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Perfect Dictation
Like a running dictation — but every word matters.
A simple twist on a classic classroom activity that gets students moving, reading, speaking, listening, and laser-focused on accuracy.
No printing, no prep — just scan and go.
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Two readers. One runner. Only one side can see the text at a time.
Roles
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Student A – reads & types
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Student B – reads & types
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Runner – carries the message
The key idea
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Only one student can see a line at any time
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When that line is typed perfectly, the next line appears.
How it works
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Line 1 appears on A’s phone
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A dictates it to the Runner
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Runner dictates it to B
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B types it
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If it’s perfect → Line 2 appears on B’s phone
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B dictates → Runner → A
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A types
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Repeat, switching sides each time
Instructions
When you select a topic, you will see extra instructions, answers, or tips here.
Last weekend, I went
to Richmond with my family.
First, we ate delicious oysters
at a friendly restaurant.
After that, we went swimming
at a beautiful white beach.
All up, it was
a pretty good trip.
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A few more ideas...
Pronunciation Practice
Tell students they cannot spell words for their partner. Using minimal pairs (as in our example), they must pronounce each word clearly enough that their partner can identify the correct one.
Alphabet and Spelling Practice
Many students struggle with the English alphabet. This activity is a great way to practise it.
For example, our “Swahili Masks” text is a simple machine translation of the poem Masks by Shel Silverstein. Unless you're teaching in East Africa, students won’t be able to dictate these unfamiliar words normally — they’ll need to go letter by letter, giving tons of alphabet practice.
Speaking Volume
Some students speak too quietly. The solution?
Run the activity in pairs instead of groups of three. With no runner, the two students must shout the lines to each other across the room while everyone else is shouting, too. They’ll have to project!
And beyond…
These are just a few examples. Once you start adapting Perfect Dictations, you’ll find countless other uses — especially when creating your own texts with a Premium account.
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