The next stage in the AusDICT project!
Yesterday, at last, I launched the AuDICT website. That is, The Australian Dictionary of Invisible Culture for Teachers website. A dictionary unlike any other, which I have been working on for six years as part of my PhD (graduated in 2019). In honour of it becoming available at last, here are some answers to the most obvious questions about the AusDICT.
I hope you enjoy exploring the AusDICT.
What is the AusDICT?
The AusDICT is what I call a “cultural dictionary” — a dictionary which focuses on culturally significant concepts. What’s different about this dictionary is that it doesn’t focus on words, but on values, attitudes, and ways of thinking and interacting in Australian English (but much of the entries are applicable to other varieties of English too).
The AusDICT is designed for English language teachers in Australia who want to explore complex ideas with their students, while making sure that they use easily understandable words to do so.
Why is the AusDICT unique?
The AusDICT also stands out because the entries are written in Standard Translatable English (STE) — an approach to describing and explaining concepts which uses simple and cross-translatable words. STE is based on more than 40 years of research in the Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach but extends and shapes that approach for specific purposes. Here, for English language classrooms. The result is a very small defining vocabulary (about 126 words) and some grammar which is common across languages. While the Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach aims for complete cross-translatability across languages, STE aims for maximum cross-translatability, while considering audiences and content.
Using STE to write the entries in the AusDICT means that the explanations are useful for classrooms with students of multiple linguistic backgrounds, mixed level classrooms, language learners with interrupted formal education, and lots more. Because the focus is being as simple as possible, it can be scaled up and down as needed in the classroom.
A more complete introduction to STE is available on the AusDICT website here.
How do I use the AusDICT?
It’s up to you, really. Based on my discussions with teachers, I think there are three main ways you might like to try using the dictionary.
The first is for your own knowledge. Explore and look up things that you have been thinking about, that you’ve been asked about, and see what it says. Use the explanations as starting points to think about the concepts from your own perspective. Do you think the same? Do you mean something else when you say it?
Second, use the topics to help structure a work unit while you’re designing your classes. The sub-topics can give you ideas of things to explore or ways of approaching different aspects of topics.
Third, you can use the explanations to create lessons themselves. Get students thinking reflectively about the explanation, or their own way of thinking about the topic. Use the entries as a starting point for discussion, or an opportunity to explore different ways of thinking. If you want more concrete ideas for classroom activities, feel free to email me.
Where did the AusDICT come from?
When I began my PhD, I knew that I wanted to do something that was useful and practical, and not just theoretical. Several people before me had discussed how useful the Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach would be for language teaching, but no one had really tested it. In my Masters thesis, I worked with students and teachers to see what they thought and if they could use it. Overwhelmingly, they said that it sounded like a great idea, but that they would need resources. Ideally one which presented lots of relevant scripts and explications in one place. And so the idea for the AusDICT was born.
How was the AusDICT created?
Throughout my PhD I worked with English language teachers in Australia to workshop challenges and practicalities of a brand new type of resource like this one. I ran workshops, held discussions, presented at conferences, and beta tested the dictionary with teachers from all over Australia.
The 333 entries selected for the AusDICT are based on a list of challenges which students told me they faced, and which teachers told me were difficult to explore with students. Of course, some important topics have been left off at this stage, but I hope to include them in future updates. As a linguist, my perspective on language and variation came into this project at several points. Swearing came through as an important concept to explore, and so it has been included in the AusDICT. The AusDICT and STE provide a framework for talking about taboo topics, because they can help teachers and students to unpack the attitudes and conventions of use which apply to words like swearwords.
Many of the entries are based on previous publications in the NSM approach, but updated, edited, and ‘translated’ into STE and for a language teaching context. Others were researched, written, tested, and checked by me and the teachers who were integral to this project.
Because of confidentiality in the ethics process, I cannot name those that participated, but I am incredibly grateful to the #AusELT community for their help.
