Dictagloss

گروه زبان انگلیسی شهرستانهای استان تهران - Dictaglossگروه زبان انگلیسی شهرستانهای استان تهران - Dictagloss

Dictagloss

5. Each group reads their finished version to the class

, and each text is analyzed andcompared. The students

then refine their

texts in light of the analysis and comparison.

NOTES

 At least until students are used to dictaglosses, it is bestto usefairly short texts,so thatstudents are not overwhelmed.I personally find it best to start with narrative texts. (This is partly because these areparticularly useful for practicing past verb forms.) Then, in later classes, I use a range oftexts, including dialogues.Students cannot reconstruct a text unless they understand its gist and main points. So Inormally include two stages BEFORE the first reading:1. I quickly pre-teach any key vocabulary items that the students don

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t already know.2. I try to create interest in the text and help the students create relevant schemata byorganizing a short free speaking activity on a topic related to the topic of the text. (Forexample, if a text is a narrative about a crime, I may have students work in groups to telleach other about any crimes they or their families have been victims of.)Before doing the very first dictagloss with a particular class, I draw the students

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 attention to the fact that some words are more important than others for conveyingmeaning

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 and that these words are given more stress by speakers. I may do this bygiving students a very short text and asking them to underline the words I stress themost when I read the text aloud to them. I then elicit from the students that the stressedwords are almost entirely content words such as verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs,rather than structure words such as articles, prepositions and auxiliary verbs.