1. GCSE Modern Foreign Languages Dictionary Skills lesson

2. Why dictionary skills?
For your GCSE coursework it is essential to be able to use a dictionary well (and so be a good independent learner in MFL )by:-
...knowing the different types of words which make up sentences (verb/ noun/ adjective)
...having the skill to identify/select the correct word(s) from a dictionary
....using the grammatical information in dictionaries successfully to your advantage

3. What is a noun ?
A noun is an object or a thing, which can usually be preceded by ‘a’ or ‘the’ in English. E.g. Dog, Table, Bottle. Bear in mind that in the language you are studying, the word for ‘a’/’the’ depends on the gender.
You can recognise these in a dictionary by the letter ‘n’...and in most dictionaries a m / f (/n) will tell you if its gender
Remember that the noun you find in the dictionary is for just one. If you want 2, then look for the brackets to show you how to make the plural
Masculine – le/ un
Feminine – la / une
You need to learn the different words for ‘the’/’a’ masculine, feminine, neutral
Masculine – el / un
Feminine – la / una

4. You can recognise these in a dictionary by the letters ‘adj’...
What is an adjective?
An adjective is a word which describes a noun. E.g. A short story, the friendly doctor, the wooden table. Remember, in a foreign language, you may have to change the endings depending on the gender of a word.
You can recognise these in a dictionary by the letters ‘adj’...
J‘ai un crayon noir
J’ai une règle bleue
J’ai les yeux verts
...einen roten Mantel
...eine braune Katze
... ein altes Laptop
..un gato negro
mi hermana es alta
Las matemáticas son interesantes

5. What is a verb?
A verb is a doing or action word. E.g. do, went, will, to eat. Verbs that are in the main section of the dictionary are in the infinitive (in the form “to drink”/”to sing”) so if you find a verb in the Foreign Language, you will probably have to change the verb using the endings you have learnt in class.
You can recognise these in a dictionary by the letters ‘v’/ ‘vt’ / ‘vi’...
Most verbs in French (infinitive) end in er/ir/re
e.g. regarder, finir, répondre.
Most verbs in German end in –en
e.g. haben, spielen, machen
Most verbs in Spanish end in er / ir / ar
e.g. hablar, comer, sentir

6. You can recognise these in a dictionary by the letters ‘adv’..
What is an adverb?
An adverb is something that complements a verb, giving details about how the action was done. E.g. slowly, punctually
You can recognise these in a dictionary by the letters ‘adv’..
Tip – many adverbs in French end in -ment
Tip – many adverbs in German end in –lich
Tip – many adverbs in Spanish end in -mente

7. Use your dictionary to find the German/ French/ Spanish for:
Birds
Table
Girls
Posters
Brothers

8. The essentials
Use your common sense – if a word ‘feels’ wrong, it possibly is. If in doubt, look the word up in the opposite section of the dictionary.
Read carefully the information from the dictionary about the type of word it is. (Particularly important if you are looking up a word which could be used in two ways).
If a word has two or more unrelated meanings (e.g. Bat), the dictionary will generally have two separate entries for it.
Always read the examples given under the entry – you may find something useful.
If in doubt about plurals, the German/French/Spanish – English section of the dictionary (front section generally) will give this information so find your word there.
Remember that most of the time, you will not be able to use the F/G/S verb as it is in the dictionary – it will need conjugating

9. BAD DICTIONARY SKILLS (A GERMAN EXAMPLE)
Fred wanted to write in his coursework, “Overall, it was a good film”. He found the word “Arbeitshose” (which means ‘overalls’ – clothes to wear for work). This could’ve been avoided by:-
Fred looking at the word carefully realising that Arbeit means “work” and Hose meaning “trousers” – or suspecting that it might mean “overall” and double checking in the other section of the dictionary
he could’ve looked for a second time and realised that he was looking at “overalls” not “overall”.
he should have realised that he wanted an adverb for his sentence not a noun.

10. Verb Tables
Possibly the most useful thing about the grammar section of the dictionary are the verb tables. In some dictionaries, there is a list of verbs giving the page reference to look for.
Present Indicative – actions which you are doing/or do regularly
Imperfect – actions which used to happen / things which set the scene (in the past)
Perfect – actions which are completed /which can be translated by “I have done/played” in English. The past participle is the ‘eaten’ / ‘done’ / ‘played’
Future – actions which you are going to do in the future / which will happen in the future
Conditional – things which would happen if something else occurs e.g. I would go to the dentist if I had toothache.

11. Use your dictionary to find the word for:
to help
help (support)
match (to light a fire)
match (football/tennis)
bat (cricket/rounders)
to fly
to book (holiday)