Humanising Language Teaching
Year 1; Issue 8; December 1999

Anna Hyźniak (English Unlimited, Poland)

In paper 2 of the FCE exam a report is one of the possible writing tasks. As the students are not familiar with reports , they need to be presented with a clear example.

Below you find an example of how to turn a SURVEY REPORT into a mutual dictation exercise.

You could introduce the activity by finding out what your students' reading habits are.

FCE WRITING: SURVEY REPORTS

Text A

Complete the remaining part of a survey report below by listening to the person sitting next to you. Follow this procedure: A writes and B dictates, and so on until the report is complete.

Question: You have been asked to write a report about people's reading habits.

Introduction

........ .......... ...... ........... ............... ...... to analyse ........ .......... .... ...... ......................... ................ ............... people's reading habits. .......... ................ ................ people on the street were asked ........... ............... ....... ......... ........ ........, how often, ........ .......... .......... .......... .......... ................ ............... .

Types of books

......... ............... ............. ............. .... .................. .......... men is thrillers, ............ ...... women it is romance. ............. .... ............. ....... ....... .............. ......... 46% of men read horror books .......... ........ ....... ................ ................ ............. . A minority of ............ ............. ................. .............. ........... only two in ten .......... .......... one in ten ................ ........... ............. .......... ...... .............. . A third of .......... .......... ............. ............. ............, while only a quarter of ......... ............... .......... ........... .

Number of Books Read

.......... .............. ............ ................ .......... ............. .......... read romances. ...... ................. ............... ....... them read more than five books a month. ............... ....... mystery fans, ............... .............. ............. ............ .............. . This is demonstrated by the fact that ............... ........... .......... ........... women read more than three books a month, ................. .......... ........ ......... ........... ........... ......... ............. .................. .

Source ..... ...... the largest proportion of books ....... .......... ......... .... ................ . Book clubs ........ ................ .......... .............. . This is exemplified by the fact that ............. ........ ......... .......... .......... ............. ...... ......... over the past ten years.

Conclusion

....... ..................., this survey indicates that ............ .......... .......... ............... ............ reading tastes. .................. also tend to read more than men. .........., ........ men ..... women ......... ....... ...... ........ ......... .......... ............ choosing to borrow them instead.

Text B

Complete the remaining part of a survey report below by listening to the person sitting next to you. Follow this procedure: A dictates and B writes, and so on until the report is complete.

Question: You have been asked to write a report about peoples' habits reading habits.

.............................................

The aim of this report is ........ ........... the result of a recent survey into ............. ..............

................ . In this survey, ......... ....... .......... ............. .......... ............ what type of books they

read, .......... ................, and where they got their books from.

.............................................

The most popular type of book for .......... ......... ................, while for ............ ..... ..... .............. .

This is shown by the fact that ...... ...... ........... ........ ........... ........... and 53% of women read

romances. ............. ............... ......... both sexes read factual books: .......... ..... ....... .......... men

and ........... ........ .......... women read this type of book. ...... ............. .... the women surveyed read

mysteries, ............. ............ ....... ............ ...... the men read them.

................................................

The most enthusiastic readers are those who .............. ................... . A significant number of

............ .............. ............ .......... ........ ............ ..... ............... . Amongst the .............. ............,

women read more than men. ........... ......... ................. ........ ......... ............ ....... seven out of ten

.................. ............ ........... .......... .............. .......... ..... ............., while only 20% of men read more than two.

................................................

By far ....... ............. .............. ..... ......... are borrowed from a library. ............ ............. are

becoming more popular. ............ ..... ................ ........ ............ ........... .......... membership of these

clubs has increased by 10% ............ ........ ........... ......... ........ .

...............................................

In conclusion, .......... ............. .................. ....... men and women have different ...................

.............. . Women ......... ........... ....... ............ .............. ......... ................ . However, neither

.......... nor ............... buy many of the books they read, ............. ....... ............. ......... ................ .

Reference: Adapted from Mission FCE 2 Coursebook by Virginia Evans and Jenny

Dooley, Express Publishing, , page 129

A mutual dictation exercise without the slightest doubt, builds confidence and provides the students with the tools to progress forward in their writing abilities. They are not daunted by the sight of a blank piece of paper anymore. They are instead presented with a reliable framework which can in the future be adapted and used.