| In the fall of 1995, an article appeared in the IALL Journal entitled "Whither the Language Lab?" The article contained the transcript of a panel discussion convened at the 1994 TESOL conference to discuss the very topic that we are addressing today. Several questions on this theme were discussed by the panel; two questions caught my eye in particular: 1. challenges facing language labs 2. whither the language lab? The answers provided to these questions by the panelists seem, in hindsight, to be particularly prophetic. In his answer, Chris Jones discusses "media resources that are remotely accessed." Read Gilgen talks about "the concept of us becoming the providers of materials and information... as opposed to the caretakers of a facility. ...We're a resource rather than a place, and I think that's a trend we're going to see here." Indeed, these answers describe pretty accurately the situation facing labs today. Materials are being digitized, stored on a server and remotely accessed - the Virtual Language Lab is a reality for many labs, and will soon be for others. The lab paradigm has slowly been shifting from that of a traditional, service-based lab to that of the language resource center - a shift that is often reflected in a lab's name. How has this shift affected the physical lab space, and how have the changes to the physical space affected staffing and equipment? The urgency of these questions is magnified when discussing the concept of a "virtual language lab," which by name alone indicates a lab without a physical space, instead located somewhere in the fog of the Internet. |
| How to navigate this site |
| This site is intended to be a resource for language lab professionals looking for information regarding the Virtual Language Lab model. Above you will find excerpts from my presentation at the NERALLD Fall Meeting '00. For an outline of my presentation, click here. Below, you will find links that may be of interest, including links to VLLs established at several colleges and universities, as well as a bibliography containing articles and websites that may be useful in further information gathering. |