A selection of English ESL running dictation printables

Cut the text into sentences and place them around the room. Split the class into groups or pairs. Each group must have one runner and a designated writer.

The runner has to go around the room and read the sentences - commiting them to memory - they are not allowed to touch the paper, take the paper back to the group or shout the sentence across the room. Once they think they can remember the sentence they return to the group and repeat to them what it said.

Running dictation

These are 3 pictures of different monsters. Put them on the wall. Ss works in 3 groups. There is a “runner” and some “drawers” in each group. 

•	The runner has to go to the picture, memorize it, and describe it to the others.

•	The drawers have to draw the monster according to the runner’s description. They can ask questions, too.

The groups put their pictures on the board. Checking the pictures together, comparing them to the original picture, choosing the winner. 



Picture running dictation

A short text on education to practise the activity called "running dictation" in class.

Education RUNNING DICTATION

Make sure kids they understand the vocab in the questions

Teacher cuts up the answers and puts them around the room

Kids work in teams and take turns to run and find the answer to each Q. They dictate the answer to their team and so on until one team finishes (and wins)

Dinosaur running dictation

I used these for running dictations. Students work in pair. One students runs to where the dictation is posted, reads and memorises part of it. They then run back to their partner and dictate. This can be repeated as often as necessary during the time limit (teacher discretion). Pairs swap over and the second text can be used.

Running Dictation - sh & ch

Cut up and stick these sentences around the classroom. Break students into groups or pairs. Designate one student to be the "writer" and another student to be the "reader". Mime the sentence you want the students to find and then the reader stands up and finds that sentence, comes back and reports it to the "writer" who remains seated. The writer writes down what the reader says. Repeat the process until all of the sentences are complete. Can be used for beginners with their native language equivalents on their worksheets. Found it gets students working as teams and moving around on the first day of class. 

Running Dictation Classroom English

This is an activity adapted from Key, S (1997). Reward. Resource Pack. Heinemann.
Students will race in pairs to discover the names of famous people presented in the form of a number code.

Running Dictation: Secret Code

this worksheet is for practicing students how to make requests with useful language. One more activity is considered as dictation. Students will work in group of 4 or more to run to the tetx and dictate to their secretary.

request and running dictation activity

Running Dictation - In my classroom.
Students should go have a look at the text and they have to remember as much words as possible and write them into the gap filling activity.

Running Dictation "In my Classroom"

I usually use this for running dictations around Thanksgiving to teach the students a little about the holiday and let them have a fun activity which practices all the skills.  You could definitely do a lot more with it concentrating on vocab or grammar.  

Thanksgiving text  and quiz (running dictation) 

Short story of Halloween history and customs.  I use it as a running diction but you could use it as a reading also.  There is a quiz that goes with it.  Also great for a telephone type game where the students have to pass the story down a line of students by talking and the last one writes it down.  

Halloween running dictation story and Quiz 

This activity focuses on the /eə/ diphthong sound and helps students to identify the various spelling of /eə/, namely -air	-ear –are –ere. It is indended as an in-class activity because, as the name implies, students need to run & write :)

/eə/ - There Was A Bear - Running Dictation

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

14 Running dictation English ESL worksheets pdf & doc