Humanising Language Teaching
Year 3; Issue 2; March 2001
Cloze Dictation
Level: post-beginner to upper intermediate
- Take the transcript of a listening text and white out one third of the
sentences/sense groups. Photocopy for each student.
- In class, play the listening through once.
Give the students the transcript with blanks.
As they listen again ask them to mentally fill in the blanks.
- Explain that you are going to dictate the missing parts
but not in order. The students should write the sentences down
on another piece of paper, not on the transcript. Have one person write their
dictation on the board.
- After dictating each sentence/sense group ask the board writer if he has any
doubts about what he has just written. If there are problems he can't see,
underline the faulty bits and get some one from the group to come out
and correct them.
- After the dictation pair the students and ask them to copy their correct sentences
into the transcript blanks.
- Play the whole text through again.
| Acknowledgement: | Jane Hoelker, Seoul National University, proposed this
technique in The Language Teacher, March 2000 24/3. Jane writes: " I first learnt this activity 15 years ago in a newsletter I picked up in a faculty room……." This is typical of how EFL methodology is transmitted. |
