The results of a process of designing, building, and "de-bugging" two replacement language laboratory hardware systems at Concordia University (Montreal) are described. Because commercially available systems did not meet specifications within budgetary constraints, the systems were built by the university technical department. The systems replaced…

A PREVIOUSLY REPORTED SERIES OF SOUND QUALITY EXPERIMENTS WAS CONTINUED AND INCLUDED AN ANALYSIS OF ALL DATA OBTAINED. THE TESTS WERE CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF THE SOUND QUALITY OF LANGUAGE LABORATORY EQUIPMENT ON THE LEARNING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES. ATTENTION WAS FOCUSED ON THE FREQUENCY RESPONSE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SOUND RECORDING…

Presents the historical, technological, and pedagogical factors that led to high expectations in the use of language laboratories for teaching foreign languages. Presents findings of five studies on laboratory effectiveness showing that efficiency tests were largely irrelevant and inconclusive. Includes 10 proposals for language laboratory use.…

Details the possibilities for and the needs involved in the use of the language laboratory. Included are descriptions of the laboratory as a broadcast/library facility, as well as descriptions of the hardware and software involved. Hardware includes video, video disc, and computer systems. (PJM)

Reviews trends in language instruction and the use of language laboratories in South African higher education from 1962 to 1990, paying particular attention to racial differences and the movement from an audio-lingual method to a communicative language technique. Questions the wisdom of equipping institutions with sophisticated hardware without…

Recounts the decision-making processes involved in the acquisition (or renovation) of a language laboratory for a small college. Of critical importance was the determination of how the laboratory would best be utilized as well as how it would operate. These decisions determined the best choice of equipment. (SL)

The conventional language lab, though it motivates few students, lingers on at many institutions. While poor study habits contribute to the lab's low impact on language acquisition, an equally credible possibility is that the traditional language lab's "audio-only" technology is ill-suited to the primary cognitive styles of today's video-oriented…