Language laboratory Upgrade - Instruction Manual

The Rationale

Currently in Indonesian senior secondary schools (SMU) there is a strong desire to upgrade the quality of foreign language teaching and language learning facilities. However, there is considerable scepticism about the effectiveness of using language learning technologies (including language laboratories). This scepticism is perfectly natural if we review some of the problems which have been associated with the introduction of technologies in the past. They have frequently been introduced without appropriate training, materials, spare parts or support services. The problem is even further complicated by the fact that the time allocation for foreign language study is insufficient and class sizes are too large.

Because of the multitude of problems which have plagued the effective utilization of language laboratories in Indonesia I have found that most of the old language laboratories have in fact had very little use. Many of the technical problems that you encounter in the laboratories are due to lack of use rather than wear. In fact my inspections of student recorder audio heads often indicates that the recorders may not have seen any service at all. The most common teaching strategy employed here utilizes clozes and straight listening comprehension exercises which are directly broadcast from the master console. This passive and infrequent usage of the equipment not only results in low learning effectiveness but also precipitates a variety of specific technical failures. I believe that most of the old language laboratories are repairable by existing school staff with a minimum of technical expertise. The first major step towards developing sustainable facilities in schools is the appointment of a staff member to assume responsibility for the facility. The second step is to assist this person to take every opportunity for professional development (not teachers, assistant heads, or headmasters).

Many schools are very conscious of the importance of foreign languages for their students because the majority of them do not continue onto tertiary education. They also realize that after the current economic crisis has passed foreign languages will be even more important to the development of Indonesia's new future than ever before. Some of these schools have introduced extra-curricular classes, provide their students with a higher level of speaking and listening practice in the classrooms, they have commenced partial immersion (using English as the medium in all subjects on certain days) and are maximizing technology to assist their students. The minister for education has acknowledged the importance of the Internet as one means of assisting communication and the the development of education in Indonesia. The Internet which is rapidly becoming the worlds premium source of information has accepted English as the international language and to maximize this resource a working knowledge of English language is essential.

Most teachers are fully aware that their students (and they themselves) need to acquire functional foreign language proficiency to meet both academic and vocational needs. However, because the current curriculum provides litte time and opportunity for developing functional skills and the national examinations (EBTANAS) do not effectively assess these skills the teachers feel that they are unable to give the learning of these skills the high priority they deserve (the current EBTANAS is a serious de-motivator). The new thrust into School Based Quality Improvement (SBQI) and School Based Management (SBM) (the empowering of schools) should allow greater freedom for teachers to address these very real issues at the school level (and address "real student needs"). It is with this knowledge and in consideration of the past and current financial investments made by the Indonesian government into secondary school language laboratories that I have created this manual. I personally have no doubts about the benefits of installing and employing language laboratories for foreign language teaching. Well designed laboratories can contribute significantly. The model which this manual will assist to implement will address the following key issues; large class sizes (high teacher student ratio), the development of practical language skills, student self-confidence, and some of the more significant maintenance issues.

The Objectives

1. The manual was designed so as to enable schools that already posess language learning laboratories to address the main quality learning issues pertaining to improving practical (active) language teaching and efectiveness.

2. It will also serve as a useful reference for headteachers, language teachers, and other parties who may be considering the installation of language learning equipment.

3. It is a realistic attempt to disseminate a concept which is 'practically' implementable in all schools that currently posess language laboratories of any type and model (over 800 schools). The laboratory chosen for this exercise is one of the Tandberg System 500 laboratories. It is one of the oldest and still the most common in SMUs. The basic concepts contained here are equally applicable to any make or model of language laboratory in any school.

4. This manual will hopefully provide an update and stimulus for re-thinking some of the currently held beliefs about language laboratories in Indonesian schools (and hopefully other learning technologies).

5. The concepts within this manual encourage and support the concepts of School Based Management (SBM) - school based reolution of issues.

Important points to consider before using this manual

The modifications indicated in this manual are "not capital based" but as much as possible have been centered upon improving learning quality and developing skilled staff within schools at minimal cost (improving human resource utilization). The total modification could cost as little as Rp 225,000.00 or even less, to Rp425,000.00 (the cost given in the table), or much more depending upon how well you can begin to maximize your local human and other resources.

The basic design and concepts for the language laboratory are based upon the outcomes of my 1998 consultancy which was to provide a new "model" for the Ministry of Education, Indonesia. Personally, considering the current economic situation here in Indonesia at the time, the main underpinning objectives (to me) were educational effectiveness and economic efficiency, and I believe that these were achieved.

However, as with any "model" its true value can only be assessed after suitable implementation and trialing (in context). The basic language laboratory floor-plan I proposed in 1998 is shown below.

Participation in the Modeling Change in Senior Secondary Education Project provided me with the opportunity to test the theories under the auspices of the Model Schools Implementation Project/ Study (MSIPS). One of the primary objectives of this project/study was to work together with the various stakeholders; teachers, students, school administration, and the parents (Gotong Royong). The main thrust being to evaluate cost efficient implementation strategies and practices for improving the development of functional foreign language skills in SMUs. The three primary concerns were:

The new language laboratory has an improved teacher/ student ratio (previous target 1:48 new target 1:24). Not ideal, but the best achievable ratio under current conditions (class size 48).

Stakeholder participation in the project is very important (socialize the project). This is very important because the use of local school staff will require some patience from other members of staff. Being involved in, and having a free opportunity to contribute to the project planning at all stages is very important. The importance of this was highlighted by the fact that all stakeholders passively, if not actively agreed to my initial plan for half-classes being scheduled to the laboratory and library on an alternating roster. The design for the laboratory (below) was determined mainly by taking into consideration the many factors pertaining to the particular room available (width, length, lighting and doorways).

However, it wasn't until we started to actually plan for implementation that I became aware of serious reservations among the teachers about utilizing the library. This forced me to present options which greatly effected the final outcomes.

A design based upon my initial concepts (a divided self-access room / laboratory) being the final solution. I personally prefer to incorporate the library into the the language laboratory planning because students currently have very few opportunities to utilize the library (a key educational issue).

Key steps which need to be taken by any school planning to implement the modifications recommended in this manual are:

Socialize the project with parents, students, and other teachers. Parents may wish to contribute labor or other resources. External sponsorship is also another option.
Recruit local school staff (who have time) and appoint them to being responsible for particular aspects of the project.
Decide which model of class division is the most suitable for your particular school (considering operational factors, room space, current library facilities, and school extra-curricular programs).
How to Maximize the available space. You will have to carefully measure the room dimensions and the language laboratory furniture so as to be able to design your new laboratory. Ease of entry and exit for the students is a major consideration.

The most striking feature compared to the conventional laboratory is the large central area. This area is used for practical demonstrations by the teachers, for role playing, small group and large group activities, etc.
Teachers have easy access for monitoring student progress during listening and writing activities.
Unrestricted visibility for utilizing audio-visual resources.
Open communicative environment.

Language Laboratory Upgrade
USER NOTES:

To obtain a larger version of an image try clicking on the photo. Many of the photos have larger versions provided.
If you go to any of the links (coloured) in the text you can click on the "BACK" button on your browser to return immediately.
It is impossible for me to cover every point that I mention in this manual in great detail. However, if you have any difficulties following the basic instructions please send this form for more information. I would be pleased to provide further information to anyone wishing to implement this model and it will also help me affectively update this manual.
All of the work except for the final cabling was done by school administration (TU) staff. The cabling was carried out by a local village (unemployed) electrical worker.

Good luck!
Phillip

This laboratory was chosen for the MSIPS project as an example because its design is typical of the language laboratories installed in many Indonesian senior high schools (SMU). The student units are in groups of 4, and there are a total of 40 student units in the lab. The master console is in the centre of the room and the cables are installed above the floor (covered by plastic tape). All student units face the front and visibility of the teacher from the rear half of the room is almost zero, but more importantly the use of audio-visual aids is largely impractible. Access for the teacher to communicate personally with and monitor students individually between the rows is very restricted. There is no space provided for the formation of a class or group type activities, and there is no space for role-playing or other practical exercises (these are of major importance for improving student confidence levels). The provision of space for these activities in the language laboratory is especially important because of the class sizes in the normal classrooms (48) where there is virtually no chance of engaging in these activities.

The first task is to disconnect the power to the master console. Disconnecting is usually a very simple procedure because most connections are plugable. If the power is hard-wired to the console or if you have any concerns about safety ask your school electrician to perform this task. You will then need to disconnect the power cables to the student units from the power supply (a small screwdriver is required). Place small labels on the cables as you disconnect them indicating to where they were originally connected. Next, remove the remote power switch which is usually affixed to the front of the master console desk by two screws (visible in the photo). The control line to the student units (from the master console) is also plugable and should be disconnected at both ends and stored safely. Remove the master console, power supply unit, and stabilizer and place them in a clean safe area.

The console in the photo is not the one that we upgraded. I used this photo because it highlights many of the installation problems and hazards that I encountered in many of the schools that I have visited. In this photo a variac (auto-transformer - red) is used. The use of variacs is not recommended because it is very easy to accidentally incorrectly set (in this case with your foot) the voltage causing damage to the laboratory. This particular installation was very dangerous because of the unprofessional wiring and the safety hazards (having terminals exposed). In your new installation there will be no exposed cables and the stabilizer (not variac) will be in the preparation room or sufficiently distant from the master console.

Now commence removing the cables, link units and student recorders from 24 of the student units (6 groups of 4 - choose the best furniture). Only 24 units will be modified significantly. The other 16 units will be deployed in the library for self access. Allow two (2) days to complete this task.

The next task is to remove the partitions from the 24 units to be used in the laboratory. The dust created during this process is the main reason for removing all the electronic equipment from the student units. I recommend that approximately 1cm of the partition is left remaining to clearly define each student's workspace. As can be seen in the photograph the worker has covered his mouth and nose to protect him from the dust. I recommend that gloves be worn so that hand injuries can be avoided and also to reduce fatigue.

Once all of the dividers have been removed the corners (front and rear) should be rounded off for safety and the top edge should be smoothed off with sandpaper. The only eqipment that is required is a handsaw and a piece of timber (wood) approximately 1cm thick to act as a guide for cutting (the handsaw can be borrowed). The removal of the partitions greatly improves visibility and assists communicative teaching/learning.

After all the equipment, cables, and the partitions have been removed it is now time to layout the student and teacher furniture in the room (the partition material may be usable or sellable so don't dispose of it). You should already have carefully measured and planned for the installation however, this next stage is most important. Arrange for all of the language teachers to meet in the room. This will be the last chance they will have for changes. Review student entry/exit aspects, teacher and student comfort and visibility, the number and size of the spaces between the benches for student access (students will need to move from the centre to the outside of the student units during class activities).

When the final position of the furnishings has been agreed upon carefully mark where the channels will need to be placed to install the underfloor cables. When the laboratory is completed no cables should be visible. Allow sufficient length (of the channel) so that the conduit and an elbow can emerge inside the furniture. The width of the channels should be a minimum of 3" or 75mm. It is highly recommended that if a voltage stabilizer (stavol) is used that it be placed in the preparation room which is normally situated behind the master console in most laboratories (or at a sufficient distance from the master console). Fields produced by the stabilizer can have an effect upon the audio quality of the lab. Therefore channels will need to be included which carry the power from the preparation room (or rear wall) to the console.

To complete the recommended installation you will need to purchase sufficient conduit, elbows, PVC glue, some sand, and cement. The elbows should be of the type shown at the front of the picture on the left. Do not use the type of elbow shown (black) which is sitting on top of the conduit. The cost of 2" (50mm) elbows at the time of purchase was Rp 5,000.00 each and we used 8 elbows. The cost of the conduit used was not much more than the elbows. Use at least 2" conduit so that you can easily remove and re-insert the link unit and other cables for maintenance. Before proceeding to the following step (cutting the channels in the floor) it is best if you arrange to borrow or hire a power saw with a ceramic cutting blade (photo right). We hired a saw for Rp 20,000.00. You will probably be able to hire a saw and operator for around the same cost if none of your staff are experienced with power saws.

CAUTION: The operator of the power saw must wear safety goggles, a face mask, gloves, ear protection, and solid shoes.

Having carefully cut along the lines marked for the placement of the conduit channels you can begin removing the cut tiles. But, before you commence put on safety goggles, gloves and good footwear - not like the person in the photo! The removed tile pieces will be re-used after the conduit is inserted so as to avoid having to re-cut new tiles. Now, carefully chisel out the channels to a depth of 2 1/2" - 3" (63mm - 75mm).
NOTE: In indonesia, before ceramic tiles are laid a layer of high sand content cement is often used to level the floor. We did not have to go below this layer to achieve sufficient depth so the cutting of the channels was relatively easy in this case.

The material removed from the floor (sand and rubble) will be re-used to position and install the conduit so do not move it too far from the worksite. This will minimize material usage.

Place one elbow firmly onto the conduit (fully inserted) and measure and cut the conduit to the correct length by holding the other elbow alongside the conduit. CAUTION: When we apply the glue to the joints it acts as a lubricant while it is still wet. Sometimes the conduit will enter further into the elbow when the glue is applied so re-check the length and adjust before the glue dries (very quickly!). Now, make your joints using the glue and insert the conduit into the channel.

Place some of the material removed during the cutting of the channel around the the conduit and carefully measure and check its positioning. If it is necessary to move the conduit significantly remove the conduit, clean out the channel, and start again. If you do not do this the fill material can get under the conduit and lift it up causing the conduit to be too high for the covering cement and tile layers. When the conduit is correctly placed pack and compress the fill around it.

Prepare and cut the removed pieces of floor tiles so as to be ready to replace them and finish the job neatly. You can score the tiles with the corner of a file and they will break along the line fairly neatly (no need to use a saw). Now, apply a layer of moist to wet mixed cement to the correct height and replace the tiles. Pay special attention to the height of the tiles. They must be level with the rest of the floor (not above - not below). We are creating walkways and we do not want to create a safety hazard.

We found that when installing longer sections of conduit that it is particularly important to regularly check that the conduit has not risen too high in the channel. The natural gentle bends in the conduit can cause problems and you may have to place weights on the conduit to hold it down in position while you are applying the cement and tiles.

In this photo you can see the finished installation of the conduit from the teachers console (left) to the first student unit. Short pieces of conduit will be installed under the console so that the cables will not be visible after they are installed.

Here you can see one of the walkways between the student units. The work looks very professional but it was carried out by local school administration staff (TU).

NOTE: An extra complication was present in this laboratory. You can see in the photo that there are fittings in the floor. These are 220 Volt power and audio outlets. They have been placed at regular distances around the laboratory (purpose unknown). We had to take special precautions during the planning so as minimize the risk of cutting through any under-floor cables. This is one very good reason why you should wear gloves and shoes when using any power equipment so as to minimize the risk of electrocution.

The conduits are installed and the furniture is in place. Now we have to begin preparing for the installation of the cable and link units. Because it is conventional (in Indonesia) to read from left to right we usually also allocate numbers starting from the lowest on the left to highest on the right. With the Tandberg system we are using we have the flexibility to make the student unit closest to the console position 1 or position 24 as we desire. Therefore, whether the console is on the left of the room or the right of the room (according to our preference) we can still maintain conventional numbering of the student units. This flexibility is achieved by the coding we place in the link units (more later). These link units play a key role in our control of the student recorders and communications. They allocate the numbering and positioning, and decode instructions for each student.

The link unit cables provided in the original installation from the master console to the first 8 student units were sufficient in length. However, we had to extend one link unit cable in order to go under the second walkway. This did not require the purchase of any extra cable and was easily achieved by using the cable from one of the unused link units. Because the number of student positions has been reduced by 16 we now have 4 spare link units (1 link unit serves 4 students) which are not required by the units used in self-access. This also means that we already have spare parts for the new laboratory.

The extending of the cable is not difficult and I will try to take you through it step-by-step. It is important to note that the skills gained here will contribute significantly to the sustainability of your new laboratory. By carrying out these procedures it will help you to understand, diagnose and repair future faults which may occur.

This is a link unit from the Tandberg System 500 language laboratory. You can see that the sockets are numbered for student positions from 25 to 28. This numbering can easily be changed by some switches inside the unit. We could easily make this link unit operate student positions 1 to 4. So it doesn't matter which unit you use in which position. This point is important because you can switch the units around so as to utilize the ones with the longest cables wherever you want to use them.

So that we can extend the cable on one of the link units that we are going to use we will remove a cable from one of the link units which will not be used.

First remove the two screws from the bottom of the unit. Then seperate the top and bottom halves of the unit (see below).

We need to lift the top printed circuit board so that we can get to the cables below. To do this we have to squeeze the three plastic supporting posts which as we lift will release the board. We can squeeze them one at a time and lift the board free. Two are located at the edge closest to us in the photo and one is more in the centre of the printed circuit board (more clearly seen in the photo below).

This is what we can see when the top board has been lifted. The cables are now visible.

Unscrew the two screws on the cable clamp. Release the cable and replace the screws. We may want to use this link unit as a replacement later so always replace everything to its original position (good practice).

Now, cut the wires at about 3cm from the connecting plug. We are doing this to maximize the length of cable that we have available for the extension of the link unit.

By leaving 3cm of wire it makes it easy if you want to use the link unit again later to see where the plugs should go when you replace the cable.

Now, we have to prepare the cables for joining. The cable that we just disconnected from the link unit has a plug on the other end. This plug will be used to connect to the next link unit. The plug on cable of the link unit that we want to extend should be cut off as close as possible to that plug (giving us maximum length).

The wires in the cables have individual colour codings. This makes it simple to join the wires together correctly (simply match the colours). On both cables make sure that the outer (double) insulation (sheathing) is removed for a length of about 2 1/2" (63mm). See picture below (left).

Carefully remove about 1cm of the insulation from each individual wire (above right). Try not to cut any of the individual strands of conductor. I suggest that you try practicing on some old wire first. Notice how there is a finger placed between the handles of the wire snippers. This is so that the snippers can not fully close and makes control a lot easier. This is a very useful skill to learn.

Now seperate the wires so that their colours are easily visible (below left). When you have completed this process for both cables you are now ready to join them together.

There are two important charactoristics of a good joint:

Good Electrical Connection
Good Mechanical Strength

By twisting the wires together tightly as we join them (above right) we give the joint considerable strength. Then by soldering each connection (below left) we provide good electrical connection. To provide good insulation between each joint we use heat-shrink insulation. Heat-shrink insulation is available in many sizes. The size we used was just slightly larger than the wire. This insulation has to be placed over one of the wires before joining (don't forget!). Once the joint is made and soldered and has cooled down you can slide the heat-shrink oveer the joint and by heating it with a match or cigarette lighter it will shrink firmly over the joint. Do not heat it too much or it will puncture.

Once all of the connections have been completed a larger heat-shrink placed over the outside of the cable (beforehand) can be placed over all of the joined wires to give a very professional appearence.

In the photo on the left we can see the position of the switches that provide us with the ability to assign a particular link unit to particular student units (see insert bottom right). This switch uses a binary counting system for this allocation. The binary count of:

"0" or 0000 (four switches) allocates the link unit to student positions 1 - 4.
If the switches are set to "1" or 0001 then the link unit will control student positions 5 - 8.
0010 - student positions 9 - 12
0011 - student positions 13 - 16
0100 - student positions 17 - 20
0101 - student positions 21 - 24

Therefore we can by the setting of these switches determine whether the first or last link unit is for students 1 - 4 and we can thus position our console on either side of the room and maintain conventional left to right numbering. Any of the link units can be used in any position so when we are installing the link units in the laboratory we need only concern ourselves with their length of cable.

The installation of the power supply (low voltage - black cables in the photographs) is simply the reverse of their removal. These cables supply alternating current (AC) power to the student equipment (including the recorder). Because it is an AC supply there is no need to concern ourselves with polarity ie. there is no (+) or (-). When you disconnected the original laboratory you would have labelled two pairs of black cables connecting to two pairs of terminals on the language laboratory power supply. The reason that there are two pairs of power supply terminals is because each pair can only supply power to a maximum of twenty (20) student positions. Because our modified laboratory has twenty four (24) student positions it is important that the four (4) student positions (first link unit) closest to the master console are powered from one pair of the power supply terminals and the other twenty (20) student positions (5 link units) are powered from the other pair of power supply terminals. This configuration uses the minimum amount of cable (you will have an excess of cable from the old lab) and it will ensure that the power supply is not overloaded.

You can see from the photographs above that the cables have been affixed to the underside of the furniture by small clamps. We could have used small box conduit to install the cables under the furniture but this would have added significantly to the cost. In the right hand photograph it can be seen that we have used a holesaw to produce a 2" (50mm) holes for the cables. This provides for ease of installation, removal and service of the link units.

Likewise a 2" (50mm) hole was placed in the master console furniture to allow ease of installation and service. Place the cable entry hole in a position so that it is normally covered by the console during operation.

SUMMARY

TASK

TIME

MATERIALS

STAFF

APPROX COST Rp

Disconnect the electrical power to the language lab

Approx 1 hour

School (TU)

Disconnect and label the power supply cables, remote power switch, master control line, power to the master console, etc and store all equipment safely away from dust.

Approx 1 - 2 hours

School (TU)

Remove all the connecting cables between the console and student units.

Approx 2 hours

School (TU)

Disconnect and remove all the equipment from 24 student positions.

Approx 1 - 2 days

School (TU)

Remove the student units that are not going to be used (to the library if there is space).

Approx 2 hours

School (TU)

Remove the partitions on the 24 student units that you are going to use with a saw leaving about 1cm.

Approx 2 days

School (TU)

Layout the furniture that you are going to use according to your new design.

Approx 1 hour

School (TU)

Review the new layout of the laboratory with all language teachers once the furniture is in place.

School Teachers

only

Mark the positions of the channels for the under-floor conduits.

Approx 1 hour

School (TU)

Measure the length of the channels and buy sufficient conduit, elbows, and glue to complete the installation. Hire an electric saw with a ceramic cutting blade.

Conduit, elbows,� and glue.

Hire a saw

100,000.00

20,000.00

Taking the appropriate safety precautions cut along the lines marking the edges of the channels and chisel out the channels.

Channel Total Time approx 2 days

School (TU)

Clean out the channels and check that the depth and and width are sufficient (remember that some concrete and tiles have to go on top of the conduit).

�

School (TU)

Cut the conduit, glue on the elbows, and place them in the correct positions in the channels.

�

School (TU)

Prepare the removed pieces of floor tiles for replacement. Fill in around the conduit using the old material. Cement the tiles back in place being extra careful that they are level with the rest of the floor.

�

Cement & sand

School (TU)

20,000.00

Cut cable access holes under the student benches ready to install the cables (Tandberg Sys 500 2" [50mm]). As this is the last dirty work in the laboratory I suggest that the room and all furniture is now thoroughly cleaned.

Approx 1 day

2� Hole Saw

School (TU)

35,000.00

For the Tandberg laboratories carefully follow the link cable extension and installation instructions provided.

Approx 3 days

Solder,

Heatshrink

Plastic,

School (TU)

local worker

50,000.00

For other brands of laboratory your science teacher or a local tradesperson may be able to assist. Please feel free to contact me anytime before you commence the installation if you have any concerns.

School (TU)

local

worker

Wire-up the electrical power. Use conduit to cover any cables to provide a professional finish.

Approx 1 � 3 days

School or local electrician

200,000.00

TOTALS (approx)

Approx 425,000.00

Phillip Rekdale
Konsultan Pendidikan & Teknologi

(Ref: SSE Project 1999)