Digital Language Lab

Language Lab Software

Digital language labs became a reality almost a decade back riding on the crest of the Information Technology wave that swept the globe transforming everything we did into “silicon chips,” “kilo bytes” and software solutions. Language Lab is a language learning software that provides all the features required by teachers for language teaching-learning process using various activities such as pronunciation practice, video presentation, audio broadcasting, quiz and exercise. Language laboratory can be called as a teacher-controlled system connected to a number of student consoles, containing a student’s system and a headset with a microphone. The purpose of a digital language lab is to engage students to actively participate in language learning activities and give more practice than otherwise possible in a traditional classroom environment.

Why Digital Language Lab?

Communication involves one’s ability to listen carefully so as to comprehend the meaning and to respond in turn with appropriate words and clarity in pronunciation. The four essential skills needed for acquiring communicative proficiency in any language are Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing (LSRW). Though these skills are intrinsically linked, they must all be mastered in its order of learning, LSRW- an order that we unconsciously adopt while learning our mother tongue and obtaining fluency in the language. However, in a typical classroom setting this order is reversed. The student is first taught to write or spell the words, learn sentence structure by reading passages/poems et cetera and then attempt to speak with zero exposure to any auditory source other than the instructor who (more often than not) is also a non-native speaker who has also learned the language in more or less the same manner. Digital language laboratory is a unique solution to resolve the problems teachers and students encounter in the conventional classroom with chalk and talk setting.

Disadvantages of language learning in a typical classroom setting are

Inhibits effective communication
Incorrect pronunciation
Inability to comprehend native accents and idioms

Conventional/Analogue Language Learning Laboratories

It was to overcome the fundamental shortfall of language teaching/learning in a typical setting that led to the emergence of analogue language laboratories in the early 1970s with the advent of audio tapes, amplifiers and speakers/headphones.

Advantages

Listen to recorded voices of native speakers
Repeat and record
Compare accent and pronunciations

Disadvantages

Instructor can only assign preset lessons
Limited student evaluation
Expensive to acquire and maintain

iTell – Digital Language Lab

Digital Language Lab is a state-of-the-art offline language learning solution that delivers optimal results and adds value for educators, students and institutions of learning. It is a comprehensive, tried, tested and proven solution, which offers a wealth of advantages over existing Language Lab systems. iTell substantially improves productivity and teaching efficiencies across the learning life cycle and provides an innovative, portable, flexible and adaptable technology platform for all language learning developments driven by student needs.
Conscientiously created, this interactive and cost-effective language learning platform is as simple to use as your everyday ATM. It takes the “pain” out of teaching any language and makes learning to communicate effectively a “pleasure” for the student. iTell can be used to teach any language and our current version of the software is not only far more user-friendly and interactive than earlier versions but is also preloaded with over 5000 hours of 100% free English study materials and exercises. These can be edited and modified any way which the instructor deems fit and it also offers the teacher options to add unlimited customized study material in any language and script as well.