THEORETICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR FORMING LEXICOGRAPHIC COMPETENCE IN MOTHER TONGUE EDUCATION

Abstract

This thesis examines the theoretical and pedagogical foundations of forming lexicographic competence in mother tongue education. The relevance of the topic lies in the fact that dictionary use in school is no longer limited to the mechanical search for word meanings; it has become part of literacy, vocabulary growth, reading comprehension, and the development of independent learning. Modern lexicographic and pedagogical research shows that dictionary skills should be taught systematically, assessed consistently, and adapted to the learner’s age, linguistic level, and communicative needs. Within this thesis, lexicographic competence is understood as the learner’s ability to identify the need for lexical clarification, choose an appropriate dictionary resource, interpret definitions and labels, distinguish contextual meanings, and transfer the obtained information into oral and written speech. The study argues that in mother tongue education this competence should be developed through a pedagogically designed sequence of guided, semi-guided, and independent activities. Such an approach strengthens language awareness, improves text comprehension, and supports the transition from teacher-dependent learning to self-directed lexical inquiry.