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Through its Title VI National Foreign Language Resource Center grant, CASLS provided seed funding to the University of Oregon Yamada Language Center (YLC) to develop A National Virtual Language Lab (ANVILL), a web-based platform that helps teachers create opportunities for language practice.

"The original goal of ANVILL was to free individual schools from having to fund proprietary, expensive language labs that require company-specific software, training, and maintenance," shares YLC Director Jeff Magoto. "Many small schools couldn't afford these types of language labs."

Approximately 75% of ANVILL users are teachers in established programs looking for a way to extend language practice outside of the classroom. The remaining users are teachers in an online or hybrid course who integrate ANVILL into an everyday tool in their program.

YLC offers ANVILL, built on open-source software, for free to language educators. ANVILL includes templates for listening comprehension activities and speaking practice. Voiceboards are the tool used most by teachers. In less than ten minutes, teachers can create a task and let students respond to a teacher prompt or to each other.

YLC is planning improvements to ANVILL, including the integration of input and output activities, the development of interactive training materials, and the space for teachers to create a community around using the tool in the classroom.