Education Commons^™

Dictation: What And How Students Learn From It, Marilyn C. Fisher

MA TESOL Collection

In the cycle of preferred English language teaching techniques, dictation is currently out of favor. Today, anything inviting the term “old-fashioned” is passed over without consideration as to what qualities made it popular in the past.

This paper reconsiders the merits of dictation use in the classroom, pedagogical theory, and supportive research, and the author’s experimental work with student group dynamics centered on dictation exercises.

My own classroom research shows interesting ways students catch or miss language clues and meaning in dictation exercises and how their minds are directed to analyze the incoming language both during the exercise and after, …