This page uses a program called Le Dictateur, developed by the Language Research Centre and the Learning Commons at the University of Calgary. The program makes use of Java from Sun Microsystems and Quicktime, from Apple. On the PC, you must install this software if you want to use the Dictateur. Both products are freely available for download.

Requirements

Dictateur has been tested on Mac OS X and Windows XP, using Safari, Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Installation Instructions for PCs (Windows)

It is best to use the latest versions of Java Runtime and Quicktime.  It is important that Java Runtime be installed before Quicktime, so if you have an older version of Quicktime already, you should uninstall it before installing the newer version.

1. Go to the Java Runtime downloads page, choose the appropriate download and perform the installation.
2. If you have a previous version of Quicktime, uninstall it (using the Add or Remove Programs facility in Control Panel (Windows)). 
3. Go to the Windows Quicktime 7.0.2 Downloads page and perform the installation.  (If you don't want to install iTunes at the same time as Quicktime, ignore the big Free Download Now button, and choose the smaller Quicktime Standalone Installer.)
4. Once the installation has completed, reboot your computer (turn it off and on again).  The Dictateur should now work, though remember it is a little slow to start.

Installation instructions for Mac

Here are the comments of the programmer (a Mac user):

The only issues re Mac are that I've restricted it to java 1.4 and  above, which is only available for OSX 10.2 and above. As long as you are running a Mac with OSX 10.2 or greater, there is  nothing for you to do, as far as I know. Java and Quicktime and QTJ  are all pre-installed.

For best compatibility, you should make sure  you have the latest version of your iteration of the OS (ie 10.2.8  or 10.3.9 or 10.4.2). All you need to do for that is let your automatic software update run. However, it would be best if you have  >10.3.9 as well as java 1.4.2_09. For reference, I run 10.4.2 and  1.4.2_09. To use Firefox (rather than Safari) with Dictateur on the  Mac, you need to do some fiddling to get Firefox to use java 1.4  instead of 1.3.

Getting Started

With Quicktime and Java installed, you are ready to start the Dictateur. Go to the Dictée page which should show a screen like the one shown opposite. You may be asked about a possible security hazard. The dictateur accesses course data from a web server on the internet, and can only do this with your permission. Click Yes to run the Dictateur this time, Always if you never want to see this dialog again, or No if you don't want to run the Dictateur. Some browsers will present dialogs that have slightly different button texts. When the program has finished loading, click on the Démarrer button, and you will be presented with the appropriate dictation for the lesson you are working on.

Higher ASCII characters (accented characters)

The easiest way for most Windows users to type accents is to install the US (International) keyboard.  Mac users have a little easier time of it.  Click for Instructions for either platform. 

Using the Dictateur

As mentioned above, the appropriate dictation will appear. Before listening to the dictation, you can click on the little eye icon, beside the "Texte complet" box, to see the whole text and study it to see what problems you foresee. You can only do this at the beginning of the dictation, before you listen to anything. Once you have started, the complete text is unavailable.

You can then listen to the whole dictation if you wish, by clicking on the "Play" button next to the eye, or listen to the different segments individually. You do this by clicking the 'A' or 'B' (sometimes "C") voice buttons. There will be buttons for as many voices are available. The dictations can also be played by pressing 'ctrl-1', 'ctrl-2' ('command-1 and 'command-2' on Mac). If you wish, you can navigate through the phrases in a dictée by using the left and right arrow buttons, though only the current one can be corrected. You can return to the current segment by pressing the return button (beside the navigation buttons). Type the phrase that you hear into the field box. Click the validate (check mark) button or press Enter (Return) to have the phrase corrected. After 3 attempts, you can press the question mark button to be shown the answer and moved on to the next phrase. You will be given feedback on any mistakes you might make.

Send any comments/suggestions/problems to Julian Wood.

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