LANGUAGE LABORTAROY

LANGUAGE  LABORTAROY

Definition

            A language laboratory is a specially designed room where students may practice speaking and listening with the aid of tape-records , ear phones, microphones and/or other sound equipment chiefly as an audio-lingual supplement to the class work . in a language laboratory , students practice the second languages they are studying . it is a place mainly for improving listening skill through ''audio - machinery''.

            Listening skill is mostly neglected during the classroom activities and this skill is given adequate importance in the language laboratory . the languages lab provides good models of the speech in english language for imitation and manipulation by the students . the language lab plays a great role when the teacher who is not a native speaker of a second language and when he has not achieved complete native pronunciation . it also increase the ability to listen by permitting the students to hear a variety of speakers of the language . so it is also called the ''listening library''.

   The language lab is only an aid for language learning . it is not a substitute for a language teacher.

      all the lessons will not be taught the language lab

      the tap - recorded materials used in the lab are designed to supplement the class work selectively.

USING THE LANGUAGE LAB

            Lab materials have to be prepared with more care than any other materials for teaching , they must be clear , graded, and purposeful , and based on linguistic facts and psychological principles of learning . merely recording something to use in the lab does not make it a good exercise. the materials for the language lab should be partial materials rather than complete lessons. they should be , exercise for the difficult problems that will require extra-work that would take too much time in class.

ADAPTING XLASSROOM DRILLS TO LAB USE

             Learning materials used in the laboratory are practice exercise in which the student may;

      Listen and speak to show improvement in english.

      Listen and speak with self- correction from the reinforcing response that follows his own attempt on the tape.

      Listen and write either in dictation or in a response of some kinds such as identification of a number or a word. students do a good deal of listening in any lab drill. they listen to good models with proper pronunciation, pause and intonation patterns.

LIMITATIONS

             Though a language lab is the most prominent place among the technological aid language teaching, it has its own limitations.

ü  It is more difficult and expensive to produce good materials for the language lab

ü  The prepared materials soon become outdated.

ü  The english teacher is not in a position to spend more time in preparing suitable lab materials besides  preparing the lessons for the class, giving tests, correction works ,etc.

COMPUTER - ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING (CALL)

INTRDUCTION

          Computer is a true multi-purpose electronic device and it is increasingly used in every level of education . Computer- assisted language learning (call) is a form of programmed instruction .CALL means the learning with the aid of the computer is a learning about the computer. IN CALL, the computer is a learning medium or an aid to learn.

ROLE OF COMPUTER IN TEACHING ENGLISH

             The computer can act as a tutor .It can answer questions, record, point out mistakes and give explanations.

            Books and tape-records can tell a student the rules and the right solutions. but it cannot analyze any specific mistakes the student has made, not react in manner which leads him not only to correct but to understand the principles behind the correct solution.

             The value of a computer in the classroom arises from its immediate response, the speed with which it can change the display or report the consequence of a decision . this can create a sense of excitement and participation in the class.

            For  a language teacher , a computer can be an invaluable aid in the classroom . it can help in teaching compositions ; can combine sentences, check spellings and even act as a thesaurus or as a language dictionary.

v  The use of computer in teaching composition

                        Computers can help a teacher in teaching composition. similarly it , can help students rewrite their compositions with the support of the guidelines available in the computer . Students can do any number of corrections and they can retain the uncorrected portions . the learner can see for himself what he has created as a writer. he can make it look 'how he would like it to look '. Mistakes can be removed without a trace . Sentences and paragraphs can be shuffled , inserted or deleted.

v  The use of computer in teaching grammar

                        Some advanced system even offer grammatical transformations of the text such as combining short sentences into larger ones using relative clauses. a text such as , 'once there was a pretty princess. the princess lived in a big castle in a forest. the forest was dark , can be combined into :'once there lived a pretty princess in a dark forest'. this kind of exercise help students learn English effectively.

v  Teaching of spelling and meaning through computer

                        In the united states a firm has developed a system called ''writers workbook '' which can not only check spellings against an inbuilt word bank ,but often advise on punctuation and style . another system called 'Walter' developed by a Scottish  firm incorporates in thesaurus, if we type for instance, 'big' ,it will respond with the associated words , large', 'huge', 'gigantic'.

v  Drill and practice through computer

                        The computer present the learner with a series of exercises including, ' choose the best answer' , ' multiple- choice items', etc. The learner completes them by giving some responses as an answer. Then the computer provides the learner with some feedback about the answer.  The computer gives a congratulatory message if the answer is right or corrective comment if the answer is wrong. If the learner completes the exercise correctly and speedily , the computer gives more difficult exercises. If the learner makes too many mistakes, the exercise will be made easier. Thus the computer tailors a drill and practice to the progress of each learner.

ADVANTAGES

        The computer has a number of advantages and uses in a language class .it offers privacy and saves the learner from ridicule by peers and allows them to work on their own, in their time and at their own pace.

            To the teacher, the computer offers an opportunity to make better use of her time and expertise. It takes over tedious and mechanical tasks such as correcting and evaluating simple exercises.

            It's record-keeping facility gives information on the students ' strengths, weakness and which helps the teacher to assess the learner and also evaluates the materials and methods he is using.

POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

MEANING

            Power point presentation is one of the multimedia technologies . It is a presentation software (ps) that easily offers a complete presentation graphics pack page.

power point presentation is a computer- based instruction that combine texts, graphics, images and sound.

PRINCIPLES OF POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

            Power point slides are used as visuals to supplement the words the teachers say. There are five primary principles of power point to help a teacher with his presentations.

Ø  Keep it clean

                        Keep the number of words to the bare minimum, because clutter is the enemy of comprehension . If more words are there on the screen for reading, listening to the teacher will be less. Use large fonts and headlines.

Ø  Words, not bullets

                        Bullet points are a form of slow torture for students/ audience. using a large number of bullets should be avoided. It is better to use words and titles instead of bullets, as they make more sense to audience and are visually more appealing.

Ø  Computer may go wrong

                        Compute and technology can sometimes go wrong. teachers must prepare their presentation on assumption that the technology will fail. in situations , the presenter should not fail in his presentation completely as though you were not going to use any slides at al. Then and only then, create your slides.

Ø  Make it count

                        Make your slides count. make then look good . their form and their function should add a greater or different dimension to what you are going to say anyway.

                        A picture says a thousand word. so choosing and using the right image will allow the teacher to say a fewer words to make his point.

Ø  Practice

                        Words in the slides should work . the teacher should know the slides thoroughly before presentation, teacher should practice with slides once or twice.

 to sum up, a good power point presentation must be big -simple-clear-progressive-content with a summary.

ADVANTAGES OF THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS

            Power point presentations are very useful in teaching english in attractive , professional and powerful ways.

v  Power point presentation as an instructional tool helps the teacher vocabulary, grammar and language games.

v  It motivates students to learn english in a smart way.

v  Using power point presentation enables students to develop their note - taking skills.

v  The sophisticated software used in the power point presentations attracts the attention of students and helps them learn the language skills and concepts easily and quickly.

  Power point 2010, introduced by the american  microsoft is used for demonstrating projection slides in manuscript.

 Power point 2010 incorporates the advantages of tape recorder, videotape recorded film projector, radio and television.