Penn’s Language Laboratory allowed students to work on improving their foreign language skills by listening to recordings and also recording their own pronunciations.
Created in 1959, the Lab in Logan Hall was equipped with 40 booths that contained apparatus that provided students with audio of expert pronunciation of languages, including Spanish, French, Russian, and German.
Using headsets, students could select a recording from the library, listen to it, and repeat what they heard. They could then make recordings of their own pronunciations of words and compare the recordings.
Through a master control unit, up to six groups of students, each studying a different language, could receive instruction simultaneously.
On the day that the lab opened, Paul King (left) of Magnetic Recording Industries, which installed the recording units, demonstrated how the equipment operates to Sculley Bradley, the University’s vice provost.
By 1971, the Language Laboratory grew to include film as well as audio recording equipment. Soon, interest in the lab expanded for other teaching and learning purposes. Some faculty used the audio-visual facilities for multimedia lectures or to place long-distance conference calls to hear from a specialist at another university.
A School of Social Work professor used the lab to help train students to deal with clients. The students were filmed during a class discussion so they could see how they appear when they interacted with clients.
The Language Laboratory was renamed the Audio-Visual Center in 1976.
Its name was changed again in 1992 and was known as Multi-Media and Educational Technology Services (MMETS).
Today it is called the SAS Computing’s Multi-Media Services (MMS). Located in the basement of David Rittenhouse Labs, it provides the Penn community with computer labs, classroom technology support, equipment loans, and assists with campus conferences and meetings.
For more information about this and other historical events at Penn, visit the University Archives online.
Understanding order to disorder at the atomic scale opens possibilities for next-generation electronic devices
A Penn team has developed insight into the chemical and geometric mechanisms underlying the synthesis of new 2D materials, paving the way for next-gen devices, biomedical applications, and cleaner, quicker energy conversion and storage.
Exposure to air pollution worsens Alzheimer’s disease
New research from Penn Medicine finds living in areas with high concentration of air pollution is associated with increased buildup of amyloid and tau proteins in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, accelerating cognitive decline.
Penn buildings achieve LEED certifications, showcasing commitment to sustainability
Three recent building projects at the University of Pennsylvania have earned LEED Platinum, Gold, and Silver certifications, underscoring Penn’s ongoing commitment to sustainable design and construction.
What stiffening lung tissue reveals about the earliest stages of fibrosis
A Penn Engineering team has targeted the lung’s extracellular matrix to better understand early fibrosis by triggering the formation of special chemical bonds that increase tissue stiffness in specific locations, mimicking the first physical changes that may lead to lung fibrosis.
