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Create Your Own
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
Make sure to let your students know before they start, that they will need to come to you with an answer at the end. In this case, to describe you in three adjectives.
The first team to show you a completed text and give you three adjectives is the winner. Hopefully they are flattering!
When you select a topic, you will see extra instructions, answers, or tips here.
Roses are red,
violets are blue.
Sugar is sweet,
and so are you.
We all are unique
from different perspectives.
Now describe your teacher
in only three adjectives.
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.