Let’s talk about dictation, and how it can be way more than “taking notes in the target language.”
In this episode of Growing With Proficiency, I sat down with Keith Toda (Latin teacher + creator of the Toda-lly Comprehensible Latin blog) to unpack a combo that sounds a little random at first:
dictation + communication.
But by the end of our conversation, it’s clear: dictation can be one of the easiest “low-prep / high-impact” ways to support comprehensible input, slow down your pacing, and, when we tweak it, create purposeful communication.
And if you teach big classes, you’ll especially appreciate why this matters.
Meet Keith Toda
Keith is a Latin teacher who went “all-in” with comprehensible input years ago and has been sharing his learning publicly through his blog, Toda-lly Comprehensible Latin.
He’s also super honest about what worked, what didn’t, and how his thinking has evolved especially around communication with purpose, not just activities that look communicative.
Why “Communication” Changes Everything
One of the biggest ideas we return to in this episode is something many of us hear for years and then one day it clicks.
Keith talks about how his understanding of communication deepened through Bill VanPatten’s work, especially the idea that communication is purposeful and that the “purpose” is often to learn about ourselves, each other, and the world… or to entertain.
That matters because it helps us ask a different planning question:
Are my students using language to do something meaningful… or are they just doing school?
If you’ve ever finished a lesson and thought, “They were talking… but it didn’t feel like communication,” this is why.
“Language is not the goal. Language is the vehicle.”
Why Dictation Can Feel Boring (and Why It’s Still Powerful)
Keith is real about it: traditional dictation can feel repetitive and not very engaging.
But he also explains why dictation works:
- students are listening + processing + writing
- teachers naturally slow down, repeat, and clarify
- it’s easier to keep the input comprehensible
- it creates a moment of tight focus in the room
And honestly? That’s gold.
It can even support spelling–sound connections and literacy development (especially when your students are still mapping new sounds to print).
Let’s be honest: a lot of students (and teachers) think dictation is boring. Students often feel like they’re just copying notes, and teachers can feel like they’re repeating the same sentence again and again… without a real purpose.
The Twist: How to Make Dictation “Purposefully Communicative”
Here’s the magic: Keith took a dictation routine and added a purpose—using ideas inspired by Common Ground (Henshaw & Hawkins).
The core setup (simple + replicable)
- Start with 6 short dictation sentences built around one high-frequency structure
Example from the episode: “I like…” (Spanish: me gusta)
He used a national poll about teens’ favorite free-time activities and rewrote the results as dictation sentences.
- Start with 6 short dictation sentences built around one high-frequency structure
- Students do the dictation as normal
- establish meaning
- repeat
- students write
- quick correction
- Then the purpose kicks in: ranking + predicting + revealing
- Students rank the 6 activities by their personal preference
- Then they predict what they think the poll ranking will be
- Then you reveal the real results like a game show
And suddenly dictation turns into:
- curiosity
- debate
- surprise
- “Wait… WHAT?!” reactions
- authentic interaction
This is where students start wanting to talk (even if some of it begins in English in level 1—because the interest is real).
“Just because mouths are moving doesn’t mean it’s communicative.” (Referenced in the episode via VanPatten’s framing of purposeful communication.)
A Simple Classroom Version You Can Copy This Week
Purposeful Dictation: “Teen Preferences” (Novice-friendly)
Materials
- 6 sentences (present tense, one structure repeated)
- a short poll / chart / infographic (real or teacher-made)
Steps
- Dictation (6–8 minutes)
- Pair rank: “My top 6”
- Pair predict: “What does the country/world say?”
- Reveal results (game show style)
- Quick PQA extension (2–4 minutes)
- “¿Te gusta…?”
- “¿Por qué?” (or in English for level 1, depending on your goals)
- “¿Cuál es tu número 1?”
If you want an easy external poll source to pull from, the Common Ground online resources pages are a great jumping-off point for teacher-friendly references and tools.
Bonus Upgrade: Mix Dictation + PQA (Personalized Questions & Answers)
One of my favorite moments in the episode was when Keith shared what his colleague did: After a dictation sentence like “I like listening to music,” the teacher immediately asked:
- “What kind of music do you like?”
- “Who likes the same thing?”
- “What’s the most popular in this class?”
That small pause turns dictation into an interpersonal activity through personal questions. After one or two minutes, however, you return to the focused listening of the next sentence in the dictation.
This back-and-forth between dictation and PQAs creates a natural rhythm in the lesson and helps reset students’ attention, instead of losing half the room during longer discussion segments.
Another Dictation Variation: Listen & Draw (Great Before ClipChats)
Keith shared a strategy he uses before ClipChats or MovieTalks:
Instead of writing the dictated sentence, students draw it.
This can:
- keep hands busy (in a good way)
- maintain listening focus
- reduce the “I’m just taking notes” vibe
And here’s a twist I love (and I shared in the episode):
Add prediction to make it more purposeful
After students write/draw 6 preview sentences, have them predict:
- Which sentences will happen in the video/story?
- What order will they happen?
- Which one is false?
Then you watch/read… and students get that feeling of:
“I knew it!” 😄
That sense of competence is huge.
Dictation Isn’t Just for Novice Levels
We also talked about using dictation in upper levels to support reading harder text types like:
- infographics
- charts
- tables
- data summaries
Here’s the move:
- Dictate 5–6 key sentences related to the or pulled from the infographic
- Students predict what’s highest/lowest/most common
- Then reveal the actual infographic and compare
This helps students approach the real text with more confidence—especially when we know many “upper-level” students are still developing intermediate proficiency.
Try It and Tag Me (CTA)
If you try purposeful dictation this week, I want to see it.
Take a picture of your 6 sentences, your poll reveal, or your “game show” slide and tag me on Instagram (@claudiamelliott).
And if you create a fun version for your students (music, sports, food, social media, weekend plans)… tell me what topic you used. 👀
Related Reading on Growing With Proficiency
If this episode resonated, here are a few posts that connect perfectly:
- Talking Language Acquisition with Dr. Bill VanPatten (Part 2)
- Talking Language Acquisition with Dr. Bill VanPatten (Part 1)
- Beyond Exposure: Comprehensible and Meaningful Input with Dr. Florencia Henshaw (Part 1)
And if you want more on building communication as a pillar in your class, this one fits too: Making Our Classroom Communication Driven
Want to Explore Keith Toda’s Work?
Keith’s blog is a treasure trove—especially if you like practical CI ideas with honest reflection. Start here: Toda-lly Comprehensible Latin
