I always find it useful to
give the students short dictations. It is an aid to
comprehension as well as helping them correlate the spoken word
to its written form. Naturally their spelling improves.
I like to start off with very simple dictations,
using common everyday situations.
Ex. Mary and Lisa are university students.
They study English together every afternoon, after school.
They generally study in the school library from half past 3 to 5
p.m. They want to pass their English exam with good marks.
First read the situation and slowly
dictate it to the students. When they are done, reread
the situation again out loud and then show them the dictation on
the blackboard so they can correct their errors. They
can also use this dictation for forming questions. Ex. Are
Mary and Lisa university students?
When do
they study English?
When the students have had some practice with
dictation, the teacher can make up more complex ones using new
vocabulary words as well as different verb tenses.
The next step can be a dictation where afterwards
the students have to make up the proper questions for the list
of “answers” .
Example: Henry Jones is a computer programmer.
He studied at New York University. In 1995, he graduated and
now he is working for IBM. He earns $500 a week. He goes to
school for a special computer course every Thursday evening. He
goes to this course with his friend, Jason.
ANSWERS:
I’m a computer programmer.
At New York University
In 1995.
For IBM.
$500 a week
Every Thursday evening.
With my friend, Jason.
The students have to write an appropriate
question for each answer, talking directly to Henry.
Ex. What do you do? I’m a computer
programmer.
Where did you
study? At New York University.
This kind of activity helps the students to
“think”. It’s not the usual answer a question, but seeing how
to form a question for a certain response. The teacher has the
possibility of seeing if her students need help making up these
questions, and if a general review is necessary.
Once they are getting really good at taking dictation, the
teacher can hunt up some short paragraphs that talk about
different subjects. Here having a good collection of short
advertisements from magazines, is truly a help. I even like the
short articles from English newspapers. USA TODAY is
especially valuable as the articles are often short and
interesting.
A Nice Thought
“Doubt is the father of
invention.”