An Approach to Improve the Listening Skillsof High School Students Through Dictogloss

Abstract

　　With the purpose of improving the listening skills of high school students, the author conducted classroom research on the effect of dictogloss, a task-based procedure proposed by Wajnryb (1990). The participants were 40 first-graders who took Communication EnglishⅠclasses taught by the author. The dictogloss activities were carried out 18 times, using nearly 20 minutes of each class. The task procedure consisted of four stages, that is, preparation, dictation, reconstruction, and analysis and correction, which were suggested by Wajnryb. The effect of the teaching practice was measured by the results of listening tests, free recall tasks, and a questionnaire on students’use of listening strategies. The results show, a) the students improved their scores on the listening tests, b) the students learned to get higher percentages on the free recall tasks, and c) the students got to use bottom-up strategies and metacognition as well as top-down strategies in their listening processes.