Dictation archive

Every two months, the Macmillan Dictionary Website will feature a brand new dictation exercise inspired by the starred red words that feature so prominently in the Macmillan English Dictionary.

These activities, written by Straightforward author Philip Kerr, focus on many of the key features of the second edition of the Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced learners.

Dictation activity 1 - 'explore'

This dictation looks at common learner problems, and uses the real-life experiences of a remarkable New Zealander to help your class understand some complicated lingistic concepts. Please click on the buttons below the definition of the headword to download the Audio Download, Script and Teacher's Notes.

Level: Upper Intermediate or above
Time: The audio clip is only about one minute long, so you can just use this as language practice for your class. If you decide to complete all of the activities outlined in the Teacher's Notes, the entire exercise will take one hour.

explore ***

  1. to travel to a place in order to learn about it or to search for something valuable such as oil.
  2. to examine or discuss a subject, idea etc thoroughly.
Audio Download  Script Download  Teacher's Notes 

If you have difficulty downloading the MP3 file, or wish to save it to your computer, please right click on the Audio Download button and select 'Save Target As'.


If your students finish early, or even if you would like to test your vocabulary, the Macmillan Dictionary website now also features a great new language game based on the themes from our monthly dictations. Please click here to play Headword Hangman based on Inglis' experiences.