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Research reveals shifts in language used by Aussie kids, but the gender divide remains

The new Oxford Wordlist research has revealed Australian children had learnt to love their informal lingo, with words like super, awesome, crazy, stuff and amazing, featuring in the words most regularly used by primary school students.

The research, released on June 25, drew on research from more than 3,000 writing samples and detailed the top 500 words used by Australian children from Foundation to Year 2. It was used to develop the Oxford Wordlist, which aims to give parents, carers and educators a better understanding of the language of primary school children and how it has changed over the past decade. The Oxford Wordlist also informs the resources Oxford University Press produces to help build the literacy skills of Australian students.

By comparing data from the same research conducted 10 years ago, findings show some significant changes in language. Notable words including computer no longer made the cut – potentially due to the more frequent use of mobile technology (ie. smartphones, tablets) by Australian children.

Another trend this year revealed the gender divide continues to manifest in children’s language. Soccer, footy and ninja all featured highly for boys, while cousins, party and cake were popular for girls. In addition, boys were found to write more about competitive sport while girls wrote about home, family and friends.

There was also a rise in more informal language, with super, awesome, amazing, stuff and crazy appearing on the list for the first time. In addition, mum replaced mother and hi replaced hello. This change might be due to the increased use of social media, and its informal language, among parents, teachers and siblings.

The research dispelled other societal preconceptions, as findings showed there was little difference in the language used by children in regional and metro areas. Previous research also found that the socio-economic status of a school made a difference to the language most commonly used by students; however, this difference has narrowed over the past ten years.

Other findings of interest included:

Food

  • Cake was the most popular food mentioned by children, followed by ice cream, pizza, chocolate and chips. However, there were also some (although fewer) mentions of healthier options, including cheese, chicken and

Sport

  • Soccer was the most regularly mentioned sport, although when combined, football and footy were more popular.

Optimism

  • Optimistic words were more popular than negative words. Happy appeared more than twice as many times as Fun appeared in the top 50 words, while bored or boring did not appear.

Family

  • Family words appeared prominently in the research. Grandma appeared in the list for the first time. Other family words included mum, dad, sister, brother, aunty and cousin.
  • Mum appeared at number 36 on the list, while dad sat at number 50. Sister was 84th on the list, while brother was 106th.

Prince/princess

  • Princess appeared at 134 on the list, prince did not appear.

School Publishing Director at OUP and President of the Australian Publishers Association, Lee Walker, said the Oxford Wordlist offers an insight into children’s language, and the changes that have occurred over the past decade.

“The number of words that students know is a predictor of their academic success, and the Oxford Wordlist gives teachers, carers and parents a better understanding of their children’s use of language, ultimately helping inform how they can improve learning outcomes,” Ms Walker said.

“There’s plenty for us to learn about what our children read and write. Clearly, there remains a difference in the language used by boys and girls, and technology is also making an impact on their word choices.

“Children also referenced AFL teams, fast food outlets, shops, movie and television characters, demonstrating societal and cultural influences on language.”

Professor James Arvanitakis, Lecturer and Dean of the Graduate Research School at Western Sydney University, reflected on word choice in gender identities.

“This research shows that gender differences are strong – and despite a concerted effort to be less gender specific in many cases – these unconscious biases appear to remain significant amongst those that shape the children, such as parents and teachers,” he said.

“It is also of note that fairy tales still shape the view of the world that children have, which brings us to the question: what are the new fairy tales we should be promoting?”

The 2017 Oxford Wordlist research study was conducted by Oxford University Press in partnership with Anne Bayetto from Flinders University. Anne teaches undergraduate and postgraduate topics focusing on students who have literacy and/or numeracy difficulties. Anne is also the reading expert for the Principals as Literacy Leaders (PALL) program.

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