Who needs a school dictionary these days? It’s easier to just google it, right? Wrong!
Google may have the facts you’re after, but chances are the language expressing those facts is not suitable for your child’s age group, education phase1 or literacy level; and does not have the subject vocabulary as specified by the curriculum, the language used in the classroom, or the dialect unique to our country. Sometimes even simple objects or concepts, e.g. ‘rake’, are explained in language only adults will understand.2 And that’s not even taking into account spelling and grammar …
Where the South African school system is the lowest performing country in international literacy benchmark tests with 78% of learners in Grade 4 struggling to read for meaning3, and among the worst performers of countries ranked for maths and science in several major international studies4, it makes sense to minimise confusion by teaching children the correct language and subject terminology they need to know from the start so that they can understand what is said in the classroom and achieve success in tests and exams.
Add to this the great leap most South African learners for whom English is an additional language are expected to make in Grade 4, and the issue becomes even more complex. Although most learners are rightly taught in their home language for their first three years of school (Grades 1–3), it appears that many struggle to make the switch to English as their language of learning and teaching (LOLT) in Grade 4.
In addition, South Africa’s other official (African) languages have little or no correspondence to English, so learners cannot draw upon agreement, prior knowledge or inference to acquire their new LOLT. For these learners bilingual dictionaries can be a crucial resource, as challenging concepts are more easily explained and grasped through code-switching to the learner’s home language. A study recently undertaken by an independent researcher on behalf of Oxford University Press South Africa (OUPSA), in which the perceived impact of bilingual dictionaries on the literacy levels of learners were investigated, showed a positive impact on teachers and learners of English as a home language as well as an additional language.5
Examples of such targeted resources – often unavailable on the internet – are the Oxford Bilingual School Dictionary series, currently offering English and Afrikaans/isiZulu/isiXhosa/Northern Sotho/Setswana. Once learners have mastered the basics, they may progress to a monolingual dictionary.
There are many reasons for South Africa’s education system to be ranked 75th out of 76 by the OECD, as reported by The Economist in January 2017.6 These range from historical-political to socio-economic, and there are no quick fixes, as 25 years of post-apartheid education attest. Recently the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, reported ‘consistent improvement’ in levels of learning7, but achieving the results needed to produce employable adults with an adequate language skills set will not happen overnight.
What we can do in the meantime is to make it as easy as possible for learners to succeed at school. This means using curriculum-based, age-appropriate language from the start. For parents and teachers, it boils down to encouraging children to use good local school dictionaries instead of exposing them to the myriad of world Englishes (British, American, Australian, etc.), pitched at many different levels, that abound on the internet. A good school dictionary, by contrast, would use scientifically established core vocabulary which facilitates understanding.
Take Maths, for example. Although the core English terminology for this subject should remain more or less the same the world over, the language of explaining and expressing mathematical concepts will differ from country to country, and the language level will fluctuate from one education phase to the next. A local research study on the relationship between maths and language has confirmed that “mathematics education begins in language, it advances and stumbles because of language, and its outcomes are often assessed in language”.8
Taking into account all of the above, it makes sense to get your child a local school dictionary appropriate for the phase they are in – usually at least a Foundation Phase dictionary to begin with, and switching to a Grade 4–9 and eventually to a Grade 10-12 dictionary. Some dictionaries, like the Oxford South African School Dictionary (4th edition), combine the latter two phases in a Grade 4–12 dictionary, which can be a cost-saver for cash-strapped schools and parents.
When choosing a dictionary to support your child on their education journey, it is important to look for ones that also specifically include South African curriculum terminology. Not only is it imperative that the child knows these terms, but they should also be able to make sense of the definitions in order to grasp the concept and to express and apply it appropriately in tests and exams.
The Oxford South African School Dictionary (4th edition) mentioned above is one such dictionary. It uses OUPSA’s deep pool of local textbooks to compile corpora (collections of words) that inform the headword selection. Words used in definitions are chosen carefully from a list of frequently used and easy-to-understand words and phrases. Curriculum words are also labelled according to subject so learners know to give special attention to them. In this way, learners are empowered to acquire the essential terminology for each subject as well as understand the language used in the classroom.
The right school dictionary will not only encourage literacy and support understanding, but may ultimately make the difference between failure and success at school, laying the foundation for further achievement in the adult world of employment and meaningful contribution to society.
1In South Africa the phases of education are General Education and Training (GET), comprised of Foundation Phase (Grades R–3), Intermediate Phase (Grades 4–6) and Senior Phase (Grades 7-9); and Further Education and Training (FET), which includes Grades 10-12
2See for example the Dictionary.com definition of ‘rake’ as ‘an agricultural implement with teeth or tines for gathering cut grass, hay, or the like or for smoothing the surface of the ground’ versus the Oxford South African School Dictionary’s definition, namely ‘a garden tool with a long handle and a row of teeth at the bottom, used for collecting leaves or making the ground flat’. (In the online definition, potentially difficult or unfamiliar words include ‘agricultural’, ‘implement’, tines’, ‘gathering’, ‘the like’, ‘smoothing’, and ‘surface’.)
3According to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2016
4Notably the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the 2017 IMD World Digital Competitiveness Report
5Hall M et al 2018. “Impact of the Oxford Bilingual School Dictionary: isiXhosa and English on EC learners and teachers.” Presented at the Afrilex Conference 2019 held in Windhoek, Namibia, and the SAALT/SALALS Joint Annual Conference 2019, held at the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Education. Available on request from linda.roos@oup.com
6Based on a ranking table drawn up by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2015
7As measured by the 2013 Southern and Eastern African Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) IV
8Botes HG 2008. The use of reinforced resources to overcome linguistic diversity in the mathematics classroom. DEd thesis. Pretoria: Tshwane University of Technology
For more information on the South African school dictionaries mentioned above, contact Oxford University Press SA on 27+ 21 596 2300 or visit their website at https://www.oxford.co.za/
