This article addresses the question, "Does the introduction of a language laboratory improve the functioning of a given teaching method?" Four experiments with the language laboratory are described and analyzed: the Keating and Lorge experiments in New York, the Jalling experiment in Sweden, and the Freedman experiment in Great Britain. These…

The idea is prevalent that the presence of the language laboratory leads to better instruction. This is because the language lab is felt to further self-instruction and intensive learning. In determining the validity of this statement, various elements need to be taken into consideration, including student motivation and level, availability and…