Some thoughts and practical ideas on using dictation in the English language classroom. For a free, voiced over video presentation of this, go to www.elt-training.com

1. Using Dictation
For a free voiced over video presentation of this, visit www.elt-training.com
Jo Gakonga

2. Why use dictation?
NO

3. Writing
Spelling
Listening

4. Top Tips

6. Make it
interesting

7. I am a fruit.
I’m orange but I’m not an orange.
I have seeds but I’m not an apple.
I’m bigger than a pineapple.
You have to cook me before you eat me.
What am I?

9. Keep it short!

10. Don’t
Oh! Verrr
Sea
Nun
Ate

11. Don’t
over enunciate

12. How to
dictate?

13. Types of dictation
Teacher to learner
Independent
Learner to learner
Collaborative

14. Teacher
dictation

15. Easy to do
Takes little preparation
eg. use instructions or warmers
from your course book...
When you left school, did you study, get a
job or do something else. Why?
Do you think it was the best thing to do?

16. OR:
Introduction to reading text
Title spelling dictation
T-H-E-F-A-M-I-L-Y-T-H-A-T-P-L-A-Y-S

17. Useful for:
Practice in listening for spelling
AEIOU
J-G
Y
Q
X
Z

18. From: New Cutting Edge Pre-Intermediate Pearson/Longman

19. From: New Cutting Edge Pre-Intermediate Pearson/Longman

20. Useful for:
Intensive listening practice
Raising awareness of connected speech
Adding variety

21. Dictogloss
Collaborative dictation
http://www2.klett.de/sixcms/media.php/10/A
08105-53990004_EU_Dictogloss_EB.pdf

22. An Inuit guide
The Arctic Circle
A polar bear
I looked to see what it was,
I kept as still as I could
stick your head out
sure enough

23. Read it once at normal
speed– learners just listen
Read again at normal speed,
pausing after each sentence –
learners make notes
NOTE: Learners DO NOT write
down the whole sentence

24. In pairs or groups, learners
reconstruct the passage
NOTE – this does not have
to be the same as the
original as long as the
meaning is conveyed
correctly and accurately.

25. Learners compare their
version with original.
Attention can be drawn to
the differences.

26. I was in the Arctic with an Inuit guide, a long way above
the Arctic Circle, where I was taking photographs of seals
underwater. After a few days the weather turned bad and
we decided to spend the night on the ice. Early the next
morning I was lying in the tent, just waking up, when
I felt something moving against my feet. I looked to see
what it was, and I could see the shape of a young polar
bear which was playing with my feet through the wall of
the tent. I kept as still as I could, and very quietly woke
the guide and told him what was happening. He
said, ‘Don’t worry, just stick your head out of the tent and
it will go away.’ So I said. ‘Well, you stick your head out of
the tent.’ And that’s exactly what he did – he stuck his
head out of the tent, and sure enough the polar bear went
away.

27. Useful for:
Vocabulary
New vocabulary, Revising vocabulary
Collocations, ‘chunks’ and common expressions
Grammar
Raising awareness, Revision
As a context for presentation
Discourse analysis and cohesive devices

28. Learner
dictation

29. Gives a real reason to make
language intelligible –
But…

30. Alternate/ info gap dictation
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
The place where I live is a small village called Wythall. There’s not much
to do there, really, and when I was a teenager I thought it was boring.
Now that I’m older, though and I’ve got a family, I think there’s
something nice about the quietness of it. There’s quite a lot of
traffic, because there’s little or no public transport, but it’s a rural
area, so there’s not much pollution. There are a couple of take away
shops, and one or two restaurants around, but mostly if people want to
go out and do something, they go to Solihull or Birmingham.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
The place where I live is a small village called Wythall. There’s not much
to do there, really, and when I was a teenager I thought it was boring.
Now that I’m older, though and I’ve got a family, I think there’s
something nice about the quietness of it. There’s quite a lot of
traffic, because there’s little or no public transport, but it’s a rural
area, so there’s not much pollution. There are a couple of take away
shops, and one or two restaurants around, but mostly if people want to
go out and do something, they go to Solihull or Birmingham.

31. The place where I live is a small village called
Wythall. There’s not much to do there, really,
and when I was a teenager I thought it was
boring. Now that I’m older, though and I’ve got a
family, I think there’s something nice about the
quietness of it. There’s quite a lot of traffic,
because there’s little or no public transport, but
.
it’s a rural area, so there’s not much pollution.
There are a couple of take away shops, and one
or two restaurants around, but mostly if people
want to go out and do something, they go to
Solihull or Birmingham.
Running dictation

33. called Alice and she
Once upon a time
there was a girl
lived with her father in

34. called Alice and she
Once upon a time
there was a girl
lived with her father in

39. Useful for:
Pronunciation practice
Listening practice
Increasing energy level in class

40. Thank you!
Jo Gakonga