There is something quietly powerful happening in classrooms where dictation is being used as part of our transcriptional fluency work. At first glance, it can look deceptively simple: a sentence is spoken, pupils listen, and then they write it down. But when we slow the process down and look a little more closely, we start to notice something else.
Done well, dictation becomes far more than a spelling exercise. It becomes a space where comprehension, transcription, rehearsal and self-regulation all come together.
Following collaboration with a range of schools during our pilot phase, a number of recurring patterns have begun to emerge. Whilst we're still learning, these are six of the observations that seem to be making the biggest difference so far.
With many thanks to our amazing Transcriptional Fluency Project pilot schools.
1. It starts with the sentence
One of the strongest messages from the pilot has been that successful dictation rarely begins with delivery. It begins with design. The most effective sentences are not necessarily the cleverest or most ambitious. In fact, they often show considerable restraint. Teachers are carefully selecting sentences that align with what pupils need most, often incorporating just one or two key teaching opportunities rather than trying to do everything at once.
There is something reassuring about this. The sentence is not simply something for pupils to write. It becomes a carefully chosen vehicle for learning.
What we're beginning to notice is that much of the success of a dictation session may already be determined before the first word is ever spoken. It really does start at the drawing board!
2. Don't rush to the writing
Perhaps one of the most striking features of the pilot has been what happens in the classroom before any pencils are picked up. In many cases, pupils are being encouraged to listen first.
Really listen.
Teachers are reading the sentence aloud and giving children time to form a picture in their minds. It is only a brief pause, but it seems to matter. By securing meaning first, pupils appear better able to hold on to the sentence, rather than treating it as a string of disconnected words.
For some learners, particularly those who benefit from the kinds of supports increasingly reflected within Ordinarily Available Provision, this early investment in understanding seems to help reduce the demands placed on working memory later in the process.
What has interested us most, is how often this tiny adjustment appears to reduce later uncertainty. Pupils seem less reliant on guesswork because they have something meaningful to hold on to.
Sometimes slowing down at the beginning helps everything that follows move more smoothly.
3. Bigger chunks, better thinking
Traditional dictation often works word by word. Across the pilot, however, we have seen many teachers gradually shifting towards dictating in meaningful phrases. At first, this can feel ambitious. Yet pupils often rise to the challenge remarkably quickly.
Alongside this, teachers are modelling the kind of quiet rehearsal that fluent writers do naturally. This explicit demonstration of the thinking process feels significant. Pupils are not simply being told what to do; they are being shown how successful writers go about it.
What surprised us was how quickly some pupils began to adopt these routines for themselves. Behaviours that initially required careful modelling started to become habitual.
It is a useful reminder that fluency is not something pupils simply possess. Like all aspects of learning, it develops through deliberate practice.
4. The pause that pays off
Another recurring feature has been the expectation that pupils stop briefly to re-read what they have written.
Not for long. Just long enough.
Does it look right?
Does it match what was heard?
These moments are easy to miss because they can last only a few seconds. Yet they appear to play an important role in helping pupils develop the habit of self-monitoring.
Over time, writing becomes more than getting words down on paper. It becomes a process of noticing, checking and making small adjustments along the way.
In many classrooms, this gradual shift towards self-monitoring is beginning to support one of our wider ambitions: helping pupils become increasingly independent and self-regulating as writers.
And perhaps that is the point. The strongest writers are not always those who avoid mistakes. More often, they are the ones who spot them and make improvements.
5. Where the real learning begins
It is tempting to think the learning finishes once the sentence has been written.
The pilot suggests otherwise.
Some of the richest teaching moments we observed happened afterwards, during the review process. When pupils compare what they have written with the original sentence, opportunities emerge to discuss choices, patterns and misconceptions that may otherwise have gone unnoticed.
For some pupils, particularly those who struggle with writing, seeing this thinking made visible, appears to be hugely important. Rather than assuming pupils will infer the process for themselves, teachers are making it explicit, breaking down what can otherwise remain hidden. The process becomes less mysterious. Pupils can see what successful writers actually do.
And that visibility matters.
6. Fewer corrections, better thinking
Perhaps the most powerful observation from the pilot has been the value of focusing on less.
Rather than correcting everything, many teachers are drawing attention to one carefully chosen word or pattern. Perhaps counterintuitively, narrowing the focus often seems to deepen the learning. Instead of simply being told that something is wrong, pupils begin to explore why. They discuss sounds, patterns, possibilities and conventions. The conversation shifts from correction towards understanding.
These moments often have a real sense of collective problem-solving about them. Teacher and pupils become a small community of detectives, working together to make sense of language.
And in the process, pupils begin to build not only knowledge, but independence. Increasingly, they are learning how to identify, explain and address their own errors, reducing reliance on adult prompts and strengthening their confidence as writers.
A final reflection
Many of these features are not new in themselves. They echo wider evidence around explicit instruction, scaffolded support and the gradual development of independence. What has been interesting is seeing how these principles can come together within a deceptively simple routine.
Perhaps that is the biggest lesson we have taken from the pilot so far.
The most effective dictation sessions were not necessarily the quietest, the longest or even the most accurate. They were the ones where pupils were visibly thinking. They were the ones where they were holding language in mind, rehearsing it, checking it and improving it.
That is a lot to ask of a single sentence.
But when dictation is done well, a sentence can carry far more than words. It can become a vehicle for confidence, self-regulation and success.
And for some pupils, that last point of success is exactly where writing starts to move forward again.
Further support and reading
Writing for Pleasure Centre (2024)
Reviewing the EEF's Writing Practice Review: Understanding Current Practice and Research Priorities in Teaching Writing
Education Endowment Foundation: Writing Practice Review
Interested in taking part?
Following the success of our initial pilot, we are now inviting a limited number of schools to join the next phase of the Transcriptional Fluency Project. Places are currently available by invitation only and are part-funded, with capacity strictly limited.
If your school has received an invitation and would like to secure a place, please complete your booking by 5pm on Thursday 5th November.
Express your interest in the Transcriptional Fluency Project
Kirsten Snook
