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For example the word "main" is play.
bermain - to play
pemain - the player
pemainan - the game
Traditionally I've been told to teach dictionary skills and the "me-" verb form to Year 10 students and upwards, but after having the benefit of teaching from grade 4 until Year 12, I've really noticed that teaching dictionary skills is not limited to the older year levels. It's just about adjusting the amount of information according to their ability.
Teaching Dictionary Skills in Primary School
The first thing I highlight to the students is which half of the dictionary is English to Indonesian, Indonesian to English.
I also explain step by step how to look up a word from English to Indonesian first. I've had times when I've taught ESL students how to use the dictionary in my class, and I enjoy the fact that I am bolstering their general literacy skills, as this is something they would have missed during their earlier years being overseas.
For practice we simple have a "dictionary race", where I give a word and students need to look up the word and meaning, raise their hands. They are very engaged when you call it a "race". Normally I set them up in pairs, and alternate between who is holding the dictionary. I often see very active discussions where students communicate and explain to each other how to use the dictionary which is always good! I imagine a variation of this activity, for those who have a bit more energy is by having a "dictation race" game, whereby the dictionary is one side of the room and a worksheet with a list of vocabulary on the other. Students by one by one run up to the dictionary, search for the word, and run back to write down the meaning.
I have only tried teaching this to Year 5s and Year 6s so far. I imagine I could apply the same with the Year 4. However, break this up into micro-lessons so students will not be overwhelmed.
Teaching Me- Verbs in Year 7/8
It can be a reasonably difficult concept, but also very accessible for most students depending how you frame it. My current Year 7s are very capable and absolutely enjoy a challenge. Most of their eyes light up when I say; "This is a VERY difficult concept that I USUALLY teach Year 10s, however I think you can handle it." They get so excited when they start to get it. When they don't get it, they know they are safe in my class to not understand. My Year 7 students rarely feel "bad" when they don't understand.
Today I reviewed the basic fundamental skills of dictionaries with the students that I taught them in Year 6. They were quickly able to identify the first half vs the second half other dictionary quickly. They had forgotten what were prefixes and suffixes, so I made some comparisons to English and it quickly jolted their memories.
I went through the meN- verbs table photocopied from the back of Bagus Sekali 3 book and brought their attention to the prefixes column. I ran through a few examples together with the students. We focused on identifying base words in Indonesian.
Then we did an activity called "Dictionary Detectives" which I will blog more about at another time.
This year, I've refrained from teaching this to the Year 8s, as they are at the age where "everything" is boring, therefore grammar and a brain challenge in the form of grammar in Term 4 will certainly cause uproar. I will be trying to do this next year, but just need to tweak it to suit the interest of students more.
Teaching Dictionary Skills to Year 9/10
By the end of Year 10, they need to be able to identify base words quickly and recognise several forms of affixations, e.g. ke-an, -an, pe-
Recently from Jane Shearwood, through Indonesian Teachers' Facebook, she shared a meN- verbs Dominoes game which I am keen to try out. I'm sure that my Year 9s and 10s would thoroughly enjoy this.
Why teach Dictionary skills and grammar?
Of course, they often can pick the wrong word, but with scaffolding and limitations, they can become more confident in their ability to make the right choice.