Use of Language Lab in Developing English Language skills
English is the language which is most widely used in communicating around the world. As it is such a global language, it is very important to learn this language with good fluency, correct pronunciation and rich vocabulary. Here comes the role of a language lab. A language lab or language laboratory is a special room or hall arranged to provide various audio-visual materials based on the target language to the learners. Individual computers, headsets, microphones and so on are made available.
Language labs are becoming more common at academic institutions as they offer students a virtual environment where they can listen and practise the language they intend to learn. While learning a new language, the mere mugging up of the dull theories is not enough to excel in that language. To excel in any language, one should practise it in everyday life. Language labs provide that practice in very entertaining and interactive way.
Though English is being taught from first standard, the proficiency needs considerable improvement, especially in communicational aspects such as listening, speaking and phonetics. This is mainly due to the lack of continuous practice in communication. Thus, students should be given opportunity to practice listening and speaking in English language. Moreover, nowadays, English has become very necessary for survival. So, it is an evitable kindred even for monolinguals. In order to solve this tension, language labs are introduced as they can make English learning process highly effective and interesting for learners. As practice leads to the success in language learning, a language lab does the same. The language lab helps students to learn much faster than in a regular classroom setting. At the lab, the students can watch videos, practice their pronunciation through a speech recognizer, learn new vocabulary and much more.
In short, language lab is a very innovative and cost-effective tool for all academic institutions, from school to college. It is very helpful in improving the students' oral communication and comprehension skills. As the lab is introduced to cater the individual needs of language learners, it is learner-friendly too. So, one can easily become proficient in a language with the help of language laboratories.
