Contents
=> Mass Dication
=> ETs in Russia, the 100th Issue CD Offer
=> Five Riddles
=> In the Next Issues

Happy Victory Day, and Happy Cinco De Mayo!


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Mass Dication
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Mass dictation. Sounds powerful, huh? Maybe even a bit scary. Well, it is the most massive of all dictaitons, sans doubt.

And, yes, I adore dictation.

Why? Mainly because dictations are old-fashioned, boring, teacher-centered, and generally disliked.

Well, that’s the reputation of traditional dictation, which makes them the perfect forum for showing teachers HOW we can shake things up and apply teaching tricks to make an activity more interesting and more effective.

In a Mass Dictation, each student in the class dictates something to EVERY other student. That’s the basic principle.

CREATING/FINDING THE CONTENT
Each student will need some content, a text to dictate. It will be something short that she will memorize. Basic learners can use a single word. Intermediate learners might use a phrase or chunk of text. Advanced learners can use an entire sentence.

Let’s say your theme for beginners was “Inside the House.” Each student would think of a word himself: “door,” “mirror,” “table,” etc. That’s the student’s text to be dictated. He will dictate the same word to anyone who asks him.

Or let’s say that in an advanced class you were planning to read a newspaper article. Give students time to (A) find a whole sentence and (B) memorize that sentence. (This is an effective pre-reading activity, acquainting students with language from the upcoming text).

Now–whatever the level or the subject–each student has something to dictate to classmates.

ORGANIZING THE MASS DICTATION
Assign each student a number. If there are 15 stdents in the class you will have Student 1, Student 2, Student 3, and so on to 15.

Tell each student to take out a piece of paper.

Now, on their papers, each student should number vertically from 1-15 (this should equal the number of people in the class).

Ask students to draw a line through their own number. If a student was assigned number five, he should draw a line through that. Do not allow them to write their memorized content on their paper. (Then they will show their content rather than speak it).

CONDUCTING THE MASS DICTATION
Now we have all the materials ready. It’s time to dictate en masse.

Each student has the goal of writing all the words or phrases on his paper. There is no reason for this to be done in an orderly fashion. Ask students to stand up. If they are standing BEFORE the activity there will be little resistance to start moving. And they will need to move.

Here’s an example of what a student will do. When the teacher says to start, Oksana (Student 3) might go to Pedro (Student 12) and ask for his content. Oksana will need to know his number too, because she will write down what Pedro says on her paper for number 12. Then she will move on, finding more students to dictate their words/phrases/sentences, and recording them in turn.

Meanwhile, ALL the other students are dictating and writing, trying to fill up their papers with all 15 texts.

Remind students that this is a dictation. They should NEVER SHOW anything they have written to anyone else–even the person who dictated to them. At the end, you can go over all the content as a class.

ABOUT THE ACTIVITY
The Mass Dictation may seem a bit complicated, but with clear instructions your students will get the hang of it in no time. And think of all the positives:

1. No preparation ahead of time for the teacher.
2. No materials (other than pencils and paper, possibly a text)
3. Every student speaks/pronounces
4. Every student listens
5. Every student writes
6. Every student participates in some form of organization or negotiation with classmates (we hope in English)
7. Students choose the content of the activity
8. Involves movement (appeals to kinesthetic learners), and wakes people up
9. Impossible for the teacher to dominate
10. All students are active simultaneously, increasing the amount of English practiced during a lesson, and it involves a high repetition of the targeted language.

Compare to an ordinary dictation, where the teacher reads and the students write. In fact, why not do one of those in class, then the Mass Dictation, and ask students which they activity is more fun, which is more effective for English learning?

Then ask them to explain WHY. That will really get them thinking about the foundations of good language learning.

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5 Riddles
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To understand these riddles you have to understand the double meanings. I’ve written some of the meanings below. You can tell that to advanced students as a clue. Then in groups they can try to guess the answers. (Figuring out double meaning and puns is awfully hard in a L2.)

Or, for beginners, give them the answers and have them match them to the riddle.

And, hey, why not dictate the riddle questions? That’s pretty easy.

bank = the edge of a river
to hold up = to rob someone
lighthouse = the building with a light on the edge of the sea
to put on = (1) to don a peice of clothing; (2) to kid someone or joke with them

1. What clothing does a house wear?
2. Why was the belt arrested?
3. What did the sock say to the foot?
4. Which house weighs least of all?
5. Where do fish keep their money?

Answers.
1. Address. 2. It held up the pants. 3. Are you putting me on? 4. A lighthouse. 5. In a river bank

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ETs in Russia, 100th Issue and CD
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Remember, ETs in Russia and Elsewhere is coming out this month. If you describe (in detail!) an ETs activity you’ve used or experienced in class you can win an audio CD featuring favorite songs for use in the language class. Send to submissions to me.

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Upcoming Conferences
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CATEC: The 5th Annual Central Asian Teachers of English Conference (”English Without Borders”) will take place June 30 - July 2, 2006, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Kevin will speak.
http:turkmenistan.usembassy.gov/CATEC/index.html

FEELTA: The Far Eastern English Language Teachers Association (Russia) is putting on their bi-annual conference (the 6th), this time in delightful Birobidjan. Dates: June 22 - 24.
www.dvgu.ru/rus/partner/education/feelta/Practice.htm

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In the Next Issue
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#99 is coming out May 14, and will feature new stuff, as usual.

Copyright 2006 by Kevin McCaughey & I.M. Poosheesty
English Happy Hour