However, if desired, you and your students can download the FluentU iPhone app or Android app.įluentU takes authentic videos-like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks-and turns them into personalized language lessons. From there, you can use materials online or download materials to go.
Requirements: No need to download or install anything here-all you need is access to the FluentU website.
FluentUīest for: Anyone! There is a huge selection of videos for any kind of English at any skill level. Here is a collection of modern language labs and alternatives to give you a taste of what to expect. Now you are ready to explore the world of English language labs.
However, today’s labs tend towards the digital and software side (although some still require additional hardware), with a couple of open source platforms available for anyone who wants to do some tinkering to repurpose for their own classrooms. Though they are mostly relics of the past, some institutions still use them today. Language labs were meant to be used in a classroom setting. Once they were ready, student used mics to record their own content and send it back to the teacher, who could then check the students’ work as it came in. The teacher fed students educational content through a cassette-based system (remember cassettes?) which the students could then listen and respond to at their own pace. The teacher occupied one master console while students sat at booths with mics.
In their heyday, old-school language labs required hardware to be set up in classrooms. Language labs are audio and audio-visual systems that help students learn new languages through listening and speaking.
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that youĬlick here to get a copy. Which English language labs are right for your students? Let’s find out! With today’s advanced technology, language labs are still finding their ways into classrooms, though in a slightly different form.Įnglish educators can-and do-still use English language labs (physical or virtual) in the classroom to help students improve and practice their listening comprehension and speaking skills.
Language labs were an idea ahead of their time, succeeding despite hardware glitches and technological limits. So let’s go retro and check out an idea that’s stuck around for half a century: language labs. There’s plenty to learn from examining the educational landscape already behind us. With all the talk about current technology and what the future can bring, we sometimes forget to look to the past. Home » English Teaching Resources » 9 Modern English Language Lab Software Options That Hand You the Reinsīy Yuliya Geikhman 9 Modern English Language Lab Software Options That Hand You the ReinsĮnglish language labs are the hipsters of the digital classroom, bringing tech into ed before #edtech was even a thing.