Listening,remembering,writing: Exploring the dictogloss task

Abstract

The listening comprehension skill is frequently cited by both teachers and learners of a second language (L2) as perhaps the most difficult to deal with in any systematic way. One possible approach is to use the dictogloss task. This involves learners reconstructing a short text they have listened to. Originally developed to draw learners’ attention to grammatical points, dictogloss can also be used as a listening comprehension activity. Having incorporated dictogloss in a listening comprehension course for learners of English in a French university, I sought to explore its various components further. My principal aim was to improve students’ understanding and retention of spoken English input. After a presentation of the task itself, the difficulties that learners experience when trying to remember and reproduce spoken text are discussed. Three variations of the task are presented, each of which highlights different input features. Students’ written productions were collected and scored over the course of a semester, and progress was noted on all of the measures adopted. Whether such progress can be carried over into more authentic tasks remains, however, a matter for further research.