[i2i]

I like to get students to really focus on pronunciation by giving dictactions to each other.

First, have the students write some sort of short paragraph, maybe about themselves or what they did last weekend or whatever. Not too long though. Maybe 2-5 sentences.

Then put the students into groups of 3-5.

Each student takes a turn at reading their paragraph while the other students dictate, word for word, what the reader is saying.

You'll have students speaking loudly and clearly in no time.

Pre teach expressions like. "Could you repeat that?", "Excuse me?", "Could you say that slowly?', etc...

[patsy]

A great idea ! It can be a pairwork activity too.
This may not necessarily improve their pronunciation though.
It could encourage my French students to speak English slowly and clearly but with a French accent in order to make themselves understood !!
It's worth trying anyway.
I like the idea of having them write the paragraph to be dictated as well as the expressions to be used to communicate.

[mesmark]

What has been the response to this activity and what are some other themes you might do the next time around?

What age group have you done this with?

Have you ever had Ss who wouldn't write anything and if so what did you do about them?

Have you ever had them adjust for speaker relevance?
Speaker: I went to the park with my mother.
Repeaters: You went to the park with your mother.

Sorry for the third degree, I'm just curious about the activity.

[mrcards]

Off topic slightly...I like the idea of breaking into smaller groups. I've always enjoyed that when I was a student myself. It gives you the feeling that you're not put up on the stage in front of everyone. (It's easier to embarrass yourself in front of 5 people as opposed to 30) :P

[Eric]

Quote mrcards

Off topic slightly...I like the idea of breaking into smaller groups. I've always enjoyed that when I was a student myself. It gives you the feeling that you're not put up on the stage in front of everyone. (It's easier to embarrass yourself in front of 5 people as opposed to 30) :P

i agree with that! i always break my uni classes into much smaller groups; 2-5 students a group. it makes them focus a lot more.

[patsy]

Hi !

I have tried the dictation activity with a class as a pairwork.
It was too easy for them I think !! I have to complicate it a little. They wrote too simple sentences. And there was no competition so it would be more interesting if one pupil dictated his sentences to a group or to the class (as you do and proposed from the start!!) I told them to write a few sentences (questions or declarative sentences) in the future since we were studying the future. They are not inhibited at all and participate a lot so maybe it was not the best class to try it out with. It could be an excellent exercise for shy pupils because having a text to read out can reassure them and give them confidence.

What I'd like my pupils to do is try and improve their accent, and pay more attention to it (especially older pupils !!). Any tips ?

[Bilingualdiva]

Howdy..
I like the idea of having students read to other students and dictate. I use a different exercise where I give a colored pen (orange) to the kids and I read to them various things(depending on what we are working on, must of the time I teach with thematic units) poetry, school newspaper article, ads, song lyrics... what ever works, the students take dictation, then I change the color of the pens (green) and I read again the same thing, kids can not change what they have written because they are using a different colored pencil... the idea is to get them to use only one color on their papers....meaning they have understood..Eventually I stop reading and they start taking my place... I already have them broken up into groups of 5 or 6; each week they take turns being the "teacher"..
when I started doing this I realized that what ever I wanted to them to read had to be read outloud in class the day before or before the excercise....it's pretty cool.... make sure you tell the "teacher" student that their objective is to get everyone to write it all in one color...at the end of the week or month I tally those teams that did the best and take their pictures and post them in the room as "DICTATORS" of the week...they get a kick out of it..