Dictation is a technique where learners listen to spoken language and write what they hear. It involves 100-150 word passages containing familiar vocabulary in new contexts. Variations include running dictation and dictogloss. Pre-dictation activities prime learners' listening by previewing words, questions, or repetitions. Dictation helps increase foreign language memory span through contextual practice listening and writing. Similar activities are dictogloss, oral reproduction, and retelling passages phrase-by-phrase.

1. CHAPTER 4
Language-focused Learning through
Dictation and Related Activities
Nation & Newton. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL Listening and Speaking. Routledge.
영어 말하기 듣기지도
2013.4.1.

2. Dictation Process
• We can describe dictation as a technique where the learners
receive some spoken input, hold this in their memory for a
short time, and then write what they heard.
• Variations: dictogloss and running dictation

3. Typical Text for Dictation
• A dictation text is a piece of connected language about 100 to
150 words long. It is usually chosen so that it is reasonably
complete in itself and contains material that suits the level of
the learners for whom it is intended.
• Dictation will be most effective when it involves known
vocabulary which is presented in unfamiliar collocations and
constructions, and when there is opportunity for repetition of
the material.

4. Text Variations
• Quiz Format: There are four people sitting around a table.
Three of the people are men—Mr Wood, Mr Williams and Mr
Long. One person is a woman—Mrs X. The woman is the wife
of one of the men. Mr Wood sits opposite Mrs X. Mr Long sits
to the right of Mrs X. Mr Williams sits at one of the longer
sides of the table. Mrs X does not sit next to her husband.
Who is the husband of Mrs X? Show the positions of the four
people around the table.

5. Pre-dictation Activities
1. read once by the teacher
2. the learners can be given the text to read and study before it
is dictated
3. Certain types of words from the dictation can be written on
the blackboard in the same order as they are in the dictation.
4. The teacher tells the learners to listen for all the words
ending in s (or ing, ed, etc. or with the in front of them, etc.)
and to write them.
5. The teacher writes pairs of words on the blackboard. (e.g.,
book-books, walk-walked ).
6. The teacher reads the dictation text several times.
7. The learners are given some questions to answer.

6. Variations of Dictation
• Running Dictation
• One Chance Dictation
• Dictation of Long Phrases
• Guided Dictation
• Dictation for a Mixed Class
• Peer Dictation
• Completion Dictation
• Perfect Dictation
• Sentence Dictation
• Unexploded Dictation

7. Related Techniques
• Delayed Repetition
• Delayed Copying
• Read and Look-up
(See Fig. 4.1)

8. Monitoring Dictation
1. Memory span is shorter in a foreign language than in the
native language.
2. Memory span in a foreign language increases with mastery
of the language.
3. The difference between the native and the foreign language
memory span is greater when the material in the foreign
language contains the pronunciation and grammatical
contrasts between the languages.
4. The relation of memory span to foreign language is greater
for contextual material than for numbers.
Lado (1965: 128–129)

9. Similar Activities
• Dictogloss
• Dictocomp
• Oral Reproduction (e.g. Disappearing text)
• Retelling
• Reproduction Exercise
• Retelling
• Phrase-by-phrase