FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING* UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF OFFICE OF EDUCATION, Modern mechanical and electronic devices are promoting a revolution in the teaching of modern foreign languages, a new study by the United States Office of Education reveals. Language laboratories, which provide students more and better experiences in listening to and speaking foreign languages, have doubled in number within the last 2 years, the survey reveals. More than 200 colleges and universities and nearly 50 high schools now have such special rooms. These laboratories usually have semisoundproof booths where individual students listen to tape-recorded lessons through earphones. At carefully spaced pauses on the tape, they speak into the microphone, recording imitations and answering questions. Later, they play back the recording and evaluate their own responses. Phonographs, movies, and other instructional aids also are used. "These improved facilities, by preparing more Americans to communicate directly with the various peoples of the world, contribute to our national security and international understanding," Lawrence G. Derthick, United States Commissioner of Education, pointed out. All teachers who participated in the survey expressed approval of the laboratory approach. By using these special facilities, capable instructors can teach a greater number of students. In some cases, with proper planning, the laboratory can compensate partially for the teacher shortage, since much of the drill can be done outside of class time. Perhaps even more important, participants indicated that the facilities provide a stimulating approach to language study instead of the too often boring approach resulting from emphasis on grammar and translation. The modern devices foster ability to speak a foreign language, a practical skill in an age of international travel and communication. A total of 40 languages is being taught in college laboratories and 6 in high school laboratories. Most frequent in college are French, 202 laboratories; Spanish, 195; German, 159; Russian, 57; and Italian, 50. Languages taught in at least one laboratory include some that are infrequently offered in the United States. Among these are Turkish, Arabic, Hindustani, Burmese, Malay, Serbo-Croatian, and Thai, all spoken by large populations in certain parts of the world. College laboratories are located in 41 States, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. High-school laboratories are in 20 States and the District of Columbia. The survey was conducted in cooperation with the Modern Language Association of America. It was directed by Marjorie C. Johnston, Office of Education specialist for foreign languages. (The text of the survey follows:) [Resources for Foreign Language Teaching, circular No. 524, April 1958] SURVEY OF FOREIGN LABORATORIES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, 1957 Prepared by Marjorie C. Johnston, specialist for foreign languages, and PURPOSE AND PROCEDURE Installations of mechanical and electronic equipment to facilitate language learning by groups or by individuals, now generally known as language labora •Supplementary information furnished by the Office of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. tories, came into use during and after World War II. They are rapidly becoming recognized as an effective means of helping students to learn a spoken language. Inquiries from school administrators and modern foreign language teachers have indicated a need for more information about the location of language laboratories as well as for more detailed knowledge about the equipment, use, and educational value of such installations. A survey to obtain this type of information was conducted in the fall of 1957 by the Office of Education in cooperation with the Modern Language Association of America. The procedure was to send a short questionnaire to all the schools and colleges known to have a language laboratory and subsequently to all additional places suggested by persons returning the questionnaire. This process was continued over a 3-month period. It is probable, however, that some schools having a language laboratory were not reached in the survey. Additional information will be welcomed. Language laboratories, 1957 According to the questionnaires returned, 214 colleges and universities, distributed among 41 States, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Canada, have foreign language laboratories. Fifteen other institutions report definite plans to establish a laboratory in the near future. Forty-seven secondary schools in 20 States and the District of Columbia have a language laboratory now in use. Thirty-two of these are public high schools. 12 are private, and 3 are university demonstration schools. Eight public high schools report plans to establish a laboratory and four others are using some equipment which may develop into a language laboratory. GROWTH OF THE LANGUAGE LABORATORY The international responsibilities of the United States have greatly intensified the need for Americans who speak and understand foreign languages. Large numbers of high school and college students must now be brought to a high degree of functional skill in direct communication as well as in reading and writing skills. Teaching methods and materials are therefore being revised to include emphasis on aural comprehension and speaking, and it is in this connection that the language laboratory is most useful. The questionnaire data indicate rapid growth of language laboratories, both in the development of new facilities and in the expansion of existing ones. Half the laboratories in the institutions of higher education and a fourth of those in the secondary schools are well established. Others, mostly the newer ones, are being conducted experimentally. Fourteen college and eight high school laboratories are in use for the first time this year. Many institutions are expanding their facilities in order to accommodate larger numbers of students. and several are remodeling or modernizing their equipment. Seven colleges increased the size of their laboratories this year and 21 plan to do so during the coming year. DEFINITION OF A LANGUAGE LABORATORY The questionnaire for the survey did not define the term "language laboratory." This omission was intended in order to obtain as full an account as possible of the installations which the schools and colleges regard as language laboratories. The results of the study, as anticipated, show a great variety of facilities and a wide divergence of opinion concerning what constitutes a language laboratory. A few places having 1 tape recorder and 1 phonograph reported that they have a language laboratory. Others having considerable equipment stated that they do not have a language laboratory. The following comments, however, reveal that such schools are using equipment and instructional activities which could be considered rudimentary forms of a laboratory. "We do not have a foreign language laboratory in the true sense of the word. There, is no opportunity for individual student work. The tape recorder is used for recording and playback of conversations. The phonograph is used for group imitation of native speakers and for pronunciation practice. We use records to accompany our present texts and next year we plan to use other supplementary records." "We have half a dozen 'isolation booths' where students may use commercial records, but no coordinated plan." "We have equipment for drill in hearing and speaking a foreign language but no special room for use as a laboratory." "We have the magnetic disk recorders and are waiting for the booths, 2 of which will be placed in each of 3 classrooms. That is not a language laboratory.” The laboratories reported are of all sizes, have many types and combinations of equipment, and employ the equipment in numerous ways. The laboratory is usually a separate room, and as a rule it has individual semisoundproof student booths. Each booth is equipped with a headset through which the student listens to a tape or disk recording. This recording provides instructional material which is closely related to classroom work. The recording is generally interspersed with pauses during which the student repeats aloud what he hears. The booth may also contain a microphone through which the student speaks as he practices aloud. If the booth is equipped with a tape recorder, the student may obtain the tape for each practice session from the tape library and work at his own speed. In the larger, more elaborate laboratories the tapes are played from a central console by a laboratory technician. I. INSTRUCTIONAL USE Languages for which laboratory facilities are available Although the laboratories are most widely used for French, Spanish, and German, the languages generally offered in this country, laboratory facilities in the colleges and universities are being used during school year 1957-58 for a total of 40 different languages. These are listed below with the number of institutions having a laboratory for use in the study of each. 22201-58--91 |