Using Dictation
to Develop Pupils' Listening and Writing Skills

 

HOME CONTENTS PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OVERVIEW PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 APPENDIX A APPENDIX B AUDIO CLIPS THE ENTIRE HANDBOOK

Preface

Using Dictation to Develop Pupils’ Listening and Writing Skills is a resource package produced by the English Language Education Section, Curriculum Development Institute, the Education Bureau, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, in support of the English Language Curriculum Guide (Primary 1-6) (CDC, 2004).

Materials in this resource package are mainly based on the professional development programme, “Using Dictation to Develop Pupils’ Listening and Writing Skills”, conducted in the school years 2009/10 and 2010/11 as well as the tryouts conducted with pupils in various primary schools in Hong Kong.

Aims of the Resource Package

This resource package aims to clarify misconceptions about dictation, introduce the use of different dictation activities to help pupils develop effective learning strategies (e.g. phonics skills, vocabulary building skills and note-taking skills) and integrated language skills (e.g. listening and writing).

Contents of the Resource Package

The resource package contains the following:

• Handbook

• a set of PowerPoint slides with detailed explanatory notes on an introduction to dictation activities, effective dictation activities and frequently asked questions
• learning & teaching materials for different dictation activities
• useful references on conducting dictation activities

• CD-ROM

• the same set of materials as in the handbook
• an electronic version of the learning & teaching materials for different dictation activities (available in both the MS WORD format and the PDF format)
• audio clips of the listening texts

The resource package can also be accessed at the website of the English Language Education Section at http://www.edb.gov.hk/using_dictation_pri.

How can the Package be Used?

The resource package provides teachers with materials and suggestions for conducting different dictation activities to develop pupils’ language skills. Schools could also use the materials to conduct in-house professional development programmes on dictation. To facilitate schools to do so, the key messages of the resource package are presented in the PowerPoint format. The set of PowerPoint slides comprises three parts as listed below with suggested time allocation for the in-house professional development programme:

 

In Appendix A, learning & teaching materials for conducting different dictation activities are provided. Teachers are encouraged to make necessary adaptations to the materials to suit the needs and abilities of their pupils.

 

In Appendix B, a bibliography is provided to enhance teachers’ professional development.