How to do Dictation Homework

How to Study Listening with Dictations

Many classes at Kwansei Gakuin are taught only in English. This means that you will need to listen well in order to learn the contents, communicate with others, and understand the homework.

Listening to English is difficult. The sounds used in English are very different from the sounds in Japanese and other languages. Sometimes, even if you know how to read or write an English word, it can be difficult to recognize that same word when listening.

To improve your listening ability, you need to practice matching the sounds that you hear with the letters and sounds that they represent. One way to do this is called Dictation.

Doing Dictations Well:

1. Listen only. Listen and try to understand everything that you hear. Can you catch the general meaning? Do you understand all of the details?

2. Write everything. Listen many times (10-20 times) and try to write down everything that you hear. Listen carefully to the small details, and try to make your answers as close to perfect as you can.

3. Check your answers. Check your answers by whatever means possible. Use a red pen so that you can see your mistakes clearly. If there are any new vocabulary or grammar points, write them down and find out what they mean.

4. Listen again. Practice listening again for the correct sounds, especially in the places where you made a mistake. Listen many times until the words become easy to hear.

TIPS:

• Study for a little bit each day. Studying for 10 minutes, 5 times a day is better than 50 minutes, once a day. Doing one dictation each week is better than doing all of them at once.

• Don’t forget to review. After a week or two, go back and try the same dictations again. Practicing again and again will make your listening stronger.

• Have fun with it! Find natural English speech for topics that you are interested in.

Examples of Good Dictations