‘Dictionaries’ EAL Strategy: Explanation and Rationale

As humans our working memory is limited.

This is widely viewed as seven pieces of information, plus or minus two.

Long-term memory is far more extensive, possibly infinite.

You can expand the scope of your memory by using techniques like mnemonics or visualisation.

These help transcend the limitations of working memory.

Another example is chunking. Where we group pieces of information together.

Instead of trying to remember all the separate digits in a telephone number, we group them into three or four sections. This means there is less to remember and recall becomes easier.

But you don’t have to use memory techniques if you want to command a large amount of information with ease.

There are other ways of doing that and foremost among them is the use of reference books.

Dictionaries are the most common form of reference book.

They act as an extension of the human mind, providing a store of words and meanings that it would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to remember verbatim.

As children age and become adults, they internalise the spellings and meanings of increasing numbers of words.

Over time, dictionaries lose their relevance. Or become useful in a smaller number of ways.

Encouraging EAL learners to use dictionaries is excellent for making them think carefully about words, for helping them to use and understand the English language, and for getting them into good habits.

While obvious, it also makes the wider point.

All learners experience the limitations of working memory.

For EAL learners this is compounded by the additional challenge of learning English while being in the classroom.

Any method for expanding the capacity of working memory is beneficial.

All will assist learners, especially those for whom English is an additional language, in going beyond the inherent limitations that are a simple function of human biology: seven, plus or minus two.

‘Dictionaries’ Example One

If an EAL learner is near the start of their language learning journey, ensure they have a bilingual dictionary to use in your classroom. (A visual bilingual dictionary can be an even better option.)

It will act as a bridge for your learners, connecting their existing knowledge (an understanding of their first language) with the new knowledge they are acquiring (an understanding of English).

The dictionary’s use is twofold.

First, it provides the learner with a point of reference to which they can continually return as they are getting to grips with English.

Second, it erases some of the sense of isolation a learner new to English might feel.

Through the dictionary they can access meaning and spelling, starting from a position with which they are familiar (their first language).

This helps break down any sense of alienation that can sometimes arise when you are first immersed in a new language.

It provides a safe place – an anchor – to which the learner can return whenever they need.

‘Dictionaries’ Example Two

Regularly model the use of dictionaries in front of your learners.

When you introduce new words, or when you notice that an EAL learner has come across a word for the first time, make a show of getting hold of a dictionary and looking it up.

You might develop this by looking up new words with your EAL learners, before encouraging them to look up new words on their own.

Have a collection of dictionaries in your room which are for learners to use and make it clear that that is what they are there for (sometimes dictionaries can become a piece of furniture, rather than a tool that is used).

‘Dictionaries’ Example Three

Run a two-way challenge with an EAL learner to increase their confidence and build rapport.

Start off by giving them a bilingual dictionary.

Next, give them a word they need to look up.

Depending on their English language level, they can then tell you the meaning, express it in their first language, or draw something that signifies its meaning.

After this, it is your EAL learner’s turn.

They say or write down a word in their first language and give you the bilingual dictionary.

You need to look this word up, find out what it means, and then share it with your EAL learner.

Repeat as many times as is useful.

This is a great way to build a relationship with an EAL learner, and to have fun with them while also implicitly modelling the power and relevance of the bilingual dictionary as a tool they can use in the classroom.