7 Best Digital Language Labs for Foreign Language Training in Schools

Digital Language Lab is not a new phenomenon. It started after the Second World War in America, for the language training to the students and working population. For the starters, a Digital Language Lab is a fully-equipped laboratory for language training. It can be used to train the students in any languages including Hindi, English, French, German, Sanskrit, Persian, etc. It involves the utilization of digital resources like audio-visual content and exercises to make students fluent in any foreign language. While the traditional methods were used in the educational institutes in the country to train the students in a language, it has been observed that Digital Language Labs have far better outputs. Learning on a conventional blackboard can be tedious and students might lose interest from the lessons. To rule out this boredom and retain the information for long, Digital Language Lab came into the picture.

In this blog, we will discuss about some of the best Digital Language Labs that are easily available in India in a budget-friendly price. Some of these brands not only provide elaborate language lab software but also offer a full-fledged solution including the hardware and amenities.

Sanako India

Sanako India offers Digital Language Labs that can be installed in very small places as well. They are easy-to-use and effective for the students who want to learn a foreign language. For those who are confined with their budget, they can rely on this Digital Lab since it doesn’t require any furniture or hardware setup to function. In this kind of setup, only the teacher requires a computer of themselves while the students are equipped with the digital recorder units so that they can record their voices. It allows the students have an active role in the simulating learning activities.

FluentU

As the name suggests, FluentU Digital Language Lab trains the students to speak a foreign language fluently. The interface makes use of the authentic real-world videos to transform them into engaging learning tools for all types of learners. The software includes videos like movie trailers, news, music videos and others to teach a foreign language to the learners. Each of these videos are captioned in English and are annotated to make learning fun and impactful. You can pause and click on any word and instantly get the meaning of the word in your desired language.

Also, FluentU also has a quiz mode which lets you analyse your own language skills with pictures and sentences combined into flashcards and exercises. The software also allows you to learn any language you desire at your own pace. This simple software can be used on any device like laptop, PC, tablet and smartphone. This increases the accessibility of this Digital Language Lab as it can be used regardless of place and time.

Globus Digital Language Lab

Globus Infocom is one such brand that offers a complete solution instead of just providing the software. Globus Digital Language Lab equips your completely empty room into a fully-functional language lab. It provides everything that you require to make a language lab including Digital Board, Digital Teaching System, Teacher’s PC, Students’ PC, Furniture, Paint, Ceiling Work, Vinyl Flooring, Air Conditioners, Lights, Fans, etc. The major aim of Globus Digital Language Lab is to provide a holistic solution to the users so that they don’t have to go through the hassles of procuring the equipment from multiple vendors. Also, all the parts are covered under single warranty as well as the queries are addressed by Globus’ dedicated customer support team. Also, the users can customize the entire solution as per their needs. The entire curriculum of the Digital Language Lab is as per CEFR which is a standard for learning foreign language in the world.

Spears Language Lab

Spears Language Lab is another brand that deals in the same trade. It provides language lab software integrated with information technology techniques to impart language training to the students. The software includes multimedia-based content that are proven to enhance the pedagogical methods of the teachers. It also contains an array of study material that is easily available to the students to practise language training as and when required. Spears provides Language Lab for personal, school, higher education, corporate levels of language training.

Smart English Lab

Smart is another such brand that offers a complete solution for a Digital Language Lab. It provides a teacher console to monitor and assess the performance of all the students. It includes the option to listen to a particular student’s voice separately. On the other hand, each student is given a separate pair of headphones and microphone to record their voice. This way, the teacher can focus on each student individually without disturbing the entire class. Just like all the other Language Lab software, Smart English Lab also has a self-paced learning programme. Under this, a student can learn at their own pace without feeling conscious of other students.

Also Read: Digital Textbooks: What are they? How are they important for Indian classrooms?

Orell Language Lab

Orell Digital Language Lab provides world class language lab software without hardware. With the help of its multimedia-rich content, it makes language learning fun and interactive. However, the user will have to equip their Digital Lab with the necessary hardware equipment. The Orell Language Lab software includes the content that packs 5000 hours of study material. The software is already being used in 29 states in India, Middle East, Australia and other SAARC countries.

Wordsworth English Language Software

Wordsworth is one of the leading dealers in India for the Language Lab training. The Language Lab software is specifically designed for the school learners with pictures and videos rich content. The course runs parallel to the curriculum of the school so that no student gets left behind. Each module comprises of 40 hours of study material alternating between ILT and CBT (Instructor-Led Training and Computer-Based Training)

The Wordsworth Assessment of Speaking & Listening is designed to monitor the proficiency of students over English Language. It is implemented by the CBSE Board. The course content has been devised in accordance with the ASL to prepare the students in English language.