Dictionary skills – working with the meaning

Working with the meaning

The activities in this section deal not only with general problems with choosing which meaning of a word is correct in a certain context but also interpretation and understanding of what the pupils have found and understanding the relationships between the words.

1. Multiple meaning I

DESCRIPTION 

1. Write on the board a really simple word with several meanings (e.g. a top) and ask the pupils which meanings of the word they know – to show that it is necessary to have the word in a context to tell its correct meaning. They can look up the meanings in the dictionary – show the pupils that the meanings in the dictionary are numbered.

2. Give a copy of a worksheet to each pupil and ask them to complete it.                                                    

3. Check the answers.  

COMMENTS

Most of the pupils are not familiar with the multiple meanings of the words and they usually use only the first meaning mentioned in the dictionary. This activity helped them to realize this feature. If the teacher finds the definitions given in English too difficult to understand it is better to present them in Czech.

2. Multiple meaning II

This activity is the variation of the Multiple meaning I. The difference is in the style of a worksheet (appendix 2).

NB: This activity is based on [6] p82.

3. It’s got something to do with…

DESCRIPTION 

1. Write on the board these words: a cat, a tail, a cage, to keep, to feed. Ask the pupils to say what they have in common and teach the structure: they have all got something to do with animals.

2. Divide the pupils into pairs and give a copy of a worksheet to each pair. Ask the pupils to complete it. At first give them a few minutes to match the words with the topic by guessing, then they check their guesses in the dictionary.

3. Check the answers with the class.

4. Now ask the pairs to think of a topic they are interested in or they would like to know more vocabulary about. They write four words associated with it and pass them to their neighbours. They must find out what the topic is (using the dictionary if necessary) and add one more word to the list (the unknown words are preferred). They pass the list again and the activity continues.

5. After all pairs have contributed to all topics, the pupils check the words of their original topic. Then each pair writes the topic and the words on a big sheet of paper to make a poster with all topics and words.

COMMENTS

The pupils enjoyed this activity, especially inventing unknown words for the specific topic. But my recommendation here is to prepare the topics in advance because several pairs have the same idea (music, sport…). I added some tips to the appendix 3.

NB: This activity is based on [6] p73.

4. One true, two false

DESCRIPTION 

1. Write the word a pen on the board and give the pupils three definitions of this word – one true and two wrong, e.g.:

• it is a writing instrument
• it is a kind of fruit
• it is a piece of clothing worn on the upper part of your body.

Ask the pupils which one is correct.

2. Divide the pupils into two teams and give each team five words they probably do not know. Ask them to find their meanings in a dictionary and then they invent one true and two false definitions. If you find your pupils not strong enough to invent the definitions, let them use monolingual dictionary – for the false definitions they can choose any definition in the dictionary. If the monolingual dictionary is not available in a printed version, the pupils can use various dictionaries on-line. If necessary pre-teach some useful phrases: It’s a person who..., It’s a thing, you can use it for…, It’s a kind of…, It’s like…, You do it when…, It’s a place where…, It’s a noun / an adjective / a verb…, It means… etc.

3. Explain that they are going to play a game in which the teams take turns to define words. Each correct answer is awarded a point.

COMMENTS

The first version of this activity was inventing the definitions without the dictionary but it was too difficult for the pupils of the 8^th grade – they were not able to give proper definitions and it spoilt the game. In the 9^th grade it did not cause such a big problem but still the game was a bit slow. That is why I modified this activity and the pupils could use a monolingual dictionary.

5. Give me three facts about the word 

DESCRIPTION 

1. Hide the words (appendix 4) around the classroom.

2. Write the word stake on the board and ask pupils to find three features of this word in their dictionaries – two different meanings of this word and one more extra information, e.g. a part of speech, a phrase containing this word etc.

3. Divide the pupils into pairs. Explain that there are 10 words hidden around the classroom. The pupils in pairs take turns in finding the words – one pupil leaves his/her seat in order to find and remember one hidden word. Then he/she returns and dictates the word to his partner. Both pupils together try to look up the word in a dictionary and find two meanings and one more extra information. The procedure continues till the pair has found and looked up all the words.

4. Go through all the words and check the answers. Ask the questions: What was the biggest surprise? Are the new meanings useful for you? Was it difficult to find and understand the new fact about the word?

COMMENTS

The pupils enjoyed moving around the classroom and looking for the words. I use a similar activity as a warm-up exercise at the beginning of a lesson – I give the pupils one word they probably know and I ask them to look up in a dictionary one new fact they did not know before.