Language software for the personal computer or lab network is becoming more flexible and powerful, both in the types of media it can include and in design features that give users more options. Authoring programs continue to allow teachers to create customized materials for their classrooms. Language lab systems are being upgraded to allow the incorporation of multiple media resources. Advances in computer networking have increased the power, flexibility, and interconnectedness of desktop computer systems and the equipment available for use in the lab or resource center setting, and has also made possible the use of networked software in the classroom. A wide variety of non-Internet software is available for foreign language teachers and learners.
Software programs are also available for more specialized instructional purposes.
These authoring programs are becoming more sophisticated, incorporating multiple media resources, flexible feedback mechanisms, and in many cases a database system for tracking user performance. The language lab is sometimes seen as a means of providing in-class and independent access to analog audio, usually in the form of audiocassettes. Some systems are set up so that both tracks of an audio tape can be accessed for the practice of simultaneous interpretation. Thus, the lab systems being marketed today by companies such as ASC, Tandberg, and Sony allow incorporation of multiple media resources such as CD-audio, satellite, and video into the lab, with the potential for several groups of users to have access to these different resources simultaneously. These systems may also be adapted to include computer stations at some or all lab positions.