Exploring the Effectiveness of a Reading-dictation Task in Promoting Chinese Learning as a Second Language

Abstract

Dictation has long been recognized as a valid testing device and practical teaching technique in second language (L2) teaching and research. Yet recent years have witnessed an increasing use of integrated tasks in language education. This paper attempts to combine dictation with a reading activity and thereby explores the effectiveness of a reading-dictation integrated task, as compared to a dictation-only task in facilitating Chinese learning as a L2. Results of a quasi-experimental study showed that in reading-dictation, participants produced a higher number of correct characters and made less use of pinyin for support; homophone errors and comprehension errors were noticeably reduced. In addition, feedbacks from an interview verified participants' positive attitudes towards the reading-dictation task. Pedagogical implications of this study were subsequently discussed, in relation to Chinese L2 teaching in general and orthography teaching in particular.

Persian compounds in the mental lexicon

“…In our view, the task carries with it the advantage of being able to target central mental representations because it requires cross model translation (in this case from auditory input to manual output). It is noteworthy that, in the applied linguistics literature, the dictation task has been long considered to be an integrative task, in that it brings together multiple aspects of language ability (Oller, 1973;Irvine et al, 1974;Li, 2020). In the case of the current study, our design considerations included the desire to ensure that the morphological structuring that a participant exhibited emanated from his or her own lexical system rather than properties of stimulus presentation.…”

Learning of Imla’ Using Flashcards on Writing Skill at Islamic Elementary School Level in Samarinda

“…Imla' in the era of 70-80 was a language test tool that was considered very accurate to teach second language or foreign language, based on the assumption that spelling has a close relationship with vocabulary, and language skill tests both oral and non-oral (Li, 2020). As there is a difference on Indonesian language that used alphabet letters consisting of 26 letters and Arabic that used Hijaiyah letters consisting of 28 letters (Hashemi, Aghagolzade, & Golfam, 2014).…”

Table_1.XLSX

“…In our view, the task carries with it the advantage of being able to target central mental representations because it requires cross model translation (in this case from auditory input to manual output). It is noteworthy that, in the applied linguistics literature, the dictation task has been long considered to be an integrative task, in that it brings together multiple aspects of language ability (Oller, 1973;Irvine et al, 1974;Li, 2020). In the case of the current study, our design considerations included the desire to ensure that the morphological structuring that a participant exhibited emanated from his or her own lexical system rather than properties of stimulus presentation.…”