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March 2005, Week 1

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From:
LLTI-Editor <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 3 Mar 2005 11:43:03 EST
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--- Forwarded Message from "Mariana Stone" <[log in to unmask]> ---

>Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2005 08:22:32 -0500
>From: "Mariana Stone" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: #7821 Language Labs Living On Borrowed Time?

THe thoughts you just expressed crossed my mind so I have looked for
alternatives about what students can do in our lab and this are the
current things that we have going for them:
1.  Each FL faculty assigns pair work recording as a homework for which
the lab tech is required.  Instead of just asking written homework from
their students and lab manuals in which they only listen now faculty are
assigning oral production homeworks.  We developed a feedback system to
help faculty respond to the student's recordings.
2.  Enhanced our video library (about 300 movies for Spanish for
example).  Videos have become a major source of entertainment for them
and therefore learning.  THey are expected to watch at least 4 movies a
semester and prepare mini reports on them. Beginning level students can
write the mini report in English but they received the whole input of
the movie in the target language.
3.  Alternative software.  We have been purchasing slowly software that
helps them with grammar, pronunciation at different levels of their
language learning path.
4.  Songs: we have put our upper level / Spanish Ed majors to work
developing activities based on particular grammar structures covered at
the lower levels.

In a way having the whole lab manual and more online has helped
students increase the contact hours with the language.  We encourage
them to complete their lab assignments online from home and have them
come to the lab for more resources, which amounts as I said to more
contact hours.  I heard from many that "so what if it all becomes
virtual/cyber, maybe labs will become obsolete....for the better".  BUt
I guess I enjoy what we do here so much that I can't see it happening.

Sayonara,

Mariana

Mariana Stone
Language Lab Director
Language and Literature
North Georgia College and State University
Dahlonega, GA 30597
(706) 864-1682


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