International Resources

The Community

The CELL Multimedia Language Laboratory contains various software and printed resources and is designated for only CELL/ESL students. It offers a flexible schedule which includes hours between classes and during the afternoons, evenings, and weekends. ESL students are required to spend two hours per week in the lab in order to be eligible for promotion (i.e. Reading 4 to Reading 5), but students are welcome and encouraged to spend as much time as they wish using the programs, resources, and computers to study English. The lab is staffed with student assistants who are available to help students and knowledgeable about all of the programs and resources. Additionally, instructors may reserve the lab for use during class time.

The following programs and resources are available in the lab:

Computers and Headphones

21 student computers are equipped with the latest versions of Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer and state-of-the-art headphones, which allow students to listen comfortably and make recordings as needed. An administrative/teacher computer allows instructors to maximize class time spent in the lab as it is equipped with software which allows the instructor to show his/her computer screen to the class or a student’s screen to the class. Additionally, the instructor can access students’ computers from the administrative computer making it easy for an instructor to assist a student remotely.

TVs with Video Capability

Each computer is equipped with a CD/DVD drive allowing students to watch DVDs at the computer unit; however, if a student needs to watch a video cassette, TVs with video cassette capability and headphones are available.

ELLIS Middle Mastery 3.0

ELLIS Middle Mastery teaches grammar, vocabulary, listening and pronunciation skills and cultural awareness on an intermediate level with self-paced progression. It offers 25 lessons and over 1,300 hours of instruction using digital audio and video, voice recording, role-play and native language support.

Learners can take advantage of ELLIS Middle Mastery's dialogue-branching feature to choose different outcomes for every video situation by selecting a character from any video segment and assuming that role in the scene. Role-play gives students a chance to participate in real-life situations in a non-threatening way, helping them to gain confidence and stay motivated.

ELLIS Senior Mastery 3.0

ELLIS Senior Mastery offers 47 lessons in vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, grammar, listening comprehension and pronunciation at an advanced level. ELLIS Senior Mastery also uses digital audio and video, voice recording, role-play, and native language support.

ELLIS Senior Mastery offers Role-play, script pages, and lesson-specific tests. Its student workbook and web-based extension activities allow learners to review concepts and practice reading and writing.

Senior Mastery's 300 Grammar Summary pages allow learners to listen to sample sentences, watch video clips demonstrating lesson-specific grammar, and record their own speech. Learners can enter the Grammar Summary pages independently to access any lesson.

The Rosetta Stone

This comprehensive program provides up to 550 hours of mastery instruction in listening comprehension, reading, writing, and speaking. Systematic structure teaches vocabulary and grammar naturally, without lists or drills. Previews, exercises, and tests accompany every lesson, and there are automated tutorials throughout the program. Graphical speech recognition displays your voiceprint and compares it with the native speaker to help improve your pronunciation.

Pronunciation Power

Pronunciation Power focuses on the five aspects of speaking: Stress, Timing, Articulation, Intonation and Rhythm (S.T.A.I.R.). It uses over 7000 practice words and thousands of sentences, animated lessons, 1020 listening exercises, over 100 hours of training and over 2000 photos and graphics. It is most effective for students on a beginning to intermediate level.

Orchard Language Arts

This program focuses on reading, writing, and grammar. Literal, inferential, critical, and visual reading skills are emphasized throughout the instruction, practice, and application phases of the programs. Interesting themes are used to present level-appropriate narrative, informational, persuasive, and everyday/work texts. Students are encouraged to make predictions about what they will read, learn new vocabulary words, develop literacy skills, and reflect upon their progress. Students may work on approximately 35 different skills in each level.

TOEFL Study Guides

TOEFL Study Guides and CD-ROMs for both iBT and Institutional TOEFL are available for ESL students to check out for use in the lab.

Instructor Recommended Websites

Websites recommended by instructors are easily accessible on each computer. Recommended sites are saved in the Favorites Center, which can be accessed by opening Internet Explorer. Websites are categorized by topics, such as Reading, Vocabulary, TOEFL, etc.