Language labs get a bad rap these days! The very term ‘language lab’ can conjure up images of obsolete technologies and ‘drill-and-kill’ grammar & translation activities.
The Language Lab at UVA was redesigned and reopened in fall 2016 as part of the larger Language Commons, and since then we have witnessed its potential for supporting authenticity, interaction, and flexibility in language learning. In the Language Lab at UVA, we find that working in a lab space can in fact spark creativity (by both instructors and students!), and meaningful engagement among learners. Read on for some great reasons to use a language lab.
1. Document student work easily. Both instructors and students can record students’ oral or written work and save it for assessment in or out of the lab. Students can listen to and self-assess their work, or save recordings to their ePortfolios as evidence of their language practice and development. As an instructor, you can utilize lab recordings in formative or summative assessments, and can offer audio or written feedback on the recordings. Whether your lab utilizes language lab software or not (we use SANS Virtuoso Digital Lab Technology), these tasks can be accomplished in a lab space.
2. Offer immediate, personalized feedback. Using our lab software, an instructor can utilize their headphones to ‘drop in’ on students working individually, in pairs, or in groups. This allows the instructor to observe student interactions and offer oral or written feedback, without pausing the work of other students. You can also easily pause the whole class to offer quick feedback that is relevant to the whole class.
3. Shake up class routines. It can be a challenge to reset the tone or direction of a class when you feel it’s off-track. If your students resist working with unfamiliar classmates, or are often using English as their ‘working language’ in class, a lab class might help get them re-engaged. The simple act of moving your class can shake up seating arrangements, moods, and motivation. In the lab, you can randomly pair up students so they ‘meet’ people they don’t usually work with, or drop in ‘unannounced’ on their group work, via your headset, as a way to encourage a focus on communicating in the target language. After a lab class, you might open a conversation with students about the experience, to discover ways to bring more engagement back to your home classroom.
4. Design for differentiated learning without distraction. If you have multiple levels in your class, you might be looking for ways to design and implement differentiated learning activities within the confines of your classroom. In the lab, you can assign group work involving a task appropriate to each group’s level. Since students are working together with their headphones on, they can better focus without the distraction that can result from hearing other students work, or comparing one’s own level to someone else.
5. Provide a structured environment for exploring authentic material. As language educators, we strive to encourage meaningful and authentic communication, which often means utilizing authentic materials. The language lab allows for use of authentic materials in a structured environment, in which the instructor can easily send out or direct students to particular authentic online resources. Since the instructor can guide students’ work by monitoring their computer screens, offering quick oral feedback, or sharing the instructor screen with students, instructors can help students to develop strategies for interacting effectively with authentic texts. (Of course, students can also access most resources on their own devices these days! As an instructor, you might want to experiment with conducting activities using both the bring-your-own-device and language lab setups, to evaluate the opportunities provided by both options).
Do you utilize a language lab? How does it support your teaching and your students’ engagement in active, meaningful learning?
The UVA Language Lab is a 24-seat facility utilized by UVA’s world language programs, Check our website to learn more about our Language Lab, part of the UVA Language Commons. If you’re a UVA language instructor looking for ideas on how to use the Lab in your teaching, join a Language Lab user group meeting or attend a demo.