Senior gift in the works; language lab one of 'the best ideas so far'
Katie Rose McEneely
Issue date: 12/4/08 Section: News
A committee of senior students will consider ideas for the 2009 senior gift during the last weeks of this semester and the beginning of next semester, senior class treasurer Mary Beth Maxfield said.
Before bringing suggestions to the administration, "the committee will brainstorm and then talk with class officers and pick feasible options," she said.
Although the committee, which consists of seniors Tom Leonard, Amanda Robertson, Heidi Schroeder, Fred Hadra, Craig Kreinbihl, Christine Cheatum, Hannah Stone, Kristina Farah, Jaimi Swenson and Paul Mueller, has yet to meet, Maxfield said the members have discussed some ideas informally.
The most likely idea for a senior class gift so far is a language lab suggested by Leonard, Maxfield said.
Leonard, a French major, thinks the installation of a language lab in an empty Lane or Kendall Hall classroom would benefit the majority of the student body, not just language majors.
A language lab could be set up in two ways, Leonard said. One option would consist of analog stations where students could listen to recordings of native speakers in French, German or Spanish and practice pronunciation.
The other format "would be completely computer-based," he said, and would entail purchasing software that would aid students with pronunciation skills. Another benefit of a computer-based language lab involves using the Web to create a more interactive program; students could also practice language skills by following current events, he said.
Whichever system was implemented, a language lab "would have a broader use than might be expected," Leonard said. "It should be beneficial to the core B.A. requirements."
A lab setting would differ from a classroom in that "headsets and listening stations allow students to approach a language at their own pace," he added.
Other colleges and high schools in the U.S. already have this technology, he said. He also encountered it when he studied abroad in France last semester, he said.
Before bringing suggestions to the administration, "the committee will brainstorm and then talk with class officers and pick feasible options," she said.
Although the committee, which consists of seniors Tom Leonard, Amanda Robertson, Heidi Schroeder, Fred Hadra, Craig Kreinbihl, Christine Cheatum, Hannah Stone, Kristina Farah, Jaimi Swenson and Paul Mueller, has yet to meet, Maxfield said the members have discussed some ideas informally.
The most likely idea for a senior class gift so far is a language lab suggested by Leonard, Maxfield said.
Leonard, a French major, thinks the installation of a language lab in an empty Lane or Kendall Hall classroom would benefit the majority of the student body, not just language majors.
A language lab could be set up in two ways, Leonard said. One option would consist of analog stations where students could listen to recordings of native speakers in French, German or Spanish and practice pronunciation.
The other format "would be completely computer-based," he said, and would entail purchasing software that would aid students with pronunciation skills. Another benefit of a computer-based language lab involves using the Web to create a more interactive program; students could also practice language skills by following current events, he said.
Whichever system was implemented, a language lab "would have a broader use than might be expected," Leonard said. "It should be beneficial to the core B.A. requirements."
A lab setting would differ from a classroom in that "headsets and listening stations allow students to approach a language at their own pace," he added.
Other colleges and high schools in the U.S. already have this technology, he said. He also encountered it when he studied abroad in France last semester, he said.
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