Dictogloss and Snowball Fight: Engaging Language Learning Activities

Both the Dictogloss and Snowball Fight activities are effective strategies for promoting language learning through interaction, creativity, and critical thinking. These activities support active engagement and collaboration among students, fostering both individual and collective learning. Below, each activity is explained in detail, emphasizing its pedagogical value and application in a classroom setting.

Dictogloss: Strengthening Comprehension and Collaborative Writing

The Dictogloss activity is designed to develop students’ listening, writing, and collaborative skills. The process begins with selecting or writing a short text that contains key vocabulary or structures the teacher wishes to reinforce. Before reading the text aloud, the teacher should introduce the topic in a way that captures the students’ interest and primes their background knowledge. This step is crucial, as it helps students establish connections with the content, enhancing comprehension and retention (Goh, 2002).

In the activity, the teacher reads the text aloud at a normal speed, and students are instructed to write down the words they catch, focusing primarily on the words that carry meaning, such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives, rather than grammatical words like articles or prepositions. The key here is that students are not expected to transcribe the entire text, but instead to focus on capturing essential words and concepts.

Following this first round, students work in small groups to compare the words they wrote and collaborate to reconstruct the text. This collaborative phase encourages peer-to-peer learning and helps learners process the material in a more comprehensive way. Students should aim to rewrite the text with the same meaning, though they are encouraged to use their own words as long as the main ideas are preserved. This exercise fosters critical thinking and reinforces understanding of language structures, as students must prioritize the text’s meaning over its exact wording.

If students face difficulty in reconstructing the text, the teacher can read the text again at a normal pace, offering additional support. The final step involves comparing the students’ versions with the original text, providing an opportunity to discuss key language structures, vocabulary choices, and grammar points (Swain, 2006). This reflective comparison solidifies learning and encourages students to notice linguistic patterns that they may have missed during the initial listening phase.

Snowball Fight: Encouraging Spontaneous Language Use

The Snowball Fight activity is a dynamic and engaging exercise that encourages students to practice question formation and spontaneous conversation. In this activity, each student receives a small piece of paper on which they write a wh-question (e.g., “What is your favorite book?” or “Where do you like to travel?”). The key here is that the question should be general, applicable to anyone in the class, rather than directed at a specific individual. This approach ensures that all students are involved in the activity and promotes the use of open-ended questions, which encourage more elaborate responses (Harmer, 2007).

Once the questions are written, students crumple their papers into balls, and the "snowball fight" begins. As music plays, students throw their paper balls at one another, collecting more as they go. When the music stops, each student opens a paper ball, reads the question, and writes an answer to it. Afterward, they write another related question based on their response. This cycle repeats several times, with students continuing to ask and answer questions in a playful and interactive way.

The activity’s collaborative nature fosters a sense of community, as students share their ideas and learn from one another’s answers. Additionally, the spontaneity of the activity helps to build fluency, as students are encouraged to think quickly and creatively. The teacher can facilitate the process by ensuring that students understand the importance of asking questions that stimulate thoughtful responses.

In the final phase of the activity, students read out the questions and answers from the last ball of paper they received. This step provides an opportunity for the class to discuss the content, reflect on the questions, and identify common themes. The activity concludes with each student writing their name on the piece of paper, which they are responsible for correcting before it is displayed in the classroom. This step ensures accountability and reinforces the importance of accuracy in language production (Nunan, 2004).

Conclusion

Both Dictogloss and Snowball Fight are valuable activities that not only promote language skills but also foster a collaborative learning environment. By engaging students in active listening, creative writing, and spontaneous conversation, these activities help to develop a range of skills, from critical thinking and comprehension to fluency and accuracy. When implemented effectively, these strategies can significantly enhance students’ language learning experiences.

References

Goh, C. C. M. (2002). Second language listening: Theory and practice. Pearson Education.

Harmer, J. (2007). The practice of English language teaching (4th ed.). Longman.

Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge University Press.

Swain, M. (2006). Languaging as a source of learning: A review of research on the role of interaction in second language learning. In P. S. Leung & L. M. McArthur (Eds.), Sociocultural approaches to language learning and teaching (pp. 129–145). Multilingual Matters.