For example, if your native language is German, then you are given the words in German and you need to translate them into English:

Morgen – morning

Nachmittag – afternoon

Abend – evening

Nacht – night

Tag – day

Or it could be the opposite. Your teacher can dictate you the words in English and this way both your listening, writing and knowledge in vocabulary and meaning can be checked.

For example:

morning – Morgen

afternoon – Nachmittag

evening –  Abend

night – Nacht

day – Tag

Another useful version of this method is when the teacher gives sentences in the native language and they must be translated into English, using the correct tense and structure. A very fruitful and a great practice is to ask the student to make the same sentence positive, then negative, to make Yes/No question and to reply with short answers, and finally to ask a Wh-question with a wh-word orwh-phrase.

For example, the student is given a sentence in their native language or in English but only in a positive one:

+:          I like ice-cream.

Then the student needs to make the same sentence negative and interrogative, also give short answers with Yes and No and form a Wh-question.

-:          I don`t like ice-cream.

Y/N ?: Do I like ice-cream?

Y:         Yes, I do.

N:        No, I don`t.

Wh-?: What do I like?

Probably one of the most common forms of dictation is the one of a text. The teacher chooses an appropriate text, corresponding to the level of English and the knowledge of the students and dictates it with a reasonable speed. The speed may increase after a few dictations when the student is already used to this type of method. The text should not be too long and must be read once before the start the writing, the second time while the student is writing, and last time at the end, so that the student could listen and check the whole text for possible mistakes.

In conclusion, every teacher uses different methods and approaches. We, in AVEO, have chosen the best ones which have proven to be the most efficient and fruitful, in order to offer you education, combining classical methods and new techniques by our experienced, qualified and enthusiastic teachers.