Reduce Common English Faults with Dictation Exercises

I write five articles a week on language for a writing site. Many of my examples of misused English come from the writing of people who have received twelve or more years of formal education.

Although readers often chide me for being too harsh in my criticisms, reminding me that “language changes,” I can’t help feeling that something other than ordinary language change is at work when an adult who has completed even as much as eight years of school comes up with such howlers as

I hope this peeks your interest.

Follow these full proof instructions.

I choose the ladder of the two options.

The widespread use of nonstandard spoken and written English we’re witnessing has little to do with normal generational linguistic changes. The rapid decline stems from nonstandard English spoken in the media, and the superficial teaching of English in the public schools.

To speak correctly, children need to be around adults who model standard English in their own speech.  The attitude among many school administrators, coaches, and teachers of other subjects is that only English teachers should be expected to speak standard English.

In order to learn to write correctly, children must write daily and be required to write out corrected versions of the words or grammatical structures they get wrong in the daily composition.

Unfortunately, few English teachers work under conditions that permit this kind of thorough teaching. The only time I enjoyed the luxury of assigning daily compositions to my students and returning the corrected papers the following day was when I worked in a private school in which the English classes were limited to seven students, and discipline problems were non-existent.

All is not lost, however.  There is a technique that even overburdened American teachers of English can use to help students overcome the most common written faults: dictation exercises.

Dictation exercises are commonly used in the teaching of foreign languages, and they can be a practical and effective way to improve the writing skills of native English speakers in the English classroom.

Technique

1. Select a brief passage from a book or handout that all the students have a copy of.  It should not be too long. About five sentences (60-100 words) are enough.

2. Have the students prepare a paper for the dictation. If you are going to make dictation a regular part of your routine, you’ll want each student to have a Dictation Notebook that is kept in the classroom.  Each exercise will be clearly dated and given a page to itself.

3. Give the students five minutes to read the passage that you are going to dictate. Set a timer. The passage should not be particularly difficult to understand. The purpose of the exercise is to reinforce common spellings, grammatical constructions, and punctuation. However, if there are any unfamiliar words, explain what they mean.

4. When the five minutes are up, have the students close the book or cover the handout.

5. Begin the dictation. The teacher reads the passage three times: The first time, the teacher reads the passage at a comfortable reading rate as the students listen and do not write. The second time, the teacher dictates the passage to be written down, taking it phrase by phrase, and giving the students ample time to write the words. The teacher will also read the punctuation marks.  Don’t go back to repeat.  Tell the students to leave gaps for the words they don’t quite catch. They will have a chance to fill the gaps during the third reading. The third time, the teacher again reads at a normal reading rate.

6. Give the students about a minute to look over their work and make adjustments.

7. Now it is the students’ turn.  They open the book to the passage that has just been dictated.  They correct their own work, writing in correct spellings, adding punctuation marks, and making any other changes necessary.

NOTE: Students may use pencil for the dictation exercise. They will need a colored pen to make their corrections.  If the teacher’s grading color is red, then students may use any color but red. If the teacher’s grading color is green, then students may use any color other than green.

Advantages and benefits of the dictation exercise

It focuses the attention of the entire class. (It can be a great way to settle a class after a pep assembly.)

It teaches students to pay close attention to detail.

Over a period of time, it eliminates many common errors of spelling.

It is something every student can understand and excel at.

When the dictations are kept in a notebook, it is possible for students to see their work improve during the course of a semester. It is also an excellent source of review that shows the students exactly which errors they are in the habit of making.

Two or three dictations per week will yield measurable results. To ensure enthusiastic participation, the dictation booklet can be made to count 15-20% of the student’s overall grade.  The only “grading” that the teacher has to do is check the booklets periodically to see that the students are in fact making the corrections.  NOTE: Use a sewn exercise book or something like a Blue Book for the dictation booklet.  Tearing out pages should not be an option.