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The Reading Matrix

Vol.3. No.1, April 2003

COMBINING DICTOGLOSS AND COOPERATIVE LEARNING TO

PROMOTE LANGUAGE LEARNING
George Jacobs

Email: gmjacobs@pacific.net.sg, www.georgejacobs.net John Small

Email:spiri39@yahoo.com

Abstract
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This article describes dictogloss, an integrated skills technique for language learning in
which students work together to create a reconstructed version of a text read to them by
their teacher. The article begins for explaining the basic dictogloss technique, contrasting it
with traditional dictation, and citing research related to the use of dictogloss in second
language instruction. Next, dictogloss is situated in relat ion to eight current, overlapping
trends in second language teaching. Then, in the key section of the article, a description is
provided of how the literature on cooperative learning enables teachers to better understand
how dictogloss works and to use dic togloss more effectively. Included in this section is a
rationale for using dictogloss with global issues content. Finally, eight variations on the
basic dictogloss procedure are presented.
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Introduction

Dictation has a long history in literacy education, particularly second language education. In
the standard dictation procedure, the teacher reads a passage slowly and repeatedly. Students
write exactly what the teacher says. Dictation in this traditional form has been criticized as a
r ote learning method in which students merely make a copy of the text the teacher reads
without doing any thinking, thus producing a mechanical form of literacy. Ruth Wajnryb
(1990) is credited with developing a new way to do dictation, known as dictogloss. While there
are many variations on dictogloss – we will be describing some of these later in this article - the
basic format is as follows:

The class engages in some discussion on the topic of the upcoming text. This topic is one on
which students have some background knowledge and, hopefully, interest. The class may also
discuss the text type of the text, e.g., narrative, procedure, or explanation, and the purpose,
organizational structure, and language features of that text type.

The teacher reads the text aloud once at normal speed as students listen but do not write.
The text can be selected by teachers from newspapers, textbooks, etc., or teachers can write
their own or modify an existing text. The text should be at or below students’ current overall
proficiency level, although there may be some new vocabulary. It may even be a text that
students have seen before. The length of the text depends on students’ proficiency level.

The teacher reads the text again at normal speed and students take notes. Students are not
trying to write down every word spoken; they could not even if they tried, because the
teacher is reading at normal speed.
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Students work in groups of two-four to reconstruct the text in full sentences, not in point form
(also known as bu llet points). This reconstruction seeks to retain the meaning and form of the
original text but is not a word-for-word copy of the text read by the teacher.
Instead, students are working together to create a cohesive text with correct grammar and
other features of the relevant text type, e.g., procedure, or rhetorical framework, e.g., cause
and effect, that approximates the meaning of the original.

Students, with the teacher’s help, identify similarities and differences in terms of meaning
and form between their text reconstructions and the original, which is displayed on an
overhead projector or shown to students in another way.

Dictogloss has been the subject of a number of studies and commentaries, which have, for
the most part, supported use of the technique (Brown, 2001; Cheong, 1993; Kowal &
Swain, 1994, 1997; Lim, 2000; Lim & Jacobs, 2001a, b; Llewyn, 1989; Nabei, 1996;
Storch, 1998; Swain, 1999; Swain & Lapkin, 1998; Swain & Miccoli, 1994). Among the
reasons given for advocating the use of dictogloss are that students are encouraged to focus
some of their attention on form and that all four language skills – listening (to the teacher
read the text and to groupmates discuss the reconstruction), speaking (to groupmates during
the reconstruction), reading (notes taken while listening to the teacher, the group’s
reconstruction, and the original text), and writing the reconstruction) – are involved. Further
potential benefits of the technique are discussed later in this paper.

The article is divided into three sections. The first section situates dictogloss within current
trends in second language teaching. The next section provides ideas on how ideas from
cooperative learning can help teachers understand how dictogloss works and enhance its
impact. The third section presents a number of variations on dictogloss. Our purposes for
writing this article are to encourage more teachers to use dictogloss, to use it more
effectively via insights from cooperative learning, to link dictogloss with global issues
content as one way of making language learning more meaningful, and to experiment with
variations on the standard dictogloss procedure.

Section 1: Dictogloss and Current Trends in Second Language Education

Dictogloss represents a major shift from traditional dictation. When implemented

conscientiously, dictogloss embodies sound principles of language teaching which
include: learner autonomy, cooperation among learners, curricular integration, focus
on meaning, diversity, thinking skills, alternative assessment, and teachers as co-
learners. These principles flow from an overall paradigm shift that has occurred in
second language education (Jacobs & Farrell, 2001).

In this section, we discuss each of these eight overlapping trends with reference to
dictogloss. The Steps referred to below are the five steps in the standard dictogloss
procedure described in the Introduction section above. For explanations of the
variations from the standard dictogloss procedure mentioned in the current section
(Section 1), please refer to Section 3 of this article.

1. Learner Autonomy. Learner autonomy involves learners having some choice as to the
what and how of the curriculum and, at the same time, feeling responsible for and
understanding their own learning and for the learning of classmates (van Lier, 1996).
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In dictogloss, as opposed to traditional dictation, students reconstruct the text on

their own after the teacher has read it aloud to them just twice at normal speed
(Steps 2 and 3), rather than the teacher reading the text slowly and repeatedly. Also,
students need to help each other to develop a joint reconstruction of the text (Step
4), rather than depending on the teacher for all the information. Furthermore, Step 5
provides students with opportunities to see where they have done well and where
they may need to improve. Swain (1999) believes that, “Students gain insights into
their own linguistic shortcomings and develop strategies for solving them by
working through them with a partner” (pp. 145). Ways to add other dimensions of
learner autonomy to dictogloss are students:

asking for a pause in the dictation (Variation B)

choosing the topics of the texts, selecting the texts themselves, and taking the
teacher’s place to read the text (Variation C)
elaborating on the text (Variation F)

giving their opinions about the ideas in the text (Variation G).

2. Cooperation among Learners. Traditional dictation was done as an individual activity.

Dictogloss retains an individual element (Steps 2 and 3) in which students work alone to
listen to and take notes on the text read by the teacher. In Step 4 of dictogloss, learners work
together in groups of between two and four members. Additionally, in Step 5, they have the
opportunity to discuss how well their group did and, perhaps, how they could function more
effectively the next time. We will go into greater detail later in this article on how to
improve group functioning in dictogloss.

3. Curricular Integration. From the perspective of language teachers, curricular

integration involves combining the teaching of content, such as social studies or science,
with the teaching of language, such as writing skills or grammar. As in traditional dictation,
with dictogloss, curricular integration is easily achieved via the selection of texts. For
instance, if the goal is to integrate language and mathematics in order to help students learn
important mathematics vocabulary and grammar, language teachers (in consultation with
mathematics teachers and, perhaps, students) can use a mathematic s text for the dictogloss.
The discussion prior to the readings of the text (Step 1) helps students recall and build their
knowledge of the text’s topic. As Brown (2001, p. 2) points out, “Writing this information
[what students know on the topic] on the chalk board allows the students to notice the
wealth of information they have as a collective.” In addition to promoting integration
between language education and other curricular areas, dictogloss, as noted earlier, also
promotes integration within the la nguage curriculum, as all four language skills – listening,
speaking, reading, and writing - are utilized.

4. Focus on Meaning. In literacy education, the focus used to lie mostly on matters
of form, such as grammar and spelling. In the current paradigm, while form still
matters, the view is that language learning takes place best when the focus is mainly
on ideas (Littlewood, 1981). Dictogloss seeks to combine a focus on meaning with a
focus on form (Brown, 2001). As Swain (1999) puts it, “When students focus on
form, they must be engaged in the act of ‘meaning-making’” (pp. 125-126).
Diversity. Perhaps it is appropriate that the term ‘diversity’ has a few different meanings.
One of the meanings particularly relevant to dictogloss is that, due to
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