Comments on: What does dictation evaluate? http://www.autonoblogger.com/efl/734/ EFL for fluency and autonomy, in a Japanese college Sun, 25 Sep 2011 02:08:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Dictation redux | Autonoblogger http://www.autonoblogger.com/efl/734/comment-page-1/#comment-513 Dictation redux | Autonoblogger Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:54:49 +0000 http://www.autonoblogger.com/?p=734#comment-513 [...] A while back, I posted about using dictation in EFL classes. I recently gave dictations in my final exams, and reading the results taught me some further uses for dictation. [...] [...] A while back, I posted about using dictation in EFL classes. I recently gave dictations in my final exams, and reading the results taught me some further uses for dictation. [...]

]]> By: autonoblogger http://www.autonoblogger.com/efl/734/comment-page-1/#comment-395 autonoblogger Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:51:49 +0000 http://www.autonoblogger.com/?p=734#comment-395 Thanks, Jim. I think one important value of dictation is that it reinforces grapho-phonemic recognition. I was surprised to find that many of my students who did well in the PQA or storytelling activities, who remembered the vocab we used, etc., made many elementary errors in writing. This is obvious, really: although everything new had gone on the board, I hadn't given them any CI in reading. I just assumed they knew most of the words. In fact, more than 50% of what I write on the board is not new vocab for them; but they have not acquired these words, they are not able to use them in writing or speaking, and don't recognize them when they are said. They only recognize them in writing. They <em>recognize</em> them, but they cannot <em>produce</em> them correctly, even in dictation. Thanks, Jim.
I think one important value of dictation is that it reinforces grapho-phonemic recognition. I was surprised to find that many of my students who did well in the PQA or storytelling activities, who remembered the vocab we used, etc., made many elementary errors in writing. This is obvious, really: although everything new had gone on the board, I hadn’t given them any CI in reading. I just assumed they knew most of the words. In fact, more than 50% of what I write on the board is not new vocab for them; but they have not acquired these words, they are not able to use them in writing or speaking, and don’t recognize them when they are said. They only recognize them in writing. They recognize them, but they cannot produce them correctly, even in dictation.

]]> By: Jim Tripp http://www.autonoblogger.com/efl/734/comment-page-1/#comment-358 Jim Tripp Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:09:55 +0000 http://www.autonoblogger.com/?p=734#comment-358 I agree that dictation does not evaluate comprehension, nor should it try to. It is, for me, simply a way for students to hear the language, preferably language they heard the day before repeatedly, in a different context and try to process it visually and produce it physically on paper. To whatever extent kids are trying to translate in their heads is of little importance to me in this activity. Rather, I want them to focus on the spelling, the little stuff like contractions and preposition placement, things that aren't focused on as much during our intense CI sessions. I am guessing that more students that we think are indeed comprehending the language when dictation is taking place. Regardless if they are or not though, we always go over what was dictated, translate it together, and then do some more Q&A with it if interest is there. Sometimes I may have them write the rest of the story from where I left off with the dictation (as I usually only dictate one paragraph, read: the first location, of the story from the day before). Sometimes I wonder at the value of dictation. But, I do like that it switches things up for kids, and I think they really get something out of it. They also like the break of having to comprehend what I'm saying, I'm sure. It's a nice break for us teachers also. I agree that dictation does not evaluate comprehension, nor should it try to. It is, for me, simply a way for students to hear the language, preferably language they heard the day before repeatedly, in a different context and try to process it visually and produce it physically on paper. To whatever extent kids are trying to translate in their heads is of little importance to me in this activity. Rather, I want them to focus on the spelling, the little stuff like contractions and preposition placement, things that aren’t focused on as much during our intense CI sessions. I am guessing that more students that we think are indeed comprehending the language when dictation is taking place.

Regardless if they are or not though, we always go over what was dictated, translate it together, and then do some more Q&A with it if interest is there. Sometimes I may have them write the rest of the story from where I left off with the dictation (as I usually only dictate one paragraph, read: the first location, of the story from the day before).

Sometimes I wonder at the value of dictation. But, I do like that it switches things up for kids, and I think they really get something out of it. They also like the break of having to comprehend what I’m saying, I’m sure. It’s a nice break for us teachers also.

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