Most discussions of how audio and video recordings can be used in language learning assume analogue technologies, ie conventional tape-based audio or video cassette players, with recorded material played from a single source in a classroom, controlled by the teacher.

With good quality analogue recordings and equipment, in particular speakers, the single tape player can be used effectively for both testing and developing listening and viewing comprehension. Recordings can be used to present new language and reinforce existing language. With the recording under teacher control, comprehension strategies can be modelled and guided; teachers can easily shape a listening task to their learners' needs and skills. In particular, teachers can build interaction and discovery activities around an audio or video recording; they can demonstrate how comprehension needs to be based on guesswork and hypothesis testing.

However, analogue tape-based technologies, particularly video, do not allow for easy replay of specific sections of a recording. Video tape stretches and thus, when the pause button is released, a few seconds of the recording may be lost. This can limit classwork on bottom-up processing tasks. With audio tape, carefully paused playings are possible, so long as you have a good tape counter on the machine. However, it is very easy indeed to lose the precise point at which you wish to play the tape. It is obviously impossible with video and audio tape to move easily between sections of the recording: lots of rewinding and forward winding between extracts can be very distracting for learners.