Key Stage 2 languages · Vocabulary

KS2 languages: using a bilingual dictionary

A bilingual dictionary is a tool for understanding new words and checking ones children want to use. In Key Stage 2, pupils learn to find a word quickly, read the entry carefully and choose the meaning that fits their sentence. This is harder than it sounds, because many words have several meanings and the first one listed is often the wrong one for the job.

Using a bilingual dictionary, explained

Using a dictionary is named in the programme of study as one way to broaden vocabulary and understand new words in familiar written material. Children usually start with a paper dictionary, because turning to the right page teaches alphabetical order and how a dictionary is organised, and move on to online versions. A bilingual dictionary has two halves: one section goes from the new language into English, and the other from English into the new language. Choosing the right half is the first skill.

Each entry starts with a headword in bold type, followed by a short label for the kind of word it is. These labels are often abbreviations. Many dictionaries use “n” for noun, “adj” for adjective and “vb” for verb, and some add “m” or “f”, or “nm” and “nf” in French, to show whether a noun is masculine or feminine. After the label come one or more translations, usually separated by numbers or semicolons, and often short example phrases. Reading these labels is what turns a list of words into useful information.

Many words have more than one meaning. English “light” can mean not heavy, pale in colour, or the thing a lamp gives out, and French and Spanish use different words for each. A child who takes the first translation without reading further is likely to pick the wrong word. Teachers therefore teach children to decide what sort of word they need, read all of the senses, choose the one that fits, and then check it by looking the word up the other way round.

Verbs add another step. Dictionaries list verbs in their infinitive form, the “to…” form, such as “manger” (to eat) or “tener” (to have). A word seen in a text, like “mange” or “tiene”, is already changed, so children have to work back to the infinitive before they look it up. Alphabetical order also has small quirks, such as the Spanish letter ñ, which follows n. Even in a primary school, practising these skills is useful preparation for Key Stage 3.

Words your child will hear

Headword: The word you look up, shown in bold at the start of an entry.
Entry: Everything the dictionary says about one headword: its type, meanings and examples.
Part of speech: The kind of word it is, such as noun, adjective or verb. Dictionaries show it as a short label.
Infinitive: The basic “to…” form of a verb, which is how verbs are listed, such as “to eat”.
Sense: One particular meaning of a word. Many headwords have several senses.
Gender label: A letter, such as m or f, showing whether a noun is masculine or feminine.

What the National Curriculum says

In Key Stage 2, pupils should be taught to:

Broaden their vocabulary and develop their ability to understand new words that are introduced into familiar written material, including through using a dictionary
Read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

A worked example

A child wants to say “My bag is light” in French. How can they use a bilingual dictionary to find the right word for “light”?

Decide which half to use. The child has an English word and needs the French, so they go to the English into French half and find “light” in alphabetical order.
Work out what kind of word is needed. In “My bag is light”, “light” describes the bag, so it is an adjective. The entry has separate groups for the noun (a lamp or light), the verb (to light something) and the adjective.
Read all the senses in the adjective group. There are usually at least two: one for not heavy, and one for pale in colour, as in light blue. The bag is not heavy, so the first sense fits.
Check the form. The entry gives “léger”, with the feminine form “légère”. “Sac” is masculine, so the masculine form is correct.
Check by looking up the other way. Find “léger” in the French into English half, and make sure one of the meanings is “not heavy”. If it says something unrelated, go back and choose again.

“My bag is light” is “Mon sac est léger”. For a pale colour, as in “light blue”, the French is “bleu clair”, a different word, which is why picking a sense matters. The method is: right half, right part of speech, read all the senses, check the form, then look up the other way as a final check.

Common mistakes and how to help

Taking the first translation listed

The first word looks like the answer, and reading the rest of the entry feels like extra work.

What helps: Make it a rule to read the whole entry. Ask “Which of these is the sort of word I need?” and look at the example phrases for a pattern that matches the sentence.

Looking up a verb in the form it appears in the sentence

A child sees “mange” or “tiene” in a text and searches for exactly that. The entry is not there, because the dictionary lists the infinitive.

What helps: Show them how to think backwards: “mange” looks like part of “manger”, and “tiene” belongs to “tener”. Practise with the common verbs they already know.

Translating a whole phrase word by word

Looking up each word separately seems systematic, but phrases and fixed expressions do not work that way. “Il y a” (there is) would be translated as “he there has”.

What helps: Look for the phrase as a unit first, in the example section of the entry. If a few words together make no sense, they may form a set expression.

Using the wrong half of the dictionary

Children are most used to looking up a new-language word they do not understand. When they want to say something themselves, they must start from the English half instead, and it is easy to open the wrong half without noticing until the result makes no sense.

What helps: Before opening the dictionary, ask “Do I have the French word or the English word?” and choose the half to match.

How to help at home

Dictionary races. Choose five English words and race to find them in the English into French or Spanish half of a bilingual dictionary. Speed is a good way to practise alphabetical order, including the second and third letters.
Which meaning? Pick an English word with more than one meaning, such as “match”, “right” or “light”, and see how many senses the dictionary gives. Ask your child to make a sentence for each and find the right word.
Check the other way. Whenever your child finds a word for something they want to say, ask them to look it up in the opposite half of the dictionary to confirm. It takes a minute and prevents a lot of silly mistakes.
Talk about translation tools. Online translators are tempting, but they skip the thinking that builds language skills, and for a single word they often give one translation with no labels or examples, which may be the wrong sense. Encourage your child to use a dictionary entry and make their own choice.

Leads on to

Key Stage 3: The present tense
Key Stage 3: Talking about the past
Key Stage 3: Talking about the future
Key Stage 3: Key grammatical structures
Key Stage 3: Voices and moods
Key Stage 3: Wider vocabulary
Key Stage 3: Giving and justifying opinions
Key Stage 3: Accurate grammar and spelling