The Upside of Dictation

Going to try and catch up on posts that I've put on hold from the last month... posts and pics from Japan trip to come.

First, though, I was walking on the street today and heard a little girl talking to her mom. I noticed she wasn't jabbering on and on in the way that kids usually do, but instead, was speaking in a kind of stilted, but very purposeful, slow manner. As I approached, I realized she was speaking in English. It explained the slow, stilted speech, but I was intrigued -- what was she talking about? She looked only about 7, so if my students are any indication, she wouldn't have enough vocab to be engaged in any lengthy conversation. I got closer and heard, "He sits under a tree and says, 'I think I will take a rest.' The turtle...." I heard no more, but as I'm sure you've all deduced, she was reciting the age-old story of the tortoise and the hare. Recited, I say, because I realized she was probably practicing for her English dictation -- a weekly English class test that involves reciting (and sometimes writing) word for word a passage from the unit's storybook. Any of you who have taken Chinese school will probably recall this torturous teaching method. It's a painful exercise, but I guess even if they can't hold a conversation, they can at least tell a story??