As part of an ongoing programme of language research, the department of Children’s Dictionaries & Children’s Language Data at 51șÚÁÏÍű has analysed children’s creative writing submitted to the BBC 500 WORDS story competition in 2023 and the results are out today!

You can find all the details about the winners of the 500 words story competition on the , and download the full for all the language analysis from OUP.

The analysis is undertaken by a team of lexicographers, editors and teachers, and is based on the Oxford Children’s Corpus, the largest children’s language database in English.

Key Findings from the Report

‱ Themes around contemporary conflicts feature more prominently in the stories than in previous years.
‱ There is a shift away from the topic of Brexit, with very few mentions of this word (and none in a political context).
‱ There is a substantial increase in the frequency of AI in the stories – often in relation to a dangerous entity that could take over the world.
‱ The stories indicate an increasing awareness of neurodiversity, and conditions are often portrayed as a strength.
‱ Barbie occurs twice as frequently in stories from 2023 than 2020.
‱ TikTok is seen as a more established app and part of everyday life in 2023.
‱ Lioness(es) increased in frequency compared with 2020, and over half of the mentions were in reference to football. In 2020, almost all mentions of lioness(es) were references to the animal.
‱ The 2023 stories are the first to demonstrate a lived experience of Covid in the UK, and the pandemic is evidently still a reference point for children.

Insights from the 2023 stories

‱ The proportion of boys and girls who submitted a story in 2023 was 39% and 61%respectively. Excluding names, words that are used much more frequently by boys than girls include: Madrid, titan, league, Godzilla and champions. Meanwhile, words that are used much more frequently by girls than boys include: gymnastics, pony, foal, makeup and tiara.
‱ Words that appear much more often in stories from the 5-7 age category than the 8-11 age category include: mammy, baddy and teddybear. Meanwhile, words that are used much more frequently in stories by children in the older age group than the younger age group include intrigue, commander and murder. Adverbs, including practically, seemingly and sincerely, are also used more frequently in this age group.
‱ Words which had much higher frequency in stories from 2023 than 2020 include seasonal trends such as pumpkin and Halloween, footballers such as Haaland and Raya, and animals such as capybara and axolotl. Camilla is also used much more often in stories from 2023 – both in reference to the Queen and as a general character name.
‱ Meanwhile, words which had much higher frequency in stories from 2020 than 2023 include ps4, bushfire, trump, Brexit and coronavirus.

Do check out the full report for more interesting facts about how children used language in the 2023 500 words competition, and congratulations and well done to everyone who took part and submitted a story, as well as to the well-deserved winners.Ìę

Blog: 4 top tips for writing great plots

Blog: 4 fun ways to develop characters for a short story

Blog: How to find the perfect words for your story

Blog: Using storytelling to help develop reading and writing skills

Climate Change is the Oxford Children’s Word of the Year 2023.

A third of children chose climate change as their word of the year, narrowly followed by war and almost a quarter choosing coronation.

Why did children chose climate change?

The research, which asked over 5,000 children across the UK aged 6-14, revealed young people’s desire for action with emotive words such as ‘need’ and ‘important’ occurring frequently in their statements. Impact on the wider world, their current lives and the future were cited as the main reason for the word choice, whilst ‘sad’, ‘scared’ and ‘worried’ were the most common responses by young people when asked how the word makes them feel.

Analysis of the of the Oxford Children’s Corpus, the largest children’s English language database in the world containing over half a billion words, showed the topic of climate change is regularly written about by children. Studying the most recent addition to the Children’s Corpus, the stories submitted for the BBC 500 Words 2023 story competition, ‘stop’ is revealed as the most common word used in the context, underlining children’s resolve to alter the course of climate change.Ìę

The research also demonstrated how much current affairs affects children’s language. Of the children who selected war (31 per cent) as their chosen word, more than one in ten (13 per cent) mentioned the ‘news’ when asked why. The crowning of King Charles III was another key event in current affairs which impacted children, with many citing ‘celebration’ in relation to almost a quarter (24 per cent) choosing the word coronation.

What about slang words?

Other findings revealed bro to be the top slang word chosen by 42% of children followed by lol (24%) and slay (17%). Along with bro being used as an informal term to address friends, research found children also use it as a ‘positive politeness’ strategy to confirm solidarity with another person whilst expressing admonishment.

“This year marks the tenth year of Children’s Word of the Year, and over the decade we have seen the significant role current affairs plays for children’s language development. The choice of ‘climate change’ not only demonstrates how attuned children are to the news and their environment, but the research also reveals their willingness to engage with meaningful change. Whether it’s understanding how children use slang phrases or what word reflects the past year, it’s imperative we continue to support children’s language development so they have the means and vocabulary to express themselves.”Ìę Helen Freeman, Director of Oxford Children’s

“Through our work with young people, we’ve seen first-hand how willing children are to learn and engage with topics like climate change, so we’re not surprised to see it selected as Children’s Word of the Year. Sometimes we greatly underestimate children’s abilities to understand complex issues, so it’s encouraging that this research shows children are engaged and understand the impacts of climate change. We also mustn’t ignore the findings from the language research which demonstrate young people’s desire for action. Young people not only recognise that climate change is an issue, but they’re also seeing the importance of tackling it. No-one will feel the negative effects of climate change more than the next generation – or the positive effects of the action we take against it now.”Ìę Amy Meek, CEO and co-founder of Kids Against Plastic

How does it work?

Over 3,000 children aged 6-14 across the UK were asked for their suggested word of 2023 via our Education Research Forum. Based on the most common responses and themes in their answers, three words –Ìęclimate change,ÌęwarÌęandÌęcoronationÌę– were shortlisted. A further 1,450 children were asked for their favourite slang word of 2023 via a CHILDWISE survey. The three words, along with the three shortlisted slang words, were then put to vote by a further 1,000 children via market research agency Opinium to decide their overall word of 2023.

Climate and Vocabulary

IfÌę you are looking to explore topics in the world around you with your child at home, the following links may help:

• Blog: Talking about Climate change at home
• Page: Little Oxford: Explore your world
  • This page links to the Little Oxford app for 3-5 year olds, but also contains book recommendations for exploring the natural world with little ones
• Books: Big Words for Little People
• Kids Against Plastic: for more information about the charity Kids Against Plastic, please visit

Books to build Vocabulary

As a Headteacher of a primary school, I see the huge difference that a child’s vocabulary makes to their learning every day.

A rich vocabulary allows children to say exactly what they mean. Knowing and using lots of words helps them to understand what others are saying, to talk and write in an engaging way, and to better understand the world around them.

Support from parents makes a massive difference to the number and variety of words a child knows. One of the best ways to improve your child’s vocabulary is to play word games and activities at home. Not only is this an effective way to boost your child’s future success – it can also be fun and engaging for the whole family!

Here are some ideas for fun games you can play to build your child’s vocabulary and confidence with words.

Building your toddler’s vocabulary

• Ask questions about stories. For example, ‘Is Buzz helpful to Woody? Is the Gruffalo really scary? Do you think the mouse is a clever mouse? How do you know?’
• From nursery onwards, encourage your child to answer questions in developed phrases rather than in one or two words.
• Try to add more description to your own speech. For example, saying ‘Please could you pass me the large blue spoon with the wooden handle?’ exposes your child to more words than just saying ‘Please could you pass me the spoon?’

Building your child’s vocabulary at primary school

Ideally, a new word needs to be used six to twelve times, in different ways, to be remembered long term. Here are some ideas for repeating and reusing words in interesting ways.

1. Play word games

You could explore synonyms (words that mean the same thing) together. See how many different words your child can think of forÌęnice,Ìępretty, orÌętall. Some healthy competition with friends or siblings can help to make this fun.

2. Act out abverbs

Ask your child toÌęscamper silently,Ìęcrawl slowly,Ìęscuttle rapidly,Ìęsmile sweetly, orÌęspeak menacingly. Children love this!

3. Master meaning

When reading together, ask your child questions focusing around a particular word, such as:

• ‘Could we say that Verruca Salt isÌęselfish? Why? Why not?’
• ‘Could aÌęselfishÌęperson ever be kind? Can you give an example?’
• ‘Is Charlie BucketÌęselfish? Could we say he isÌęunselfish?’
• ‘When have you beenÌęunselfish? DoesÌęunselfishÌęmean the same thing as kind?’

4. Talk at the table

• Talk about food when you’re at the dinner table. Use interesting words to describe what you are eating: ‘My peas are not just nice and tasty – they areÌędelicious, they areÌęscrumptious. Do you think they areÌęscrumptious?’
• Dinnertime is also a good opportunity to ask your child about their day. For example, you could ask, ‘What do you remember from your lessons today?’ and encourage lots of detail. You can model this by talking about your own day first.

5. Use interesting words

• When you talk to your child, try to use interesting words. For example, ‘When I gave my friend her present, she was delighted. Delighted is a strong word for happy. I’m always delighted when you help me tidy up – what makes you delighted?’
• Try to model using adjectives (words that describe nouns, like ‘yellow’ or ‘smooth’) and adverbs (words that describe verbs, like ‘happily’ or ‘quickly’) in your day-to-day speech. For example: ‘Can you smell the freshly cut grass?’

6. Discover language on the go

Visit your local museum and ask your child to describe the pictures or exhibits they see. Take your child along with you as you head off to the bank, the grocery shop, or the post office, and see what new words you can discover.

7. Play ‘word/not word’

Another way to stretch your child’s use of new words is to play ‘word/not word’. This works by choosing a word (for example, ‘delightful’), and seeing what ideas your child associates with it. For instance, you could say to your child, ‘If I say something that you love, say “delightful”. If you don’t love it, say “not delightful”.’ Then ask your child why they responded as they did.

For example, you could try these ideas: opening presents on your birthday; eating sprouts; laughing at the puppy; eating ice cream; going to bed early; reading a book; riding your bike.

Now you can vary the game, using ‘beautiful/not beautiful’, ‘hilarious/not hilarious’, ‘exciting/not exciting’, and so on.

Things worth remembering

• Try to make time for your child to give full answers. Encourage them to answer in full sentences, or starting withÌębecause.
• It’s okay for your child to make mistakes, and it’s okay for you to correct them. A gentle way to do this is to say something back to them the correct way. For example, if your child says ‘It weren’t me!’, you could respond, ‘It wasn’t you?’.
• A good idea to boost vocabulary is to watchÌęBBC NewsroundÌęwith your child and discuss the issues involved. This is great for improving your child’s understanding of the world too!
• Teach the correct word for things as they come up in conversation (for example, ‘helmet’ instead of ‘hat’ or ‘rabbit’ instead of ‘bunny’).
• Have a simple dictionary or thesaurus to hand and explore word meanings together. Googling on your phone can also be helpful if you’re not sure.

Above all, have fun and remember that children learn at different speeds!

This article was originally published in 2019.Ìę

More from Oxford Owl

• Blog:ÌęThe word gap: How to build your child’s vocabulary at home
• Blog:ÌęCarry on reading aloud: the benefits of sharing books with older children
• Web page:ÌęVocabulary at primary school

Realise or realize, organise or organize, analyse or analyze?

It might seem strange to see the same word with different spellings. Is it -ise or -ize at the end? Which one is right? You and your child might think the answer would be found in a trusted dictionary – an Oxford dictionary perhaps. But when you look, you might find that they are both correct!

There must be more to it though because some words are never spelt with an -ize ending! To find out which words can be spelt both ways, and which ones only one way, read on.

The first thing is that a dictionary will not give the ‘correct’ answer, but it will show how words are being used and spelt. If a word has two meanings, it provides both. Some words, such as foot has many more meanings: the thing at the end of your leg, a measure of length, a unit of rhythm in a poem. It also means the bottom of a hill or the muscular organ a snail uses to get about. Depending on the dictionary you are looking in, you will find all or some of these meanings. It will let you know if a word is old fashioned, for example, thrice, meaning three times. It may also tell you where a word originally came from, and this is the reason behind the different ways of spelling the same word.

It is a common belief that -ize is an Americanism and the British is -ise: recognize rather than recognise. That if you spell with a -ize, that this is an American spelling. But for most verbs, either way is correct in British English and the -ize ending has been in use in English since the 16^th century. If the word came into English with its origin in the Greek root -izo, then it can be spelt -ize.

This spelling is used in a number of places including Oxford dictionaries. The National Curriculum opts for recognise and criticise although both of these words can be spelt with -ize.

Here are some words which are always spelt with -ise at the end:

• advertise
• advise
• comprise
• compromise
• despise
• devise
• disguise
• exercise
• improvise
• revise
• supervise
• surprise
• televise

Your dictionary will tell you when a word can be spelt in different ways. It will only give one spelling for the words above. If your dictionary is an English one, rather than American, it will also only give one spelling for analyse and paralyse. These two are always spelt like this in British English.

Overall, if this still seems confusing, the most important piece of advice to give your child is to be consistent: if you start with a ‘z’ spelling, stick to it. If you are using the ‘s’ spelling, use it all the way through your writing. And, finally, remember a dictionary can tell you so much more than the meanings of tricky words.

More from Oxford Owl

• How to find the right dictionary for your child
• How a dictionary and thesaurus can help your child discover a world of words
• Discover Oxford Children’s Dictionaries
• Dictionary Activities and Games

Big Words for Little People: Celebrate and Our World

Written by Helen Mortimer and illustrated by Cristina Trapanese

Age 3+

The Big Words for Little People series focuses on the words we use to talk about big topics in a way that feels good for little people. Celebrate and Our World are the latest books in the series, creating special moments for grown-ups and young children to talk about things that matter, big and small.

Created by the language experts at 51șÚÁÏÍű, and informed by the Oxford Corpus of Children’s Language, each book focuses on a word or concept to introduce young children to the vocabulary they need to make sense of their feelings.

These engaging and friendly picture books will build your child’s confidence through sharing and talking, with reassuring tips to help you enjoy the books together and to encourage conversation.

Win Big Words for Little People: Celebrate and Our World

To celebrate the publication of these latest books in the Big Words for Little People series, we’ve got three pairs of books to give away!

For your chance to win a copy of Celebrate and Our World, tell us your little person’s favourite big word at the moment.

UK residents only. Entry closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 30th January 2022.

About the books

About the Author and Illustrator

Helen Mortimer has always loved words. After graduating, she placed her foot on the bottom rung of the publishing ladder and enjoyed every step of the climb until she had a fine view of the world of picture books!

Cristina Trapanese started studying illustration at the Italian School of Comix and later at the IDEA Academy in Rome. She loves painting and how it helps her learn how to manage colours, later discovering her passion for telling stories through images.

More from Oxford Owl

• Parent support: Vocabulary: tips for building vocabulary at home
• Blog post: Mindfulness and mental health in children: five top tips for parents
• Find out more about the Big Words for Little People series

Roald Dahl Scrumptious & Delumptious Words

Written by Kay Woodward and illustrated by Quentin Blake

Age 7+

Unleash your child’s splendiferous storytelling skills with the latest additions to our collection of gloriously giftable Roald Dahl language books.

Roald Dahl Scrumptious & Delumptious Words feasts on Roald Dahl’s many lip-smackingly glorious (and downright disgusterous) words about food. We’re also excited to announce Roald Dahl Beastly & Bewildering Words, inspired by Roald Dahl’s stories of fantabulous animals, frightswiping creatures and bewildering beastliness!Ìę

Each book is packed full of language facts, word origins and more, straight from the pages of the world’s number 1 storyteller, alongside Quentin Blake’s inimitable illustrations. The books will encourage your child to develop a love of words, broaden their vocabulary and build their confidence with language to help them use real words, Roald Dahl words or even their own made-up words brilliantly in their writing.

Win a Roald Dahl language book bundle

To celebrate the publication of these Roald Dahl language books, we’re offering one lucky winner the chance to win the complete set: Roald Dahl Scrumptious & Delumptious Words, Roald Dahl Beastly & Bewildering Words, Roald Dahl Rotsome & Repulsant Words and Roald Dahl Words of Magical Mischief.

To enter, simply comment on the competition post at the top of the Oxford Owl Facebook page with your child’s favourite scrumptious and delumptious food.

Competition opens on Roald Dahl Story Day on Monday 13^th September 2021

UK residents only. Entry closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 26^th September 2021.

About the books

About the Writer

Roald Dahl Scrumptious & Delumptious Words and Roald Dahl Beastly & Bewildering Words have been compiled by Kay Woodward. Kay has written over 150 children’s books, including storybooks, series fiction and picture books. She is the ideal person to take to a pub quiz, as long as the topics include Jane Eyre, ice skating, Brunel, Emmeline Pankhurst, lightning, fairies, bridges, Roald Dahl, Christmas and chocolate, because she has written about them.

More from Oxford Owl