Teach Secondary - Issue 13.2

DICTIONARY DEEP DIVE Join David Voisin as he continues to take a rich, and sometimes surprising journey through the points at which literacy, language and vocabulary intersect... SAME ROOT, DIFFERENTWORDS PARDON MY FRENCH Have you ever wondered where the shout for help, ‘mayday’, comes from? It’s a phonological and anglicised version of the French ‘ venez m’aider ’ (come and help me). It immediately calls to mind the word ‘aid’, as in ‘first aid’ – an expression first coined by a British radio officer in London, most likely due to its phonological simplicity – hence its subsequent use and practicality in air combat situations. LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS When discussing grammar, teachers will sometimes resort to simplistic language, such as ‘ describing words ’ or ‘ doing words ’. Linguists will use the term ‘modify’, rather than ‘describe’ when explaining the nature and function of words, so that an adjective modifies a noun. It’s often said that adverbs ‘modify’ a verb, which is sometimes true, but not the whole story. An adverb can also modify an adjective, or indeed another adverb. For example, ‘ The singer is very talented ’ – the adverb ‘very’ here modifying the adjective ‘talented’. Additionally, adverbs can modify a whole clause – as ‘additionally’ does in this very sentence.Watch out for words that can be adjectives or adverbs: ‘ This problem is hard (adjective). He worked hard (adverb) on the problem . He hardly (adverb) saw any issues.’ TEACHING TIP: LANGUAGE MATTERS, BUT SO DO STORIES In his 1922 book English for the English , the primary teacher and early school inspector George Sampson wrote that “Every teacher in English is a teacher of English”. He was making the point that it’s incumbent upon us all to model rich language to our students – but from a certain perspective, we could derive from this the rather stern injunction that the quality and variety of language we teach is entirely predicated on our own verbal ability. However, not all teachers feel particularly eloquent or expert in their use of language. This dictum thus surely runs the risk of leaving some feeling left out – or does it? When it comes to vocabulary instruction, it’s important to remember that it’s not just what you teach that matters, but also how and when you teach it. The American psychologist and education specialist Daniel T.Willingham has previously pointed out that stories are exceptionally powerful tools for improving memory – so it follows that being a talented raconteur may well prove to be a valuable skill when engaged in vocabulary instruction. Teachers will typically approach this activity while thinking about the scripted instruction of Tier 2 or Tier 3 words, and pondering whether to make use of pre- planned resources, such as the Frayer model. And yet, the best and most memorable vocabulary lessons can often emerge naturally from impromptu class conversations and quirky anecdotes shared by personable and passionate teachers. Steven Pinker once observed that “ Language allows us to shape events in other people’s heads ”. In a similar vein, stories can help us to engrave a better grasp of language into students’ memories. David Voisin is a head of MFL An exo skeleton is a skeleton located outside the body An exo thermic reaction will bring out heat Exo rbitant literally means ‘eye ( orbit ) popping out’ 17 teachwire.net/secondary