The University of Rzeszów or Uniwersytet Rzeszowski (UR) is a large, publicly run higher education institution in the South-east of Poland. UR started accepting students in 2001 – it now has more than 18,000 students and over 1,800 teachers and professors. The University is regularly identified as one of the top universities in Polish national rankings.
Sanako’s solutions have been most effectively deployed in the English Studies department within the University’s College of Humanities. This department runs well regarded BA and MA programmes and their students are highly sought after as English teachers or English language interpreters and translators. Read on to find out why UR selected Sanako language teaching solutions and how they’re used to support learning.
From traditional language lab to modern language teaching software
According to Dr. Marta Nowacka, Assistant Professor in the College of Humanities, UR originally uses Sanako Lab 100 to conduct regular English phonetics classes, where a group of up to 24 students in a lesson can practise their pronunciation individually.
However, due to the 2020-2021 pandemic, regular classes at the university were suspended, hence arose the need to teach English phonetics, pronunciation and practical English language skills by means of an online tool. Thus, the university began adopting Sanako Connect – Sanako’s new and most modern online language teaching platform that enables educators to prepare language learning exercises and tests with detailed instructions to access the simple or advanced (2-track) recorder as well as sending and collecting audio files using any internet device.
The solution is mainly used by first year students in English Phonetics classes. They use the software to practise and master their speaking skills and, in particular, their pronunciation. The technology is regularly used by over 150 students every week, including on evenings and weekends.
The impact of the online language lab
The English Studies department is delighted with the use of the online language lab, as Marta identifies below, Sanako Connect is having a huge impact on teaching and learning.
“Classes can now be either synchronous – we can talk to all the students in real-time using a microphone or on a global chat, or to individual students via a microphone or a direct message – or asynchronous allowing students to practise at their own pace and submit their work for a teacher to check. Sanako has also helped us hugely as the entire communication with students, (including their assignment and materials) can be stored in one place. It is therefore easy to find each student’s test and assignment and to send feedback / talk to a student during a lesson.”
Thanks to Sanako Connect, those tests, Marta notes, can now be evaluated whenever the teacher wants. Furthermore, the feedback window that educators have established and assigned to each individual submission makes communication between a student and a teacher significantly easier.
When asked why she (and UR) had chosen Sanako’s products, Marta’s answer was quick and unequivocal.
“I’ve been using Sanako – first with tapes – for teaching students English pronunciation for around 20 years. I trust the company and I am very satisfied with the service I receive. In my opinion, Sanako Connect really satisfies the needs of a language student, particularly one who needs to practise their pronunciation.”
Would you like to increase the efficiency of language teaching in your school using Sanako’s products? Book a FREE remote demo session with us to learn more.
