THIS EXEGESIS

The AusDICT, the creative component of this thesis, is accompanied by an exegesis (this current document), which informs the reader of the theoretical grounding of the AusDICT, as well as describing the creative process and decision-making undertaken to realise the aims of this project. Its purpose is to explain and justify the decisions made and connect this research to the broader academic context. The exegesis is presented in twelve chapters, divided into two parts. Part 1 details the theoretical underpinning of this project, while Part 2 describes the practical concerns of the creation of the AusDICT (and the other outcomes of this project). These two parts, and the chapters contained within them, focus on the methods and techniques used for the creation of the AusDICT, rather than elaborating on all possible methods.

Part 1 of the exegesis begins with Chapter 2, where I describe the relationship between teaching language and teaching culture and elaborate on the definition of culture used throughout this thesis. Drawing on Liddicoat and Scarino (2013) and their model of intercultural communicative competence, (ICC), I use ICC as the foundation for modern goals in language teaching and describe how the different competences of language teaching apply to this project. I argue that in order to align with current described outcomes for ESL students (ACARA, 2011), invisible culture is an essential part of that goal.

In Chapter 3, I discuss the ideal ways of creating resources, and argue that the best materials are designed with the teaching outcomes and methods in mind. This is particularly important for materials that teach cultural awareness, and intercultural competence, where the knowledge to be transmitted is best discovered by the students themselves. In these cases, materials should be developed with curiosity and discovery as the guiding principles, rather than through repetition or memorisation. In this chapter, I also show the gap in methods and materials—by providing case studies on some existing materials—and discuss the kinds of materials needed to fill this gap and achieve the goals of developing interculturally competent speakers. Finally, I advocate for connecting evaluative criteria to the desired outcomes for students, and for using those criteria from the outset to design effective materials.

Following this, in Chapter 4 I argue that a dictionary is the best format for this resource, considering the use of dictionaries in teaching contexts, and the type of information to be included in this resource (the AusDICT). To do this, I discuss the defining features of dictionaries and describe the lexicographical approach to writing dictionaries, as both a way of evaluating dictionaries, and as a way of creating one. I comment on the features of dictionaries which I have drawn on for the creation of the AusDICT as well as the reasoning for not including other features. In this chapter, I also review existing dictionaries—both traditional dictionaries and specialised (cultural) dictionaries—and discuss the differences in form, content, and style for each of these sub-types of dictionary. I conclude that the AusDICT is best described as a dictionary and shares features with both specialised and encyclopaedic dictionaries.

In Chapter 5, I describe the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (e.g. Goddard, 2006; Wierzbicka, 2014; Wierzbicka & Goddard, 2013) approach to describing culture and cultural keywords and justifies the use of this methodology as a descriptive

metalanguage for the AusDICT. In this chapter, I advocate for using NSM to describe flexible models of culture, rather than rigid rules, and argue that the principles of an NSM approach are the best way to capture this complex cultural information, ready to be taught to students. I also discuss the NSM perspective on lexicography, and the arguments for and against using NSM in lexicographical works. Finally, I review the two existing dictionaries that have been created using NSM principles—evaluating the differences between these works and the AusDICT.

As the scope of this thesis has been confined to the Australian context, in Chapter 6 I examine previous descriptions of Australian culture and argue that in general there have been a lack of publications which detail the invisible culture in Australian English. This lacuna is particularly evident when considering descriptions available in cross-

translatable terms for learners from non-English speaking backgrounds and the need for teachers to be able to translate any of the materials they use into appropriate language for their students. Instead, the majority of publications are focussed on Australian slang, or on describing values of Australian culture in vague (and usually negative) terms, by using culturally specific language, or not exploring the further implications of such words as ‘equality’, ‘fairness’ or ‘mateship’.

Part 1 of the exegesis concludes with a summary of the theoretical components of this project in Chapter 7. This chapter summarises my approach to creating the AusDICT, with regards to the principles drawn from the three key theoretical areas—language

teaching, lexicography, and NSM—and the necessary considerations for the decision- making processes of the practice component of this project.

Part 2 of the exegesis focusses on the practical realisation of the theoretical component. It begins with Chapter 8, in which I give a detailed recount of the groundwork

undertaken for the AusDICT. Here, I describe the research methods and user engagement taken on with teachers across Australia. This includes the survey of teachers, as well as the workshops undertaken with focus groups. Apart from giving a detailed description of this user group, this chapter also provides insight into the users’ (ESL teachers) priorities for teaching materials and reference resources; concluding that the practice and flexible nature of any resources was vital to its successful

implementation in classrooms.

Following the groundwork, in Chapter 9 I illustrate how this feedback from users affected the ways in which the NSM framework is used, resulting in a context-specific framework called Standard Translatable English (STE). The new framework is custom- built for teaching language and culture and responds to each of the comments and feedback from users, while also adhering to the principles of NSM and therefore the benefits it provides. The result is a clear and translatable system of describing complex cultural knowledge without being attached to a specific teaching ideology or

methodology. This chapter also describes some of the many ways in which STE can be used in classrooms, planning, and in teacher training.

Beginning with the selection of entries, I discuss the two main types of entries in the AusDICT in Chapter 10—those from previous publications and those written

specifically for the project—and details my research and writing processes of

developing each. This chapter elaborates on the procedure I developed for writing such a large number of entries in STE.

In Chapter 11, I provide a detailed account of the organisational decisions made during the creation process of the AusDICT, following the approaches in lexicography and in materials development. In this chapter I give evidence of the interaction between theory and practice, as each level of the creation of the AusDICT is illustrated. I describe these features and decisions, beginning with the overall structure of the AusDICT and

working down to the entry level.

Part 2 (and the exegesis) concludes with Chapter 12, in which I propose the future directions of the AusDICT including the many ways in which the AusDICT can be expanded, targeted, and shaped moving into the future. The chapter returns to the evaluative criteria laid out in earlier chapters and evaluates if the project has achieved its aim of contributing to the improvement of teaching invisible culture in ESL

classrooms. Following this, I include a discussion of the ways in which the STE framework and the AusDICT (and the teaching materials) can be empirically tested in terms of their efficacy in conveying information about invisible culture. The AusDICT is only part of what can be achieved using the STE framework. As such, in this chapter, I also advocate for the capacity of the AusDICT and STE to contribute to learning outside of ESL classrooms, in mainstream classes, in workplaces, and throughout society more broadly.