A Review on the Effect of Using Dictogloss Tasks and Fake Scoring on Children's Dictation Ability

Abstract

Writing is one of the important language skills that should be mastered by the foreign language learners to convey their concepts in written form, so teachers should contemplate on different applicable techniques to promote this skill. One of these techniques is dictogloss task. Dictogloss task is a technique of dictation method that can be used for teaching writing cooperatively. It has four steps which are preparation, dictation, reconstruction, and analysis and correction. Dictogloss procedure is practical and flexible enough to account for the needs, interests, and learning preferences of learners. Kids and even adults need reassurance and flexibility from their teachers while learning. They need not to be interrupted while producing, and sometimes their mistakes are better not to be announced and corrected at the time. A motivational strategy to reach that goal was to ignore their writing mistakes in scoring by simply and slightly showing them that the mistaken part could have been written in the correct form. Given the background of unsatisfactory number of studies on improving children language learning performance, especially, their writing in pre-school age, this review study is aimed to highlight a useful technique in the language teaching activities, not just English. It has an endeavor to find the influence of giving fake high scores in a dictogloss task on kids' dictation ability. It is recommended that teachers should be encouraged to voice their viewpoints and be capable of any required changes regarding their class situation and be able to rely on themselves rather than books. In spite of being fair, it is sometimes needed to lessen the strictness towards some students. It is concluded that fake high scoring on a permanent dictogloss task is a suitable, applicable, and appropriate device for EFL teachers and learners to achieve their educational aims.