Schools and English Education

[NATASHA]

I have found that in schools teaching little children, they depend on dictionaries a lot. Should we not be teaching children through books and reading, spelling and dictation rather than giving them a lazy way to learn words, look up the meaning in the dictionary, how does this teach you the true meaning of the word and how to use it?

Here is a word that we should all learn: Read

to read is to educate, to learn and to be literate with vocabulary that can help you progress through to the future as an intelligent and well learned person.

Take out a book and READ

[AExAVF]

It's expected that toddlers and those in the nursery age are only starting to develop their communication skills, but only using a dictionary will not be sufficient.  Children are excited to learn new words, but they will not be able to stimulate their learning skills by just reading one source.  A dictionary contains the word, the meaning of the word, and uses, but that's it.  Sooner or later the children will get bored and eventually fall asleep.  This is where children's language workbooks enter the picture.  As they grow older, they will start reading more advanced books, and depending on their career path, they will have to deal with books even more.  As Francis Bacon once said, "Some books are to be tasted; others to be swallowed and digested."

[Rosa]

When I was in school, students were always given words to find their meanings and use. We also were asked to make sentences with them most times and I believe that this does help to build a child's vocabulary. The important thing is that the child should be encouraged to read because reading opens up a whole new world of learning but the dictionary is very necesary and can't be ignored.

[Bloomsie]

I grew up with the concept of always reading books that interest me, but to also keep a Dictionary around in case I stumble. Sometimes Dictionaries are extremely helpful in coherently understanding the book that you are reading. It can also help you develop your vocabulary as most people who speak English as their first language are considered "lazy" in developing themselves and just stick to what they know.

So the concept of using a Dictionary when reading is actually decent and i think that schools should still promote that style of learning. I mean, think about it this way: you can always read another language that you're studying, but are you truly understanding what words mean or are you just reading it just to say that you've read it? In my opinion, the Dictionary adds depth and understanding to the words.

[Trellum]

I had the same problem while growing up, the teacher didn't know more English than we did, so she would make us write several words and look for their meaning in a dictionary.  I' not even sure if she wrote that right...because I rarely found them in my dictionary, so I guess she didn't even write them right.

No one in that class could ever get far with English, excepting for me, of course, lol.  It was a huge coincidence I did, after that first try to learn English I felt so unmotivated...

[zurcminister]

English Education is very important and should be taught in schools because English is the language of business and that it is hard to do an international business if you do not know basic english. English is spoken in most countries in the world and is ranked number one in the number of countries using the language. So with these, there is really no argument that this should form part in any school system to be taught to students.

[Carlyarn23]

When I was in school looking up words in the dictionary and then writing out their meanings was a punishment. Little did my teachers know that I loved it! I have always loved words, even as a small child. While learning words from the dictionary may be tedious I think it is a good way to learn. 

[Litnax]

Maybe using a dictionary is tedious for some, but it's no fun if I don't really get a meaning of a word. I started reading English comics, novels and such with a dictionary by my side and it helped me a lot.  Simply put, this style of learning is effective - just not for everyone.

[czarina84]

Being the mother of a toddler, I know that they are active and eager to learn new things.  I think games and songs would be better than just making them look things up in dictionaries.  Most young children would get bored quickly and easily without stimulation.

[rcdpink]

I remember growing up and going to school. We did all the things that you mentioned. Our teacher would call us up to read in front of the whole class. This helped to develop our confidence and also forced us to read while we were at home, thus preparing us against embarrassment and public ignominy. We did spelling and all of those stuff. I guess my school was one of the ones that stood out.

[rcdpink]

Being the mother of a toddler, I know that they are active and eager to learn new things.  I think games and songs would be better than just making them look things up in dictionaries.  Most young children would get bored quickly and easily without stimulation.

That's true. There is an attention span issue that we have to be very attentive to. You mentioned that you are a mother and that strikes a very valid point. Even if our kids are not getting the education that they should at schools, we should be the ones, as parents, who help them to review and learn new educational materials?

[czarina84]

That's true. There is an attention span issue that we have to be very attentive to. You mentioned that you are a mother and that strikes a very valid point. Even if our kids are not getting the education that they should at schools, we should be the ones, as parents, who help them to review and learn new educational materials?

Yes.  That's part of the reason that I am trying to learn new languages.  I want to supplement her learning at home.  I want to be very careful to not steer her down the wrong path, so I want to be fluent first.  I also think that helping with homework (helping, not doing it for them) helps children and parent learn better.