having a wide variety of applications. Description of the different mechanical and electronic components accompanies discussion of student involvement. Distinctions between the "audio" teaching…

This condensed article on the language laboratory describes educational and financial possibilities and limitations, often citing the foreign language program at Purdue University as an example. The author discusses: (1) costs and amortization, (2) preventive maintenance, (3) laboratory design, (4) the multichannel recorder, and (5) visuals. Other…

A compilation of the results of an attitudinal questionnaire completed by a 19-member panel of leading language instruction methodologists focuses on some 36 questions fundamental to both researchers and teachers. Topics include questions concerning the use of English in the classroom, teaching of grammar, transformation generative grammar,…

This doctoral dissertation identifies certain factors which influence the attitudes of Florida modern language teachers toward contemporary teaching methodology. The study begins with a philosophical and historical view of methods of teaching modern foreign languages. Data, collected from 10 percent of the modern foreign language teachers in…

Papers presented at the University of Birmingham, England, focus on teaching of a second language for the explicit purpose of facilitating the study of scientific materials written in English, French, and German. Articles include: (1) "Alternatives to Daffodils," (2) "English in the Teaching of Science and Technology throughout the World," (3)…

Describes language lab listening activity designed to serve needs of the English as a second language class comprised of students at different levels of language proficiency, divergent native languages, multicultural backgrounds, and varying levels of formal education. Multilevel tasks are drawn from a common text, allowing students to do…

By means of the Kay Elementrics Visi-Pitch and a split screen, students are able to compare their voice traces with the model's, thereby seeing prosodic, phonemic, and allophonic distinctions they were unable to hear. (PMJ)