Orono High School sophomore Romelyn Walker, 16, doesn't know if or when she'll travel to her birthplace in the Philippines.

But when she returns, the Maple Plain resident wants to speak Tagalog, the country's primary language.

The problem: In recent years, west-metro students interested in languages other than mainstays like Spanish or German ran into roadblocks as schools' language offerings became victims of budget cuts.

This fall, however, Orono is offering a state-of-the-art world language lab that students can use to independently study almost any language. Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Korean and Tagalog are some of the choices.

The lab -- made possible by a $100,000 gift last year from Orono parents Richard and Jennie Goelz -- is used by more than 700 students in Orono's language courses and English language learner programs.

The lab has 37 new computers loaded with interactive language software teachers can use for computer-based exams, practice lessons and recording and storing digital audio files.

"It's fabulous," said Marilyn Pederson, chairwoman of Orono High's world language department. "This is our crown jewel."

The nuts and bolts

Orono Spanish teacher Kelly Hanly said with the addition of the lab, manual tape recorders, paper-and-pencil vocabulary quizzes and other tools once used to gauge language skills are practically obsolete.

"In a classroom with 30 kids, it's difficult to hear them all speak." But with the language lab, a teacher can zero in on any student.

During one of the independent study classes last week, Hanly took a quick peek over the shoulder of senior Sean Wong and pointed to several pictures on his computer screen. Wong's lesson included pictures of scenes from daily life in China. He's studying Mandarin.

She could have monitored Wong's progress from her computer station at the front of the room, but she walked around periodically in case students needed help.

"It takes everyday images and connects the language with them," Hanly said. "It's not just blind guessing."

Hanly is also excited about her new ability to shake things up and "pair someone at Station 26 with someone across the room at Station 3."

In a traditional classroom, students often work with someone who sits next to them, Hanly said. But if the person they're working with is across the room, students are more likely to rely on the target language.

Another district's experience

Aaron Ruhland, the district's learning and accountability director, said district officials looked to similar labs at St. Paul College and Richfield High School when they were planning Orono's lab.

Richfield High German instructor Elizabeth Zehnpfennig said her school's lab opened in 2005 after the district won a $100,000 technology grant from Best Buy.