EFFECTIVENESS OF LANGUAGE LABORATORY IN LEARNING ENGLISH

The importance of English as a language for communication in business, industry, education, medicine, fashion, sports, travel, hospitality, service sector (as a matter of fact in most aspects of life) has now been established beyond doubt. English may not be the only language, but it is clearly the best suited language for communicating with people from different countries and in the Indian context from different states. The investigator performed the present study to identify the effectiveness of language laboratory in learning English. The study was conducted using teacher made tools that was standardised by procedure. The sample size of the study was 122 students studying in XI standard in Coimbatore district. The results of this experimental study were carefully analysed for interpretation and finding were made based on the interpretation. Introduction The extensive use of English as the only means of communication in business and industry often makes the skill critical for professional success. The World Trade Organization (WTO) and Multi-National Companies (MNCS) have made it even more compelling. The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and especially the internet have brought the world together as never before. The distances have shrunk dramatically. Knowledge and information can be spread and shared in no time. The world as such is transformed into a Global Village. According to NCTE report, “English is in India today a symbol of people’s aspiration for quality in education and a fuller participation in national and international life. Its colonial origin was forgotten or irrelevant, its initial role in independent India, tailored to higher education (as a ‘library language’, a ‘window on the word’), now felt to be insufficiently inclusive, socially and linguistically, the current status of English stems from its overwhelming presence on the world stage and the reflection of this in the national arena”. The pressure for early introduction of English in the school system in India is mentioned in the NCERT report 2003. It states that English is introduced in Class I or Class III by 26 states or union territories out of 35. The alphabetic principle of English spelling is that the letters are used to represent speech sounds i.e., phonemes. A typical classroom in India uses textbooks for teaching English. They are rather deficient in providing any systematic information on phonemes. The beginners are expected to memorize the whole word. Most of the teachers have learnt the English skills the same way. Vol. 4 No. 2 March, 2016 ISSN: 2320 2653 Shanlax International Journal of Education 53 The teaching methodology of this project is based on the principle of Synthetic Phonics. This method is appropriate when used at the very beginning of learning of the English language. Even though most teachers use lectures as a major approach to teach English, a variety of innovative tools are being attempted by a few. They are yet to receive due attention for wider dissemination among their fraternity. Also important to examine is – which strategy works best and why. For instance, a few researchers found that problem based learning (PBL) or problem solving – posing students a variety of problems and seeking answers through students’ exploration can enhance students’ learning. One of the best innovative method for learning English is a computer assisted learning. English language laboratory provides much software to enhance the student’s linguistic skills. Considering the importance of English language in school curriculum the investigator took immense care to study the same. English Phonology The phonetics and phonology of English differ between dialects, usually without interfering with mutual communication. Phonological variation affects the inventory of phonemes (speech sounds that distinguish meaning), and phonetic variation is differences in pronunciation of the phonemes. This overview mainly describes the standard pronunciations of the United Kingdom and the United States: Received Pronunciation (RP) and General American (GA). Most English dialects share the same 24 consonant phonemes. The pronunciation of vowels varies a great deal between dialects and is one of the most detectable aspects of a speaker’s accent. An English syllable includes a syllable nucleus consisting of a vowel sound. Stress plays an important role in English. Certain syllables are stressed, while others are unstressed. Stress is a combination of duration, intensity, vowel quality, and sometimes changes in pitch. Stressed syllables are pronounced longer and louder than unstressed syllables, and vowels in unstressed syllables are frequently reduced while vowels in stressed syllables are not. Some words, primarily short function words but also some modal verbs such as can, have weak and strong forms depending on whether they occur in stressed or non-stressed position within a sentence. Digital Language Lab In the 1990s new digital, hybrid PC based systems allowed extended functionality, in terms of better “management’ of student / teacher audio with some levels of internet and video formats. Media is ‘managed’ on these hybrid systems by language lab providers creating a supplementary network over and above the existing PC network for audio connections and communications in fixed locations. Vol. 4 No. 2 March, 2016 ISSN: 2320 2653 Shanlax International Journal of Education 54 Functionality of Language Lab The levels of functionality of current language labs vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. All labs will have a level of teacher control to manage student licenses / desktops. The more sophisticated ‘software only’ labs have a higher level of teacher management and control over the student desktop. One of the key differences with the ‘high end’ ‘software only’ products is their ability to work ‘live’ with the students as they record and work with media. So instead of waiting to correct student recordings after they have been recorded and collected back it is now possible for a teacher to work synchronously and ‘live’ with students on their own, in pairs and in groups, thus enhancing the immediacy of the teaching and learning experience. The next generation digital language labs allow teachers to monitor, control, deliver, group, display, review and collect, audio, video and web based multimedia content. The student player is linked to the teacher console and can play audio, video and web based formats. Students can rewind, stop, start, go back to last silence, record, fast forward, repeat phrase and bookmark. Software packages in language lab (SPLL) are basically learner-centered materials. This is having open, distance and flexible for learners and have to learn on their own, at a time, pace and place of their own choice. They are different from other learning materials. The different forms of self-learning materials are digital books, worksheets, digitalized audio lessons, digitalized video lessons, web based packages, variety of software packages for phonetics and grammar, etc., Although a student may be responding to the material that is presented,theydo not receive immediate information about the correctness of his response nor is he able to proceed at his own rate. The investigator keeps all these in mind and selected the effectiveness of language laboratory in learning English for this present study. Objectives of the Study The objectives of the present study are, • To Prepare Computerized phonetic accent audio material for selected topic in English Subject of XI standard. • To find out the effectiveness of traditional teaching method and language laboratory teaching method on academic achievement of the XI standard students in context to subject English language. • To find out whether any significant mean difference in academic achievement in learning English language exists with relation to the secondary variable viz. gender. Hypothesis On basis of the objectives the following null hypotheses are framed by the investigator. Vol. 4 No. 2 March, 2016 ISSN: 2320 2653 Shanlax International Journal of Education 55 1. There is no significant difference between the control group and experimental group with regards to their post test score. 2. There is no significant difference between the male students of control group and experimental group with regards to their post test score. 3. There is no significant difference between the female students of control group and experimental group with regards to their post test score. 4. There is no significant difference between the male group and female group of experimental group with regards to their post test score. Delimitation of the Study It is necessary to delimit the study to carry out the research work successfully. The following were the delimitations of the study. • In XI Standard English subject the “basic phonetic accent” was selected for the present study. • XI Standard Students of GRG Matric Hr Sec School in Coimbatore District alone was