Dictogloss takes around 30 – 45 minutes and is suitable for all levels from A2 on; the text you use needs to be level appropriate in length and complexity. Here’s an overview of the procedure:
Write or select a text that you will dictate to your class. This should typically be 50-100 words in length; shorter for lower levels, longer for higher. The text should include some examples (perhaps 2 or 3) of a target structure you want to teach learners e.g. I was lying on the beach when I heard a loud noise. It’s very important that (relative to level) the text is not too long and not too complicated in terms of the lexis used, as they will need to reconstruct it.
Lead in to the topic of the text, generating interest in it by showing some visuals or asking personalised questions. This will vary depending on the text but should be logical e.g. if your text is about a bad holiday experience ask them if they have ever had a bad holiday and why.
Tell the students you will read a short text to them; they should listen, and as soon as you finish reading the text they should write down key words and phrases from it – as many as they can remember. The first time you do this with a group, it is worth checking the instructions e.g. should you write down every word? Is this realistic? What is a key word or phrase? Demonstrate if it helps.
Read the text, give a signal, and let students write down phrases in their notebook. They should do this on their own, and then...
…put them in pairs. They should pool their key words. Once satisfied, they should reconstruct the text, writing it out in full. One can be the scribe, but both should contribute.
Now put them in groups of four – pair AA and pair BB join to form group AABB. They should read their texts to each other and based on this agree on an improved version they are all happy with. They should write this improved version.
Next ask the whole class to shout out the text to you; write it on the board. Nominate one group at a time to read a sentence and see if the other groups agree with them, writing the version of the text that most groups agree with. You should end up with a full agreed student version on the board.
Now display the original version – give out a handout, or show it on a flipchart, slide etc. Ask students to read it and decide if they captured all of the information from the original. In terms of content, did you get 100% of the information, 80%, less?
Zoom in on the target language you embedded in the text: highlight your target sentences and ask your students if they wrote exactly the same words. Look at differences e.g. perhaps your students wrote I lied on a beach when I heard a noisy instead of the example above. You can now clarify the meaning, form and pronunciation of your language, before moving to practice.
Reflection: Dictogloss is not a traditional dictation as you don’t want students to write down your exact words – you want them to capture the gist, and then reconstruct the text. These reconstruction phases encourage debate and collaboration among the learners. Once the final version is given, and students compare theirs with the original, they have the chance to “notice” gaps in their knowledge – in theory, they are more interested in the new grammar as they can see they did not use it when they wrote their own, or at least did not use it perfectly. In short, it’s a much less passive procedure than simply presenting new grammar through a text that students read. Give it a try!
The Dictogloss was part of our webinar for teachers “Write it down: dictation is fun!”. If you would like to find out more about Budapest Training’s webinar series, click here.
Neil Anderson
CELTA / DELTA Trainer / Assessor