Language lab

A modern language laboratory in a Japanese high school

A language laboratory (often shortened to language lab) is a dedicated space for foreign language learning where students can access audio or audio-visual materials. Typically, a teacher will listen to and manage student audio, which is delivered to individual students through headsets or in isolated sound booths. Language labs were common in schools and universities in the United States in the two decades following World War II. They have now largely been replaced by self access language learning centers, which may also be called language labs.