The world is moving toward a global economy, and Drake, in recognition of this trend, has made a dramatic addition to its foreign language department. Under the direction of Arthur Hughes, assistant professor of Spanish, a 24-station classroom has been set up for use by professors of the foreign languages and students. The room consists of 24 student stations and two professor stations. Hughes said students are able to work independently, in groups or as a whole class, grouped by the professor's computer. The professor can listen in on what the work groups are doing and speak exclusively to any student.
Students sit at computers connected to the Internet and wear headphones.
At the computers, they can search the Internet for Spanish newspapers and read the news Spaniards are reading that day. In addition, students can also listen to the pronunciation of words and repeat them into the microphone of the headphones. This is feasible with voice recognition software. Students can also use the headphones to listen to movies projected on a large screen at the front of the room. Professors can play traditional VHS video tapes and also those formatted for European VCRs.