The Kate Languages Podcast - S8 Ep3 - Three fun activities to practise dictations

In episode 3 of season 8 of the Kate Languages Podcast, I described three of my favourite activities to practise dictations in MFL lessons. Here is a summary of the episode - to listen to the episode in full, click "play" above.

Three Fun Activities to Practise Dictations in MFL Lessons

For some of you, especially if you're not teaching in England or aren't familiar with the GCSE changes, dictation might sound like quite an old-fashioned concept. You might be thinking of students sitting silently as a teacher reads out texts for them to write down verbatim. And yes, if you asked my parents (now in their seventies) what they did in their O-level language lessons, dictation would likely feature prominently!

But dictations don't have to be boring or dry. They can be engaging, interactive, and genuinely helpful for language acquisition. With the new GCSE specifications including dictations in the listening exams, it's the perfect time to incorporate these activities into your teaching repertoire.

Why Dictations?

Before I describe the activities, let me explain why I believe that dictations are valuable, regardless of whether you're preparing students for GCSEs or not:

1. They provide excellent listening practice.
2. They reinforce spelling and phonics.
3. They help students make connections between sounds and written forms.
4. They can be incorporated into my "exploiting one text" method (if you're not familiar with this approach, check out my previous podcast episode on the topic!).

For those teaching the new GCSEs in England, dictation will feature in the listening exam. Students will hear a recording and need to write down what they hear in the target language. Don't worry too much about spelling – the exam boards recognise that it's a phonics test, not a grammar test, so there will be some leniency with spellings.

1. Pair Work Dictation and Reading Aloud

This first activity combines dictation with reading aloud practice, making it doubly beneficial for your students.

How it works:

1. Split your class into pairs.
2. Give Partner A the first half of a text, and Partner B the second half.
3. Partner A reads their section aloud to Partner B, who has to write it down (without looking at their partner's text).
4. Then they swap roles, with Partner B reading their section to Partner A.

Differentiation options:

For beginners or lower-ability students:

• Give them a version of the text with gaps to fill in (rather than writing from scratch).
• You could even give them the full text but in the wrong order, so they just have to identify which sentence is being read.

For more advanced students:

• Give them nothing to work with – they must write the full text as their partner dictates it.

This activity is brilliant because it's easy to set up and serves multiple purposes. It gives students practice in reading aloud (useful for the speaking exam), listening comprehension, and writing in the target language.

Practical considerations:

You might need to think about how to prevent students from simply copying each other. Some options include:

• Having them put folders between them as a screen
• Arranging them back-to-back (though this can get noisy in a full classroom)
• Setting up a "speed dating" style arrangement where students face each other in two lines

The preparation is minimal – you just need to print and cut up the text sections. And once you've done the activity, you can use that same text for further tasks: reading comprehension, translation into English, or as a writing frame for their own production. It fits perfectly into my "exploiting one text" method.

2. Running Dictation

This is an activity I used to do frequently when teaching English as a foreign language in Indonesia. It gets students moving around the classroom and adds an element of fun competition.

How it works:

1. Create 5-6 sentences that could form a complete text or that practise a specific grammar point.
2. Print them out, cut them up, and stick them around your classroom (or corridor, if appropriate).
3. Students work in pairs or small groups.
4. One student from each pair goes to find a sentence, memorises it, then returns to their partner.
5. They dictate the sentence to their partner, who writes it down.
6. They continue until all sentences have been collected.

Differentiation options:

• For beginners, use very short sentences (e.g., "J'ai un chat")
• For more advanced students, use longer, more complex sentences
• Allow students to make multiple trips for longer sentences (memorising a few words at a time)
• Make it competitive by rewarding the first team to correctly write all sentences

Practical considerations:

A few things to bear in mind:

• Make sure the sentences are placed far enough away that students can't read them from their seats
• Consider using mini-whiteboards for easy correction
• If space is limited in your classroom, you might need to adapt this activity

This activity works brilliantly because it combines physical movement with memory work and communication. In addition, the competitive element can really boost engagement.

3. Picture Dictation

This third activity is particularly relevant for those teaching the GCSE, as it mimics the kind of language used to describe photos in the speaking exam.

How it works:

1. Choose a simple picture or photo (perhaps one you're already using as the basis for your lesson).
2. Describe the picture in the target language, giving clear details about what's in it.
3. Students listen and draw what you describe.
4. At the end, show them the original picture so they can compare. 

Practical considerations:

• Students will need coloured pencils or pens
• Keep your sentences simple and clear
• Plan exactly what you're going to say beforehand – write out your script
• Focus on vocabulary and structures that your students have been learning (colours, clothing, actions, etc.)

This activity is fantastic for Spanish teachers as it allows practice of continuous tenses (está llorando, está jugando). It's also excellent for practising adjectival agreement in French and German.

The real value comes at the end when students see the original picture. This creates a natural moment for them to identify any misunderstandings or vocabulary gaps.

Final Thoughts

Dictations don't have to be dull! These three activities transform a potentially dry exercise into engaging, interactive learning experiences. They're suitable for all ages and abilities, from beginners to more advanced learners, and can be easily differentiated to meet the needs of your specific students.

If you're teaching the new GCSE, these activities will help prepare your students for the dictation element of the listening exam. But even if you're not, they provide excellent practice in listening, speaking, writing, and comprehension.