English dictation

How to write a dictation

1. Listen to the whole sentence before you start typing.
2. Write down what you remember.
3. Turn on repeat or slower playback and fill in the rest.
4. Move to the next sentence — the counter will show how many words are still missing.
5. When the text is finished, press “Check dictation” — there is one check for the whole dictation.
6. Examine the differences: they are highlighted word by word.

The strictness of the check can be adjusted: you can count capitals, or capitals and punctuation. It is easier to start with the lenient option so that capital letters do not mask mistakes in the words themselves.

What English dictation develops

Listening comprehension. Normal listening lets you catch the general meaning even if some words slip by. Dictation does not forgive that: you need to hear every word.

Spelling. English spelling is not very predictable from sound, and a word you write yourself is remembered better than one you only read.

Grammar. Endings, articles and prepositions are almost inaudible in fast speech — and that is exactly what the dictation catches.

Attention. The exercise requires you to hold the whole sentence in memory while you type it.

Dictations by level

• A1–A2 — short sentences, familiar vocabulary, measured speech. They help connect the sound of a word with its spelling.
• B1 — longer sentences, compound tenses and prepositions appear that are easy to miss.
• B2–C1 — more complex vocabulary and syntax; here it is not the individual word but the understanding of phrase structure that is tested.

How to analyse mistakes

After the check it is useful to ask yourself about each difference: did I not hear the word, did I not know it, or did I not understand the grammatical form? These are three different problems, and they are solved differently — by repetition, by the dictionary and by grammar respectively.

Special attention should be paid to words that sound the same and to endings that are swallowed in fast speech. It is worth listening to them slowly even if you understood the general meaning of the sentence right away.

Dictations not only in English

Dictations are available in 29 other languages — Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese and Polish among them. The language is switched above the catalogue.