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The son of an English teacher, whose favourite possession is a tea mug with ‘I’m silently correcting your grammar’ on it, I actively seek to expand my own vocabulary whenever possible and wholeheartedly encourage others to do the same.
‘English language’ is a bit of a misnomer, as of the 600,000 words in the English Oxford Dictionary, a great many are derived from other dialects.
I sat in my local café (French) in my pyjamas (Hindi/Urdu), drinking my hot chocolate (Spanish), when I moved the ketchup (Chinese) to read a magazine (Arabic) article by my favourite travel guru (Sanskrit) on safari (Swahili) holidays - and that’s before we look at science/medical words, often from Latin and Greek.
To continue the theme, today, the 23rd April is also St George’s Day in England. A Turkish born chap who fought in the Roman Army who has also provided special days in Catalonia, Georgia and Ethiopia.
Today, every one in four people in the world uses English. English is being used more and more as a way for two speakers with different first languages to communicate with each other. At the United Nations, English is one of the two working languages, along with French. United Nations
Moving closer to home, our rich regional dialects provide a vast array of alternative words to use in everyday life. Sometimes as a nod to our proud regional heritage (it’s a barm cake, not a roll, bap, breadcake or bun!), sometimes to set us apart from the ordinary. Of those 600,000 ‘English’ words previously mentioned, we only use between 20,000 and 35,000. What a waste!
However, using words in conversations with others which perhaps only we understand can convey unwanted messages. For example: "He’s just trying to be clever, I listened to him for 20 minutes and I haven’t a clue what he said!"
We need to ‘read the room’ when choosing our vocabulary, but then again…maybe not. Our words help to portray who we are: our humour, our creativity, our personality, our attitudes and outlook. Mr Shakespeare (happy birthday to him, incidentally) had it right when he wrote the words:
To thine own self be true. William Shakespeare
The subject of spelling, punctuation and grammar is somewhat more complex. Computer software of American origin has confused things greatly. Should I be using a ‘z’ instead of an ‘s’ in that word? Should I insert a comma before ‘and’? Should I remove the ‘u’ from words such as colour and behaviour?
So how does all this affect the Education sector? There has been a welcome move towards prioritising (not prioritizing) the development and demonstration of learner knowledge, skills and behaviours, which in turn has re-introduced innovative ways to capture this information rather than a focus upon written examinations. Practical observations, video and photographic content, presentations and viva voce (‘The living voice’ - Latin) are playing an increasingly important role.
Tech solutions provided by Competence allow learners, employers and educators alike to complete tasks, upload supporting evidence, video, photograph, record, submit, feed back and track all in one place. If you ‘talk a good story’ but struggle with the motivation to write in detail, there is even the facility to dictate your words.
Higher order thinking skills (HOTS) are encouraged from learners at all levels, to prepare them for the requirements of a rapidly changing world. Job titles may change, but employees who embrace problem-solving, critical thinking, innovation, creativity, effective communication and life-long learning, will always be required. We must focus not just on using language effectively, but ensuring its creative, accurate, clear and thought-provoking application to support each of these themes.
Set yourself a target of using at least five rich, colourful, alternative adjectives/describing words per day as a starting point. It will set you apart and may even convince people that your academic ability is greater than it really is!
You could even engage friendly former English teachers like my Dad. You’ll be surprised by how much they can bring to both the expansion of your vocabulary and its correct English application.
Let's talk: send an email to info@competence.team if you'd like to discuss your next project.
