Introduction

Over the past year the Modern Languages Learning Center has been rather busy.  Some of you may have seen a small feature covering the lab on the Channel 22 University Portrait program, which highlighted a few of our projects.  We thought it might be a good idea to send out a newsletter summarizing some recent projects and let you all know that there is more happening than just simple computer maintenance.

On-Line Introductory Spanish

The on-line Spanish course has consumed much of our project time over the last semester.  The course is being taught for the first time this semester and utilizes original content within a course web site in conjunction with Blackboard materials provided by the publishers of the Mosaicos textbook.  If you would like to take a look at some of the materials being utilized in the course check out:  http://mllab.ou.edu/mllab/span1115/index.asp.  On this site you will find the student composition assignments posted on their own web sites and oral assignments posted by the students.  Please do not attempt to modify any of the oral assignments. 

French TA Interviews

Some of you may have been introduced to our interview series earlier.  Well, this past semester we created a few new interviews and exercises to accompany them (special thanks to Samia on these projects). In these filmed interviews with the French TAs, the instructors describe, in their language, their experiences as international students in the United States and differences between French and American culture.  These interviews are available on the French website, which can be found through our website here:

http://mllab.lab.ou.edu/mllab/Labinfo/interv.asp  (You must have real player in order for this page to load properly)

Braunschweig Video

This video chronicles the experiences of Necia and her friends as exchange students at the Technical University of Braunschweig, this video consists of filmed interviews with other international students from various countries, a tour of Braunschweig and the university, and short segments on her trips to Denmark and Italy.  Interviews discuss perceptions of German culture through the eyes of international students, perceptions of American culture by international students and German students, and insights into the exchange experience in general.  This one hour video was edited from 8 hours of footage.  It can be found on the German website (found under mllab.ou.edu) under “Braunschweig by Necia.”  

Language Lab Extravaganza Extraordinaire!

Our latest project, this 5-minute video serves as a brief orientation for students to the language lab.  Students become familiar with the lab’s resources, procedures, and rules.  The soundtrack makes the film a masterpiece.  This video will be available on VHS and online.  Feel free to check this short clip out to give your students an introduction to the resources offered at the language lab.  It can be viewed on-line by clicking the link on the front mllab page at http://mllab.ou.edu/.

Now we are looking for new ideas!  We would like a creative project to work on during the summer, and we would like your ideas.  What would you be interested in showing your classes?  Please submit ideas to Andy Peterson in the Language Center via e-mail at abpeters@ou.edu or in person.

Thanks!  The Language Lab