--- Forwarded Message from [log in to unmask] ---
>From: [log in to unmask]
>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum
<[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: #7869.1 VISTA Spanish Books (!)
>Date: Thu, 07 Apr 2005 17:21:12 +0000
One easy solution for this lack of oral practice using on-line material, of
course, is to use software that actually permits students to engage in
listening-comprehension and oral-response work from outside the lab. E-LangLab's
LangLab will let them do so using Macs as well as Windows computers, and will
also let instructors retrieve and evaluate the students' recordings (again, from
home or office as well as from a lab computer), inserting comments anywhere in
the students' files to guide them. With publishers' permission and LangLab's
authoring tools, it's dead easy to import and adapt Vista or other materials. If
you're not aware of LangLab yet, you might go to www.elanglab.com, read about
it, and download a ful-functional demo with complete documentation.
Regards,
Richard Laden
______________
Dr. Richard A. Laden
Director, E-LangLab, LLC
Berkeley, CA
-------------- Original message --------------
> --- Forwarded Message from RLD Watson ---
>
> >User-Agent: Microsoft-Entourage/10.0.0.1309
> >Date: Wed, 06 Apr 2005 14:51:15 -0500
> >Subject: Re: #7869 VISTA Spanish Books
> >From: RLD Watson
> >To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum
>
> >In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>
> We've been using it at Nebraska Wesleyan University for a few years now.
> There are tons of things that come with the text itself: CDs, a dictionary,
> the entire video program, workbooks, etc. Overall, the potential is
> wonderful, but in practice . . .
>
> We've had good results with it. However, the students are not required to do
> their work in the language lab, since all the homework is available online.
> This has been a blessing and a curse. If you take the time, you can set up
> the homework pretty much any way you want it to be done: graded, ungraded, a
> specific number of attempts, or just practice. Of course, the computer
> grading is merciless; a student may only forget an accent and will receive
> no credit for the answer.
>
> Personally, I've found that students tend to go on "autopilot" when doing
> the online homework; they don't really pay attention, particularly when they
> know they can do an exercise as many times as it takes to get all the
> answers right. Also, some have figured out they can just cut/paste the
> answers.
>
> If you take the time, the online work could be used to great benefit, but it
> will take a lot of teacher editing to get things to work smoothly.
>
> The text itself is okay. It seems to be of the newfangled "web style" I see
> popping up so much on menus and in advertising. The pages are just filled
> with little asides and colored columns that sometimes contain the most
> important grammatical information, which most students simply pass by. The
> grammar explanations are, in general, very good and clear.
>
> So, ultimately, if you're willing to put a lot of time into it initially,
> the rewards are promising. I find that the younger the teacher, the easier
> the implementation of the newer technologies.
>
> Finally, I am worried about the students not having attend the lab at all,
> except when they take oral exams; they just don't get enough listening and
> speaking practice. That's my opinion, however, from an old teacher's point
> of view.
>
> P.S. I teach at Nebraska Wesleyan but work in the lab at the University of
> Nebraska-Lincoln.
> --
> Randall Watson, PhD
> Assistant Lab Director, UNL
> 304 Burnett Hall
> (402)472-1786
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.unl.edu/langlab
> http://langlabcalendar.unl.edu/
>
> >
> > I wonder if any of your Spanish departments are using the Vista Higher
> > Learning textbooks for 1st year Spanish. We are considering changing books
> > and I'd like to get feedback (positive or negative) regarding the textbook
> > and the lab materials.
> >
> > Thanks!
> > Karl
>
>
>
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