Welcome to the Language Learning Laboratory

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures is very pleased to provide a technology-rich and comfortable environment to study and practice a second language. At the LLL, we provide technical support and instructional media for students taking courses in the various languages taught by our department. To our faculty and instructors, we provide a place to integrate audio, video, computer and internet resources into language teaching, by which students can gain communication skills and an authentic cultural experience. A seat in the LLL is like a passage to virtual world travel.

The original lab (pictured below right) was located in Building A, Room 133. The room was renovated in 1993 with a Tandberg IS-10 cassette lab and console with IBM 486 Windows 3.1 computers. To make way for Windows 95, 98 and ultimately Windows XP, Dell OptiPlex GX1 PCs were installed in 1998. By 2003, it was evident that the FL & L Department needed further technology upgrades, and a larger multifunctional space for classroom teaching and independent learning. The renovation of Building A for the College of Business and Management provided a quick catalyst for this change. The old lab remained open until the end of Fall 2006, while the new facility was still under construction. Some portable AV equipment and the Department's software, audio and video collections were moved, maintaining the tradition of service to language learners and teachers at NEIU.

In the Viking shipbuilding tradition, old elements are built into the new, so the ship's soul  lives on. The current lab (pictured above left) is found on the 4th Floor of the Ronald Williams Library in Rooms 451, 450 and 449. Digital recording, communication and classroom management software has replaced the hard wired intercom and tape players of the past. Opened in January 2007, the new LLL has evolved from its previous incarnations, thanks to extensive cooperation between University Media Services, University Computing Services, the Office of Academic Affairs, the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.