8/10/2019 Making the Language Laboratory Effective

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Making the Language Laboratory Effective

Author(s): Norma A. GarnettSource: Hispania, Vol. 50, No. 2 (May, 1967), pp. 319-322Published by: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and PortugueseStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/337586

Accessed: 29/12/2008 09:40

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8/10/2019 Making the Language Laboratory Effective

2/5

SHOP-TALKHOP-TALK

(8)

Our

culture makes

a fetish

of

"organization."

And

it

cannot be denied

that a course which is well

organized

is

more

likely

to be effective than one which

is disorganized. Students tend to be im-

pressed

with a course which shows

careful

preparation

and

organization,

and

feel less

kindly disposed

toward

a course which

lacks

organization.

However,

it is

quite

possible

for

inadequate

materials

to be well

organized

by

an

uninspiring

teacher. The

question,

then,

is not

"organization,"

n

and

of

itself,

but the

organization

of what

by

whom,

to

what end and

with

what

fairly

discernible results.

(9) The importanceof intellectual and

cultural

content in

text

materials even

in

a

beginning language

course cannot be

overestimated,

specially

when

dealing

with

adolescents and

young

adults.

Language

teachers must remember hat a student who

is exposed to literary values, philosophical

problems,

scientific

concepts,

historical

traditions, and political

revolutions

in

his

(8)

Our

culture makes

a fetish

of

"organization."

And

it

cannot be denied

that a course which is well

organized

is

more

likely

to be effective than one which

is disorganized. Students tend to be im-

pressed

with a course which shows

careful

preparation

and

organization,

and

feel less

kindly disposed

toward

a course which

lacks

organization.

However,

it is

quite

possible

for

inadequate

materials

to be well

organized

by

an

uninspiring

teacher. The

question,

then,

is not

"organization,"

n

and

of

itself,

but the

organization

of what

by

whom,

to

what end and

with

what

fairly

discernible results.

(9) The importanceof intellectual and

cultural

content in

text

materials even

in

a

beginning language

course cannot be

overestimated,

specially

when

dealing

with

adolescents and

young

adults.

Language

teachers must remember hat a student who

is exposed to literary values, philosophical

problems,

scientific

concepts,

historical

traditions, and political

revolutions

in

his

other coursesis

entitled

to

some

intellectual

stimulation even

in an

elementary

lan-

guage

course,

and this

can

be

accomplished

despite

the

necessity

of a lot of time to

be

spent

on the acquisition of language

skills.

As a

postscript,

we

might

add

that the

success of our intensive

program

with

the

first edition

of

Modern

Spanish

in

the

summer

of

1965

encouraged

us

to have

another summer

program

n

1966,

this time

with

the

second

edition

of Modern

Span-

ish, and organized along lines similar to

those of last

summer.

One

of the two

teaching

assistants

in

1966

taught

in the

1965

program,

the other was new

to the

program

but

had

the

necessary

competence

and

training

to

do an effective

job.

And

the role

of director

and

teacher in the

program,

which I

had

in

1965,

was

filled

in

1966 by

Prof.

Joan

Ciruti.

other coursesis

entitled

to

some

intellectual

stimulation even

in an

elementary

lan-

guage

course,

and this

can

be

accomplished

despite

the

necessity

of a lot of time to

be

spent

on the acquisition of language

skills.

As a

postscript,

we

might

add

that the

success of our intensive

program

with

the

first edition

of

Modern

Spanish

in

the

summer

of

1965

encouraged

us

to have

another summer

program

n

1966,

this time

with

the

second

edition

of Modern

Span-

ish, and organized along lines similar to

those of last

summer.

One

of the two

teaching

assistants

in

1966

taught

in the

1965

program,

the other was new

to the

program

but

had

the

necessary

competence

and

training

to

do an effective

job.

And

the role

of director

and

teacher in the

program,

which I

had

in

1965,

was

filled

in

1966 by

Prof.

Joan

Ciruti.

MAKING

THE LANGUAGE

LABORATORY EFFECTIVE

NORMA

A. GARNETT

Warwick Veterans Memorial

High

School, Warwick,

Rhode Island

MAKING

THE LANGUAGE

LABORATORY EFFECTIVE

NORMA

A. GARNETT

Warwick Veterans Memorial

High

School, Warwick,

Rhode Island

The

expensive

language

laboratory-

equipment,

area, material,

staff-now

very

much

in

vogue

for the

teaching

of

foreign

languages

is

a constant

subject

for

discus-

sion,

disagreement

and

questioning.

Such

a

debate

is

healthy

and

it

shows

the excite-

ment and

interest

among foreign

language

teachers today. The now famous Keating

Report

came to

a

negative

conclusion as

to

the effectiveness of the

language

labo-

ratory.

This

was

repudiated by

the

Lorge

Report

and

various

qualified

authors

speak-

ing

in

defense of the

language laboratory.

In the

arguments pro

the

language

labora-

tory,

certain criteria have

appeared

as

con-

stants. These

six

points

are

fundamental

in an

effective

application

of the

language

laboratory

for

the

teaching

of

foreign

lan-

guages.

(1) Skill of teacher as critic, model,

guide.

The

expensive

language

laboratory-

equipment,

area, material,

staff-now

very

much

in

vogue

for the

teaching

of

foreign

languages

is

a constant

subject

for

discus-

sion,

disagreement

and

questioning.

Such

a

debate

is

healthy

and

it

shows

the excite-

ment and

interest

among foreign

language

teachers today. The now famous Keating

Report

came to

a

negative

conclusion as

to

the effectiveness of the

language

labo-

ratory.

This

was

repudiated by

the

Lorge

Report

and

various

qualified

authors

speak-

ing

in

defense of the

language laboratory.

In the

arguments pro

the

language

labora-

tory,

certain criteria have

appeared

as

con-

stants. These

six

points

are

fundamental

in an

effective

application

of the

language

laboratory

for

the

teaching

of

foreign

lan-

guages.

(1) Skill of teacher as critic, model,

guide.

(2)

Enthusiasm

and

energy

of

teacher;

teacher motivation.

(3)

Excellence

of

program

materials,

closely

related

to classroom

mate-

rials.

(4)

An

efficient,

valid

testing

and

grad-

ing program.

(5)

Frequent

and

regular

practice

ses-

sions,

preferably

two

twenty-minute

sessions

each week.

(6)

Efficient

and

quality machinery

that

is

adjustable

to

needs and

aims of

individual school

programs.

As a teacher

of

Spanish

in a

public

secondary

school,

I

have often been

asked

by

teachers

in

other

schools,

"Do

you

use

the

language

laboratory?"

"What

do

you

do there?"

"Don't

you

feel

you're wasting

valuable time?" "What programsare you

using?"

"Do

your

students

pay

attention

(2)

Enthusiasm

and

energy

of

teacher;

teacher motivation.

(3)

Excellence

of

program

materials,

closely

related

to classroom

mate-

rials.

(4)

An

efficient,

valid

testing

and

grad-

ing program.

(5)

Frequent

and

regular

practice

ses-

sions,

preferably

two

twenty-minute

sessions

each week.

(6)

Efficient

and

quality machinery

that

is

adjustable

to

needs and

aims of

individual school

programs.

As a teacher

of

Spanish

in a

public

secondary

school,

I

have often been

asked

by

teachers

in

other

schools,

"Do

you

use

the

language

laboratory?"

"What

do

you

do there?"

"Don't

you

feel

you're wasting

valuable time?" "What programsare you

using?"

"Do

your

students

pay

attention

31919

8/10/2019 Making the Language Laboratory Effective

3/5

HISPANIA

or 'fool around'?"

and so forth.

These

are

all

real,

practical

questions

to which

lan-

guage

teachers

using

laboratories should

have the answers. I would like to share

with you some of my experiences, giving

real,

practical

answers

concerning

the

pro-

lem

of

making

the

language

laboratory

effective.

With

our textbooks

we have correlated

tapes

for Year I and

II

(for

Spanish

III

we have correlated

tapes

for our

readers

only).

Each

chapter

is

covered

by

two

programs,

including

review

work,

basic

pattern

construction,

drill

changes,

listen-

ing-comprehension,

and

so forth. The stu-

dent

may

use

his text as

a

reference

in

the

language

laboratory

f he

desires,

and

most students

prefer

to do so. Review

tapes

are also included. The

programs

for

Spanish

II

offer a bit more

variety

but

less

oral

participation.

We have

regularly

scheduled

periods

in

the

laboratory.

Each class

of

language study

is scheduled for one

20-25

minute period

each

week.

This means that we meet seven

times

as much

per week

in

the

classroom

as in

the language laboratory.This, I feel,

is a judicious proportion. If we were to

increase the time in either situation I

would prefer increasing the language labo-

ratory period, not at the expense of the

classroom but

as

a

supplementary period

to be taken from study hall or after-school

time, and with the lab work done

on

an

individual basis. Since language laboratory

work is

mainly

reinforcement

of

class

study, repetition would always be

benefi-

cial. The

fact

that each class attends

a

regularly scheduled

1

a b o

r

a

t

or

y period

ratherthan practice on a hit-or-miss ched-

ule is effective in

itself, indicating

to

the

student

the value

placed on

the

laboratory

by the faculty.

However one grades laboratory work,

whether

by

oral or

written

response, grad-

ing also gives status to the laboratoryex-

perience, indicating to the student that

practical aural-oral work is an important

part

in

the

learning of a foreign language.

In

the

classroom

only one student at

a

time

may participateorally. In the language

laboratory veryone may participate.A com-

parison

of

progress s obviously more possi-

ble here for

the teacher

(by

the

process

of

monitoring)

than in

the

classroom.

When

the

teacher

regularly grades

oral

produc-

tion,

by any

individual means convenient

or agreeable, the student realizes that the

teacher is

stressing

the value

of

practical

communication of

a

foreign language.

A

tangible

motivating

factor in

secondary

schools is

grades.

Students understand

the

status of

grades;

they

know

that

grades

are

means to an

end.

Disappointing

as this

might

be

to

us as

teachers,

we must

realize

that

few

students come to us with an

innate search for

knowledge,

a

natural

motivation. If

we can achieve motivation

by

using

the stimulus of

grades,

I feel we

are forcedto do so. Gradingfor each period

in

the

language laboratory

has

given

"motivation" o

my

students and

I

do

not

find

many

of them

"fooling

around."

The

accumulated

grades

(I

grade

"very

good"

(+),

"average"

-),

"poor"

0))

for each

quarter

is

the equivalent to one hour

exam in weight value. For first-year stu-

dents I

do not

grade

until

second quarter.

One

important problem

in

laboratory

work is the

boredom

owing

to

a lack of

variety in programs. The correlated text-

book-tape programs are essential,

but

they

can

lose their

effect

if

they

are

the

only

program used

in

the

laboratory.

The

pat-

tern as

well as

the

voices is

the same

for

the

whole

year.

This

could

mean that the

students

using

the

same

procedure ap-

proximately

36 times

each

year

would

listen to

and answer the same

voices.

And

consider the

teacher

who

has

this

same

number

of

laboratoryperiods multiplied by

each of

her

classes

Needless

to

say, every-

one would enjoy a change, some variation,

not to

speak

of

the benefits and

positive

effects

gained through

such

a

change.

Boredom

does not

spare

the

learning pro-

cedure in either

the

language laboratory

or in

the

classroom

I have

enjoyed experimenting

with new

formats, programs, and procedures

in

the

language laboratory, and

I think

my

stu-

dents have

enjoyed

it

also.

Certainly

both

students

and

teacher

have benefited

by

it.

I

deliberately change

the

programs

or

my

classes so that they do not know what we

are

doing

that

period

until the class

is

320

8/10/2019 Making the Language Laboratory Effective

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8/10/2019 Making the Language Laboratory Effective

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HISPANIAISPANIA

idioms

for

Spanish

III,

but time and

energy

are the

only problems

Tapes

purely

for cultural

supplement

are suitable

programs

to use

for

variation.

Special

music for

holidays,

historical ac-

counts,

regional

music,

the

everyday

sounds

"al

mercado,"

"a la

corrida,"

"al

campo,"

"a la

ciudad,"

interviews

of

important

and

interesting people,

selections

of literature

and

interpretation

can all

be used.

Some

of this material with

questions

on

compre-

hension

can be

prepared

by

the teacher

himself. Possibilities

are

endless.

It is well

worth

the

money,

time and

energy

involved

to obtain

or

prepare

such material

(un-

fortunately

the

language laboratory

s

still

young

and

we

do

suffer

from a lack of

appropriate programs

such as

these.)

Stu-

dent

enthusiasm and

interest,

perhaps

even

motivation,

increase as a result. Now the

language laboratory

offers

the

frosting

on

the

cake, by treating pupils

to

informative,

descriptive subject

matter where the learn-

ing process

is

disguised

under

the veil of

entertainment.

This

practical application

of

foreign language learning

makes sense

to American students.

For Spanish III I have used dictation

tapes

to

vary

the

laboratoryprogram.

These

are

spoken by

native

speakers

and

consist

of

typical passages

from

Spanish

authors.

I

prefer

the

nineteenth-century

realist

novelists and

try

to

avoid

Romanticists

and

critics

whose

vocabulary

would be

too diffi-

cult

and

unfamiliar to them.

Each

dicta-

tion,

a

paragraph

in

length,

is

repeated

idioms

for

Spanish

III,

but time and

energy

are the

only problems

Tapes

purely

for cultural

supplement

are suitable

programs

to use

for

variation.

Special

music for

holidays,

historical ac-

counts,

regional

music,

the

everyday

sounds

"al

mercado,"

"a la

corrida,"

"al

campo,"

"a la

ciudad,"

interviews

of

important

and

interesting people,

selections

of literature

and

interpretation

can all

be used.

Some

of this material with

questions

on

compre-

hension

can be

prepared

by

the teacher

himself. Possibilities

are

endless.

It is well

worth

the

money,

time and

energy

involved

to obtain

or

prepare

such material

(un-

fortunately

the

language laboratory

s

still

young

and

we

do

suffer

from a lack of

appropriate programs

such as

these.)

Stu-

dent

enthusiasm and

interest,

perhaps

even

motivation,

increase as a result. Now the

language laboratory

offers

the

frosting

on

the

cake, by treating pupils

to

informative,

descriptive subject

matter where the learn-

ing process

is

disguised

under

the veil of

entertainment.

This

practical application

of

foreign language learning

makes sense

to American students.

For Spanish III I have used dictation

tapes

to

vary

the

laboratoryprogram.

These

are

spoken by

native

speakers

and

consist

of

typical passages

from

Spanish

authors.

I

prefer

the

nineteenth-century

realist

novelists and

try

to

avoid

Romanticists

and

critics

whose

vocabulary

would be

too diffi-

cult

and

unfamiliar to them.

Each

dicta-

tion,

a

paragraph

in

length,

is

repeated

three times. The

first time the

speaker

narrates

at a

normal rate of

speech.

The

second

time

he

speaks

very

slowly

and

in

short

phrases.

The

third

time he narrates

almost up to a normal rate giving the stu-

dent an

opportunity

to

correct his

para-

graph.

Two

dictations

are

given

in a

single

laboratory

period.

In

our

language

laboratory

library

we

have a

variety

of

pattern

drill

tapes

avail-

able. For

Spanish

III

I

generally

program

a

tape

to

reinforce the

classroom

subject

matter:

radical

changing

verbs, ordinals,

idioms with

tener, hacer,

haber,

direct

object pronouns

and

so forth. This effec-

tively reestablishesthe principles used and

explained previously

in

the

classroom,

only

this time

some other

voice

is

doing

the

pattern

drill.

Briefly

then,

I feel

that the

question

concerning

the

effectiveness

of

the

language

laboratory

is

outdated.

The

real question

now is how to

best utilize the

potential

of

the

language laboratory

n

the

teaching

of

a

foreign language. By sharing with you

some of

my experiences,

some of

my experi-

ments,

and

some of

my

ideas

as a teacher

of Spanish on the secondary evel, perhaps

I

will

have

stimulated

others to

experiment

with

new

and different

language laboratory

programs.

I

would,

in

my turn, appreciate

learning

how

other

teachers

of

foreign

language

are

attempting

to

make

an

effec-

tive

application

of

the

language laboratory

in

their courses of

study.

three times. The

first time the

speaker

narrates

at a

normal rate of

speech.

The

second

time

he

speaks

very

slowly

and

in

short

phrases.

The

third

time he narrates

almost up to a normal rate giving the stu-

dent an

opportunity

to

correct his

para-

graph.

Two

dictations

are

given

in a

single

laboratory

period.

In

our

language

laboratory

library

we

have a

variety

of

pattern

drill

tapes

avail-

able. For

Spanish

III

I

generally

program

a

tape

to

reinforce the

classroom

subject

matter:

radical

changing

verbs, ordinals,

idioms with

tener, hacer,

haber,

direct

object pronouns

and

so forth. This effec-

tively reestablishesthe principles used and

explained previously

in

the

classroom,

only

this time

some other

voice

is

doing

the

pattern

drill.

Briefly

then,

I feel

that the

question

concerning

the

effectiveness

of

the

language

laboratory

is

outdated.

The

real question

now is how to

best utilize the

potential

of

the

language laboratory

n

the

teaching

of

a

foreign language. By sharing with you

some of

my experiences,

some of

my experi-

ments,

and

some of

my

ideas

as a teacher

of Spanish on the secondary evel, perhaps

I

will

have

stimulated

others to

experiment

with

new

and different

language laboratory

programs.

I

would,

in

my turn, appreciate

learning

how

other

teachers

of

foreign

language

are

attempting

to

make

an

effec-

tive

application

of

the

language laboratory

in

their courses of

study.

THE "SE ME" CONSTRUCTION: SOME COMMENTS

J. CARY DAVIS

Southern Illinois

University

THE "SE ME" CONSTRUCTION: SOME COMMENTS

J. CARY DAVIS

Southern Illinois

University

One

of the sentences listed

by

Professor

Schmitz

in

his

excellent article in SHOP

TALK

(Hispania,

Sept.

19661),

as an

ex-

ample

of direct

object-preceding-indirect

object,

is

highly

questionable:

No

me le

calientes

la

oreja

a

la

muchacha.

This

is

obviously

a

case of two indirect

objects,

one a "dative of interest," the other a

"dative

of

possession."

This

example,

like

One

of the sentences listed

by

Professor

Schmitz

in

his

excellent article in SHOP

TALK

(Hispania,

Sept.

19661),

as an

ex-

ample

of direct

object-preceding-indirect

object,

is

highly

questionable:

No

me le

calientes

la

oreja

a

la

muchacha.

This

is

obviously

a

case of two indirect

objects,

one a "dative of interest," the other a

"dative

of

possession."

This

example,

like

several

others,

is

drawn

from

Gallego's

Cantaclaro, and

certainly

does not

repre-

sent

so-called"standard"

peech.

The

other

type-sentences

(No

te

me

indisciplines...,

etc.)

are

authentic

examples

of

te/me,

te/le

order

of

direct

plus

indirect

object.

Ramsey-Spaulding

has this to

say

about

the matter: "Among the untaught, how-

ever,

me

se and

te se

are

frequently

used

several

others,

is

drawn

from

Gallego's

Cantaclaro, and

certainly

does not

repre-

sent

so-called"standard"

peech.

The

other

type-sentences

(No

te

me

indisciplines...,

etc.)

are

authentic

examples

of

te/me,

te/le

order

of

direct

plus

indirect

object.

Ramsey-Spaulding

has this to

say

about

the matter: "Among the untaught, how-

ever,

me

se and

te se

are

frequently

used

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