Respect for all: How English is English?

This activity was used with children in key stage 2, years 5 and 6.

Aims

• To understand the contribution of other languages to English vocabulary.
• To demonstrate that language is dynamic.
• To show that English is a composite language.
• To appreciate that cultural synthesis can be a creative force.

Activity objectives

• To collect information from paper-based and online etymological dictionaries.
• To enter information accurately into a database (having agreed on the headings for use as field names).
• To understand the need for consistency in data and to use strategies to check for mistakes.
• To use ICT to present findings, using charts to illustrate comments.

The relevant literacy objectives are:

• identify everyday words that have been borrowed from other languages and to understand how this may give clues to spelling (year 5, term 3, word 8);
• understand the function of the etymological dictionary and to use it to study words of interest and significance (year 6, term 1, word 10).

This activity relates to the scheme of work units 5c 'Evaluating information, checking accuracy and questioning plausibility' and 6d 'Using the internet to search large databases and to interpret information'.

This activity also relates to the key stage 2 ICT programme of study, particularly:

• preparing information for development (1b);
• creating, testing, improving and refining sequences of instructions (2b);
• sharing and exchanging information (3a);
• describing and talking about the effectiveness of their work (4b).

Activity description

During work in the literacy hour, the teacher talked about how language evolves and how many words in everyday use in English are imported from other languages. The children used ICT to research, organise and structure their work in response to the question 'How English is the English language?' The children were asked to research some English words to find their country and/or language of origin. At the beginning of the task, the teacher gave out a list of words to stimulate their research. Some of these were:

admiral, alcohol, algebra, bazaar, blighty, bungalow, calico, chemise, chintz, chit, chitty, chutney, cotton, damask, damn, dinghy, divan, guru, gymkhana, jodhpur, juggernaut, jungle, ketchup, khaki, lascar, loot, mattress, mecca, monsoon, mufti, pariah, punch, pukka, pyjamas, satsuma, shampoo, sofa, syrup, zenith.

Later, the children looked at all the nouns on two pages of the story that was currently being read to the whole class. They searched paper-based dictionaries as well as online resources and CD-ROMs.

The children were asked to consider how they might store and organise their findings using ICT. After some discussion it was agreed that a flat-file database was most appropriate. This allowed them to structure and reorganise the information on the basis of different criteria.

The children entered their findings into the database as an ongoing project. This stage of the activity was launched with a discussion about the need to enter information consistently. The children also created graphs, which they used as a quick way to identify errors in the data entries. The children edited the database to ensure consistent spellings and abbreviations. The data was then sorted to produce charts showing the different origins of the English words.

At the end of the project, the children wrote about their findings, using the charts they had created. The work was printed and used in a display that included a map of the world. Word labels were created to point out the countries that have supplied words to the English language.

Commentary

The findings of the children's research created much interest. During the activity the children began to appreciate that the English language is made up of words from many places around the world. Many were surprised to discover this. The children began to understand that languages are not static, but develop according to influences such as immigration and cross-cultural interaction.

This activity acknowledges the status and influence of other cultures on the ongoing development of the English language. The task demonstrates the interconnectedness of cultures. The children began to appreciate that cultural fusion can be a creative force.

Resources

The information and communication technology schemes of work can be found at http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes3/
The online national curriculum can be found at www.nc.uk.net