CELTA trainer Ali Talbot explains how to use this excellent teaching resource. A printable version of Ali's Future forms dictagloss is available at the bottom of the page.

A 'Dictagloss' is a special kind of dictation in which students hear a passage read at normal speed. The aim is for students to write down key words only and then work together to reconstruct the text. A Dictagloss is a FAB way to revise or introduce vocabulary and grammar as students have to focus on both meaning and form. The teacher can see what they already know and they can see what they still need to learn, creating a real need for the language to be focussed on.

(And, as the students are doing all the work, the teacher doesn't have to do much!)

Procedure

Intro : Tell sts that they are going to use all the grammar and English knowledge in their heads.

Demo : Tell them that you are going to read out a letter/ email/ story etc and they have to write down what you say. However, you are going to read it normally so rather than write down every word they should write down the key words. Demonstrate on the board what you mean by key words , i.e. read out a sentence such as “Yesterday I went shopping and bought a new t-shirt.” As you say it at normal speed, write yesterday…shopping…t-shirt on the board with gaps in between. Elicit from sts what is missing and write in missing words.

Reading 1 : Read out text at NORMAL SPEED without stopping. Sts listen ONLY.

Reading 2 : Read out text a second time stopping at the end of each sentence for 3 seconds and reminding sts to write a full stop. Make sure you read out the sentences at normal speed. Sts write down key words from each sentence.

Reading 3 : Read out text a third and final time, this time without stopping. Sts add to what they have written.

Reconstruction : In pairs/ threes, sts work together with a clean piece of paper to re-produce the text. Tell them that it does not matter if they can't remember exactly what the word is. They should guess the meaning if they are unsure. E.g. if they don't know the word “huge” they might guess “very big”. They should try to write grammatically correct sentences without gaps. Teacher monitors and helps if there is a breakdown of communication, but leaves sts to work things out for themselves.

Feedback : some suggestions:

form new groups so they can compare and modify their versions
ask one person from each group to read out their version to the class.
pyramid feedback: join pairs and then groups together until the whole class is working on one final version on the board

Correction : Hand out original. Sts underline anything on original that was different to their version.

Grammar analysis: you can now use the text to analyse grammar, encourage sts to notice patterns/ rules etc

Here is a Dictagloss I have used many times for future revision/ presentation. Once sts have constructed the text, they complete the Future Forms Analysis Table in pairs/ groups. They then collate the answers on the board, do a task/ speaking practice using future forms, followed by error correction referring to the table on the board and for homework write a similar email.

TIP : if you use the computer you can tweak texts easily to use with all levels.

Hi there! Glad to hear you're coming to Hamburg this weekend! What are you going to do here? I'm going to take it easy this weekend. I just got my timetable and next week is going to be busy. Today I'm meeting the boss at midday and we're going to discuss our new project. I think that will take all day! Tomorrow I'm attending a trade fair in Hanover. It finishes at 8pm so I won't be home until late. Friday night will also be a late night because we're having a staff party for a colleague who is leaving. Anyway, if you aren't doing anything on Sunday afternoon, give me a call and we can meet up for a coffee. Take care Ali