Definition of Dictation

Dictation is technique used in both language teaching and language testing in which a passage is read aloud to student or test taker, with pauses during which they must try to write down what they have heard accurately as possible.[1] Basically, this is a technique used to know how much student ability to recognize and identify the spoken language

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            In addition, John Flowderdew described dictation as a simple technique that the listener listen to an oral text and write down what they hear, the passage may be presented more than once and it need to be presented in segments, or information units, so the learner has time to process the language and write it down.[2] While according to Sonya Shafer dictation is useful to reinforce punctuation and grammar by studying a selected sentence or passage from a living book rather than just a list of words.[3]

            In its simplest form, dictation refers to a person reading some text aloud so that the listener can write down what is being said. When it is used in the language classroom, traditionally the aim has been for students to write down what is said by the teacher, word for word, later checking their own text against the original and correcting the errors made. While this certainly has its uses, there are countless variations that can make it more interesting and learner-centred.           

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[1] Jack C Richard and Richard Schmidt, Longman Dictionary Of Language Teaching And Applied Linguistics (London: Longman Group Limited, 2002) p. 157

[2] John Flowderdew and Lindsey Miller, Second Language Listening Theory And Practice (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,2005) p 200

[3] Sonya Shafer, Education Is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life (Georgia: Simply Charlotte Manson, 2007) p. 40