Role of Language Lab in Learning English for School Students

The English language has occupied a great position in our society. Nowadays, nothing can be done without English. In our educational system, English has become a communicative language and a medium of instruction. According to the University Grants Commission, “English is a language which is rich in literature, humanistic, scientific and technical. If under sentimental urges we should give up English, we would cut ourselves off from the living stream of ever-growing knowledge” (as cited in Sharma & Sharma, 2011, p. 37). Through the English language, a lot of knowledge can be imparted to students because English is a global language. Today, English plays an important role in India.

Now, English has become a medium of instruction, and all competitive examinations are conducted in English. For that reason, the students have to focus on learning English. Students’ communication should be fluent and clear so that people can clearly understand what they say. In this digital era, teaching and learning methods also have to change in keeping with this development.

There have been many methods for learning English, from the past to the present. In the traditional method, the central focus is on the teacher, and the students accept what the teacher says. The teacher used to write and teach the students from the material or the notes which the teacher had collected. In the modern method, the central focus is on the students. The students collect information from various sources on their own owing to technological development.

Students are interested in learning practically through listening and seeing. While learning English through this method, the students listen to the conversation carefully and try to converse in the way they have heard. Through this practical way of learning, the students are encouraged to speak better. One main drawback is that this method needs aids, and the teacher should be well acquainted with the application. The best audio-visual method is the language lab. Lado (1964) writes of the lab being seen “as the centre of language teaching, with the teacher assisting the lab operation and adjusting to it” (p. 173).

The language lab is one of the modern methods now used by students for learning English. Underwood (1984) explains that “the lab was seen as a sort of tireless teacher’s aid that could drill the mechanical aspects of language, freeing the teacher for more creative activities” (p. 34). The lab is equipped with computers, headphones and so on. In this way, the skills are imparted to the students, and the lab also helps them to acquire the English language. It helps to enrich the students’ English. When the students are given courses according to their levels, they involve themselves and acquire proficiency in English. Through this method, the students are motivated to learn and speak fluently so that everyone can be appreciated.

In the language lab, the students are given step-by-step guidance by the teacher. The students can relate the conversations which they have learned from the programmed software to real situations. The language lab creates a stress-free environment compared with the traditional classroom, where the students learn only from the book, with no practical knowledge. The students get a lot of new thoughts and ideas which emerge in the lab. Rivers (1970) says:

With just a minute or two of this sort of simple conversation, you can break up the artificiality of the drill situation, reminding your students and yourself that the real reason why people use a language is not to produce right answers, or even to increase their competence in it, but simply to say things to one another. (p. 99)

The lab is user-friendly and provides a rich environment to learn English. It motivates the students and helps them interact with everyone. When they listen to the audio recordings, they listen keenly and try to respond in English. Their fluency in speaking English also increases, and their knowledge of grammar develops. While listening to the audio recordings, the students attend to stress, intonation and pronunciation, which will be helpful in speaking English fluently in conversation. According to Bygate (2001), “when tape recorders and language laboratories gradually came into existence in the 1950s, they were mainly used for pronunciation, grammar and translation practice, often in the context of courses named as such” (p. 15). From the audio recordings, the students can note each and every detail very minutely, which will be useful in conversation. The students can record what they have spoken, find out their level and see how much they have to improve their fluency to tackle this competitive world.

Fluency in English should be developed and tested from the school stage, because early training makes communication easier for the students. The earlier the students get coaching in the language lab, the better their spoken English will be, so that they can face any problem or situation they encounter in their lives. The situations which they learn in the lab will be similar to those in reality. Thus, the students will know how to speak and how to respond to others.

English is a foreign language, so the students need some guidance to learn and speak it fluently. A teacher is needed to guide the students. The teacher monitors the students and analyses their weaknesses and strengths, and according to that, the students are guided to interact with their friends. The mistakes made by the students are corrected by the teacher. In the lab, the teacher can give individual attention to the students without disturbing others, and a relationship between the student and the teacher is established. According to Lado (1964):

Language labs should never be seen as a substitute for the instructor; on the contrary, language labs require better-prepared teachers who can put the new equipment and techniques to good use as well as conduct the class. When used properly, labs can greatly increase the effectiveness of good teachers, whether or not they are native speakers of the target language. (p. 174)

Language skills are developed while learning English in the language lab. The skills are listening, speaking, reading and writing. These skills are imparted to the students in the lab. The main focus is on listening and speaking skills, while reading and writing are given little importance. “The question of whether the language lab can be adapted to communicative methods remains to be answered” (Underwood, 1984, p. 37).

The students have to listen to the speaker in the recording very minutely to understand the conversation, and they have to repeat the conversation they have heard. The software provides tasks that test the students’ understanding; the students read and complete these tasks and are scored accordingly. Through the scores awarded, the teacher can understand the level of the students and help them.

The language lab is a modern method of learning English for school students, mainly intended to develop their fluency in speaking English at an early stage, so that the students can tackle anything in their lives. Through the lab, the students get practical experience, and their mistakes are corrected by the teacher. The teacher gives individual attention to the students and guides them. For the students, going to the language lab would be a refreshing change from their regular way of studying from books. Therefore, the students should be allotted a session in the language lab so that they can improve their fluency in spoken English.