Abstract
This paper interrogates students' use of dictionaries for examination purposes at Rhodes University in South Africa. The practice, which is provided for by the university's language policy, is widely seen as a linguistic intervention particularly aimed at assisting English additional language students, the majority of whom speak African languages, with purely linguistic information. Such a view is misconceived as it ignores the fact that the practice predates the present institutional language policy which was adopted in 2006. Although it was difficult to establish the real motivation prior to the language policy, this study indicates that both English mother-tongue and English additional language students use the dictionary in examinations for assistance that may be considered to be broadly pedagogic rather than purely linguistic. This then invites academics to reconsider the manner in which they teach and assess, cognisant of the pedagogic value of the dictionary which transcends linguistic assistance.
Highlights
This paper interrogates students' use of dictionaries for examination purposes at Rhodes University in South Africa
In a sense that resonates with the South African education system, the learner in pedagogical lexicography refers to any person who is learning any language, native or additional, or any academic subject (Gouws 2010; Tarp and Gouws 2012)
The data obtained through Questionnaires 1 and 2 indicate that students generally support dictionary use under examination conditions. 69 of the 109 firstyear students who completed the questionnaire thought they would need the dictionary during university examinations, a privilege they have never had at school level
Summary
This paper interrogates students' use of dictionaries for examination purposes at Rhodes University in South Africa. The rationale for dictionary use in examinations at Rhodes University is not explicitly articulated but rather inferred only in terms of the language policy as an intervention that seeks to eliminate linguistic barriers for English additional language students, the majority of whom speak African languages. This suggests that the dictionaries, which are discussed later in the article, are consulted for purely linguistic problems during examinations, especially by English additional language students.
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