Language Centers in the Age of Ubiquitous Technology and Eclectic Methodology

Introduction

The history of language centers (LCs), commonly known as language laboratories throughout much of the 20th century, is intricately intertwined with the histories of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and second language teaching methodology (Hocking, 1964; Kronenberg, 2017; Roby, 2004). To better understand these relationships, this paper draws on a series of qualitative case studies (Creswell, 2013) focused on five distinct language centers to address one central question: Given that CALL has evolved well beyond neat rows of isolated computer carrels, headsets, and microphones (Levy, 1997; Thorne & Payne, 2005), what place, if any, do contemporary LCs have in the current field of second language teaching and learning? The study focuses on the various spaces occupied by these centers (form) and the plethora of support services they provide to their constituent communities (function). The final conclusions of the study are grounded in a series of three relevance paradigms that offer guidance for further discussion about how these facilities fit within these broader contexts. Use of the term language center throughout the paper is rooted in the kind of facility described by Kraemer and Lavolette (2017) as a “physical and/or virtual space that supports foreign and/or second language learning and/or teaching within a larger educational institution” (p. 149). Such use of the term does not preclude other existing synonyms such as language learning center (Ross, 2013), language resource center, media center, and other similar titles (Tchaïcha, 2003).