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ISL WEEK 4 (TEACHING WRITING)

ADVANTAGES OF DICTATION IN WRITING EXERCISE

Dictation is an exercise wherein one person will speak out and the other will write it.

Dictation is a means of getting the children to learn the spellings of words from a

long time. There are dictation exercises which are part of every child’s schedule in

school. It might look time consuming and boring, but there are many benefits which a

child can reap out of it.

Let us take a look at the benefits of a dictation exercise.

1. Improve spelling – it is the primary benefit of a dictation exercise to improve

one’s spelling. Correlating the words heard and writing them will give the student

a chance to recall the word and the spelling. It is important to have a good grasp

of the words to help in building one’s vocabulary, not only orally but also in

writing.

2. Concentration –When a word is being dictated the student will have to

concentrate to listen and understand, thereby improving on one’s concentration

skills.

3. Improving pronunciation – dictation will also help in improving the

pronunciation of certain words which differs in the way it is spelt and read. During

a dictation, a student will listen to the words and learn to practice their

pronunciation and writing.

4. Punctuation practice – a student’s punctuation will also improve with dictation.

The way, in which a sentence is written, the correct punctuation marks have to be

applied. This will help in revising the basic rules of writing by applying the correctpunctuation marks at the right place.

5. Better sentence formation – it helps the students practice better

comprehending and transcription skills. There are times when we find that a

sentence has been badly framed. Dictation will help the students to understand

and learn the art of correct sentence formation.

6. Forms of speech improve – dictation helps the students to improve their forms

of speech. The students will learn to use proper tenses in their sentences.

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ISL WEEK 4 (TEACHING WRITING)

7. Increases short term memory – students learn to retain information before

writing them. When dictation is in the form of a sentence, students learn to

forecast the next set of words in the sentence, which not only increases their

level of understanding, but also their grasp of words.

8. Helps in developing language skills – it can help develop all 4 language skills

needed for a person, such as listening, understanding, interpreting and writing.

This helps in the overall development of the pers on’s intellect.

With so many benefits of dictation exercise, it is not right to turn a deaf ear to a

productive activity.

DISADVANTAGES OF DICTATION IN WRITING PROCESS

Dictation is sometimes frowned upon as an outmoded, teacher-centred writing

activity with no real input from the student. The following disadvantages are mooted:

1. It is time-consuming.

2. It does not really develop writing skills.

3. It is an unrealistic activity. Listening is "word by word" and at an artificial pace.4. It can be accomplished purely mechanically, without any real comprehension.

Actually, dictation is not really a writing activity, but it is a language activity, and, if

done with sensitivity, an extremely useful one. Let's look at these apparent

disadvantages more closely.

Time-consuming? Yes, it can be time-consuming, especially if correction is done

word by word. But the text does not have to be long to be valid. And correction doesnot have to be word by word (or even done at all if you let the students see the text

afterwards).

Does not develop writing skills? It's true that dictation does not develop creative

writing skills. But it does help develop spelling and punctuation, which are a part of

writing. And the exposure to and mechanical practice of writing can help to develop

the skill in general.

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ISL WEEK 4 (TEACHING WRITING)

Unrealistic? Yes and no. In fact, in real life we often have to write down what

someone says, although admittedly not necessarily verbatim. And the listening is not

really "word by word" but "phrase by phrase". As for the pace, if the teacher has to

speak too slowly, the text is too difficult for the level.

Purely mechanical? If that were true, we should be able to reproduce a text in any

language, a highly implausible proposition. Even in our own language, recreating a

text accurately from the spoken word requires concentration and thought. For a

language learner, it exercises those parts of the brain that other activities cannot

reach. In many ways, dictation is an all-round activity. It involves:

listening some writing (spelling, punctuation)

grammar

vocabulary

pronunciation

It can also involve:

reading, if students read the text afterwards for correction speaking, if students discuss the corrections or the subject matter itself