Students can progress in their foreign language writing skills, spelling and identification of sound-letter (or letter combination) correspondence by doing dictations. The traditional use of dictation in the language class did not provide much opportunity for student engagement or interaction. Below is a dictation process that I have created to make the process of doing dictation in the foreign language classroom that is more engaging and interactive for students. The 5 steps can be done in one class or spread out over two or three days. The topic should include vocabulary and verb forms that are familiar to students.
- The teacher reads the entire dictation at a fluent speed.
- The teacher then reads each sentence slowly, word by word, so that students can write the sentences.
- The teacher finishes the dictation by reading the entire dictation a last time at a fluent speed.
- Students copy the dictation from a handout, the board or a projected screen without referring back to the dictation that they wrote in the first step.
- Students should be expected to write the dictation perfectly as they are copying it.
- Students read through the dictation that they wrote in step 1 and correct any mistakes they made, using the dictation text that they copied as a reference.
- Students pair up and take turns reading the dictation (that they copied in step 2) to each other and writing it out.
- Students then trade and correct each other’s work using the dictation text that they copied in step 2.
- The teacher repeats step 1.
- The teacher then grades the final written dictation.