Technology in the Language Lab

Technology has seriously changed the role of the language lab. It used to be a place where people would go and listen to cassette tapes of canned dialogues when I was in college. It was the only source for this audio material. Nowadays, the cost of a CD is negligable and most language textbooks come with the language CD included. Other textbook companies don't even have it on CD's anymore. Instead the audio content is available on their web site. It used to be the only place where students could have access to voice recording equipment, but almost any camera or phone or iPod has that now too. So, everything is becoming more and more decentralized in terms of technology and content. The language lab is now a place where students come to gain exposure to the sounds of their target language and get assistance in how to use the technology to do so. We also provide assistance to the faculty who either haven't learned the technology or don't have the time to put it into practice. We help students put together video montages for their comp presentations. Find TV content that is relevant to what the professor is teaching in his/her class, and many other services.