A Language Laboratory Lesson by Henri Christian Raffalli

Article             : A Language laboratory Lesson

Writer              : Henri Christian Raffalli

Journal             : Journal of Educational Sociology

Date Published: 29/12/2008                                       

The author in this article mainly tells about the functions of language laboratory. In his article, he states that language laboratory has four functions namely APP (audio-passive practice), AAP (audio-active practice), ACP (audio-creative practice) and AEP (audio-evaluatory practice). He refers APP as the application of the “learning by hearing” theory-that is, the students imitate what they hear; AAP as the application of the “learning by doing” theory-that is, the students do something with what they have heard; ACP as an extension of APP and AAP functions-that is, the students create new sentences and concepts based on what has been learnt; and AEP as a tool of the teachers to help them evaluate their students’ progress. He then explains the uses of these functions as ways to help students develop their language skills such as aural understanding, dictation, pronunciation, intonation, and so on that may vary according what exercise the teachers give moreover they help teachers correct, comment, encourage and evaluate their students’ progress. He concluded that language laboratory is an invaluable tool in language teaching for teacher’s mechanical aid.

In this article, the author just wrote down his thought directly, without commenting on or agreeing with other concepts, about the functions of language laboratory.

I agree with his concept about the four function of language laboratory because it is a fact that when students are in language laboratory, they will commonly be asked to listen an audio (APP), do some exercise based on what they have heard (AAP), make a new sentence or concept based on the concept they have leant then teacher will evaluate their progress.

I have experienced all the functions of language laboratory. When I was in senior high school, I found that learning English in laboratory was very useful, especially for listening skill. I could get knowledge on how to pronounce words, using intonation in certain situation, and so on  based on what I have heard (APP).  After that I was asked to do some exercise in order to check whether I understood the material or not (AAP, ACP and AEP).