Legon language centre laboratory inaugurated

Education Page May 26/2008

A GH¢100,000 laboratory for the Language Centre of the University of Ghana, Legon has been inaugurated as part of measures by the university to position itself as a centrepiece for language tuition on the continent.
The 30-seater ultra-modern laboratory comes two months ahead of the start of the teaching of Chinese language at the university after the Academic Board had given the nod for the course to commence.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor E.N. Tagoe, who inaugurated the laboratory, said the new laboratory would help the centre to effectively discharge its language teaching responsibilities in a modernised way.
He said traditional classroom teaching had usually offered interaction between the teacher and one student only at a time, leaving the rest of the class idle and often uninvolved in the learning activity.
Professor Tagoe said: “The language laboratory provides language-learning activities and exercises to keep all students actively engaged,” adding that “it also guides and monitors students individually or in groups or pairs, helps students to focus on comprehension and fluency of speech, as well as enrich lesson content by promising access to digital and Internet resources”.
He said considering the very unique features of the laboratory to the university, it represented the modernisation of language teaching and further affirmed the commitment of the university to ensuring quality in its programmes.
Professor Tagoe said the laboratory system was a huge investment the university had made and urged the centre to market its courses to enable the university to derive maximum financial benefits from the investment.
Dr G.S.K. Adika, acting Director of the Language Centre, said the centre was founded in 1970 and part of its concerns had been the teaching of English to foreign students, some of whom came from distant countries such as China, South Korea and Turkey.
He said over the years the centre had to rely on the British Council for such training, but due to the technological advancement the university had to develop its own laboratory.
Dr Adika expressed the hope that the language centre would be able to respond in terms of technology, to the expectations of the global language acquisition curriculum.

Pic (A) Professor Tagoe (right) in a headset as he listens with rapt attention, to a lecture during the trial. On his extreme left is Dr Adika and other guests after the inauguration.

Pic (B) Professor Tagoe cutting the tape to signify the opening of the laboratory. Pic by Charles Benoni Okine