6 Advantages of Online and Offline Language Labs

For language training in schools and universities, implementing online and offline language labs is an effective element and is increasingly valued by both teachers and students. It is not surprising that it allows students to progress in their language studies at their own pace and provides students with the necessary means for an interactive, engaging and immersive training.

Students take control of their training

In language lab classrooms with flexible schedules, students are in charge of their own learning. They choose how much time they devote to learning and can study at their own pace.

In addition, for students who refuse to speak in public, Dexway language labs with voice recognition and conversation groups are an excellent choice. They allow students to practice their oral skills without having to be exposed to the pressures of public speaking.

In fact, because these groups include conversation rooms where students can practice with each other, it combats the idea that many have that language labs are impersonal.

In this sense, the study Language Labs: Dying or evolving? explores the preferences of current students regarding language labs. This work, published in Turkey, reveals that students are optimistic about using online classrooms.

Students are positive towards using language labs since this digital environment is motivating and helpful for students’English proficiency. However, students are inclined to have separate lab hours instead of using classrooms as multimedia environment. In the light of the findings, Institutions are recommended to modernize the labs with new tools and software and stop removing language labs totally. A well-equipped language lab includingnew trends and technology is still a need for students with their comforting and motivating atmosphere

Lokmacioglu, S., Küçükyilmaz, Y., Balidede, F. (Turkish Military Academy, Department of Foreign Languages, Ankara, Turkey). Language labs: Dying or evolving? Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 65 – 72

Main advantages of Dexway’s online /offline language labs

#1. 100 % Linguistic Immersion

Dexway courses for online /offline language labs offer 100% language immersion to students with numerous additional resources such as magazines, videos, flashcards or conversation groups so that after the lessons they can continue studying the language in fun and relaxing ways.

This access is available whether you work with a networked classroom or with a local classroom. In the case of offline content, we recommended that you periodically connect to the internet to take advantage of all of Dexway’s updates.

#2. Interactive content by objective

Interactive material is essential for effective e-learning. Student participation is fundamental and with Dexway’s content, a high level of engagement is achieved. Dexway laboratories provide access to a virtual campus where you can use all kinds of unique teaching materials and multimedia. In addition, the courses are structured by objective to allow a type of learning that focuses on oral communication, preparing for an official certification or developing communication skills in a specific context such as hospitality, business or health.

#3. Shared physical space, individual study

Online /offline language labs allow self study so that each student can learn at their own pace, but at the same time, they provide a common space that teachers can utilize for dynamic activities such as Station Rotation Lab or group work.

#4. Unlimited access

Each workstation in a language lab classroom has unlimited use. Licenses are granted for each computer and can be used by as many students who need it. In addition, they allow you to establish closed classes with teachers and open schedules. By establishing flexible schedules, students with greater interest can advance in learning the language of their choice.

#5. Monitoring tools

They provide the teacher who is in charge of the groups of students (either face-to-face training or without a tutor) with detailed information on the progress of each student enrolled in the course.

Thanks to Dexway’s monitoring tools, the only ones capable of sharing information sorted by language skill, teachers are aware of the progress of their group in real time, which allows them to program learning nuggets to strengthen those subjects that students are having the most difficulty with, or only for those students who need extra help to prevent them from falling behind.

#6. Gamification

The gamified evaluation system for Dexway language courses for networked classrooms works by motivating students through specialized coaching and by setting objectives related to the language skills that will be evaluated.

The objective is to sustain students’ interest from the beginning to the end of the training by using both individual achievements and also leaderboards that compare them with the rest of the group.