Anna Dziemianko | Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (original) (raw)
Papers by Anna Dziemianko
ReCALL
Today, people want to consult dictionaries of good quality, but they expect them to be available ... more Today, people want to consult dictionaries of good quality, but they expect them to be available online for free. For this reason, publishers need advertisements to cover the costs of producing and maintaining online dictionary content. This paper aims to investigate the role of advertisements in language reception, production, and learning following online dictionary consultation. It also undertakes to determine whether advertisements in an online dictionary affect the time needed for dictionary-based decoding and encoding. In the experiment, participants consulted one of the most prestigious dictionaries of English for foreign learners, OALD9 (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 9th edition). Two versions of the dictionary were employed in the study: one that includes advertisements and is available online free of charge, and its advertisement-free counterpart, OALD9 Premium. In the receptive task, the participants were requested to explain the meaning of new English words. In t...
ReCALL
The aim of the paper is to investigate the role of dictionary form (paper versus electronic) in l... more The aim of the paper is to investigate the role of dictionary form (paper versus electronic) in language reception, production and retention. The body of existing research does not give a clear answer as to which dictionary medium benefits users more. Divergent findings from many studies into the topic might stem from differences in research methodology (including the various tasks, participants and dictionaries used by different authors). Even a series of studies conducted by one researcher (Dziemianko, 2010, 2011, 2012b) leads to contradictory conclusions, possibly because of the use of paper and electronic versions of existing dictionaries, and the resulting problem with isolating dictionary form as a factor. To be able to argue with confidence that the results obtained follow from different dictionary formats, rather than presentation issues, research methodology should be improved. To successfully generalize about the significance of the medium for decoding, encoding and learni...
ASIALEX2011 Proceedings. Lexicography: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives. Kyoto: Asian Association for Lexicography, 92-101., 2011
The primary aim of the article is to compare the usefulness of paper and electronic versions of O... more The primary aim of the article is to compare the usefulness of paper and electronic versions of OALDCE7 (Wehmeier 2005) for language encoding, decoding and learning. It is explained why, in contrast to Dziemianko's (2010) findings concerning COBUILD6 (Sinclair 2008), but in keeping with her observations (Dziemianko 2011) with regard to LDOCE5 (Mayor 2009), the e-version of OALDCE7 proved to be no better for language reception, production and learning than the dictionary in book form. 1 An attempt is made to pinpoint the micro-and macrostructural design features which make e-COBUILD6 a better learning tool than e-OALDCE7 and e-LDOCE5. Recommendations concerning further research into the significance of the medium (paper vs. electronic) in the process of dictionary use conclude the study. The secondary aim which the paper attempts to achieve is to present the status of replication as a scientific research method and justify its use in lexicography.
In: Fjeld, Ruth, Vatvedt;Torjusen, Julie, Matilde (eds.) Proceedings of the 15th EURALEX International Congress. Oslo: Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies, University of Oslo, 997-1002., 2012
In our EURALEX 2006 contribution (Dziemianko and, we focused on the practice of defining certain ... more In our EURALEX 2006 contribution (Dziemianko and, we focused on the practice of defining certain abstract nouns by means of a when-clause, which seems to have gained much popularity in recent years in some major monolingual English learners' dictionaries. We tested the hypothesis that a definition of this format would fare worse than the classic analytical definition in terms of conveying information on the syntactic class of the lemma. Experiments with Polish high-intermediate and advanced learners of English provided strong empirical support for this hypothesis. However, the testing instruments employed in the 2006 study used a relatively restricted microstructure, with just headwords and definitions. In the present follow-up study, we attempt to verify the results using a more complete microstructure to assess the strength of the effect of single-clause whendefinitions on syntactic class identification in the presence of other potential indicators of syntactic class. Below we summarize the findings of the whole series of studies of this contentious defining format.
In: Proceedings of the 14th EURALEX International Congress, 2010
Monolingual English learners' dictionaries (MLDs) published in recent years have many features wh... more Monolingual English learners' dictionaries (MLDs) published in recent years have many features which make them better suited to the needs of the target user group. Among others, onomasiology has slipped into their design. Today, MLDs typically list synonyms and antonyms, or even offer synonym notes, where words close in meaning are compared and contrasted. On the other hand, thesauri have also changed. The year 2008 witnessed the publication of the Oxford Learner's Thesaurus: A Dictionary of Synonyms, which goes beyond clustering words close in meaning. It defines each synonym, exemplifies its usage, and even juxtaposes selected synonyms in special notes. The aim of the present study is to investigate the usefulness of the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English (7 th edition, OALDCE7) and the Oxford Learner's Thesaurus (OLT) for discriminating between synonyms. The paper is underpinned by empirical research, in which 73 advanced learners of English took part. In the experiment, words appropriate for given contexts had to be indicated in different synonym sets. The results reveal that neither dictionary significantly shortened the time needed to complete the task. Nonetheless, the use of OLT much more often resulted in successful synonym selection. Interestingly, synonym notes, present in both dictionaries, did not affect the subjects' choices. Besides, different information was usually referred to in the two dictionaries. In OALDCE7 the subjects paid attention most often to definitions, while in OLTto examples. The results of the supplementary questionnaire suggest that the students' familiarity with the two dictionary types could not have affected their performance. They were nonetheless more satisfied with their results when they had OLT at their disposal rather than OALDCE7. Yet, they were critical of the arrangement of synonyms in the OLT synonym clusters, where the alphabetical order, rather than frequency, would be a better solution.
In: Proceedings of the 13th EURALEX International Congress EURALEX 2008, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 1243-1251., 2008
The aim of the present paper is to assess the user-friendliness of noun and verb coding systems i... more The aim of the present paper is to assess the user-friendliness of noun and verb coding systems in pedagogical dictionaries of English, measured by the frequency with which relevant information properly used in a productive task is located in codes. The influence of the following independent variables on the user-friendliness of codes is studied: the degree of syntactic congruity between Polish lexical items and English headwords, the form of codes, the grammatical category of headwords and the level of dictionary users' proficiency in English. To investigate the influence of the form of codes on their user-friendliness, codes in noun and verb entries were divided into mainstream-referring to formal categories, transparent and prevalent in pedagogical dictionaries, and alternative-which, used very sparingly in today's dictionaries, include reference to sentence functions-verbs-or many quite opaque symbols-
Two aspects of English syntax were chosen for closer analysis in the present paper, i.e., subject... more Two aspects of English syntax were chosen for closer analysis in the present paper, i.e., subjectverb concord involving collective nouns in the singular and the syntactic marking of noun reclassification from the category of uncountable nouns to that of countable ones with the help of the indefinite article. The study aims to find out which of them is more difficult for Polish learners of English and whether the degree of difficulty depends on the learners' proficiency in the foreign language. The discussion is based on the results yielded by an empirical study in which intermediate and advanced Polish students of English took part. The subjects had to complete partial English translations of Polish sentences with specific low-frequency English nouns which substituted true English equivalents of the Polish nouns shown in the sentences. The study reveals that marking subject-verb concord in the case of collective subject nouns was as difficult for the subjects as signaling the count-mass distinction by means of the indefinite article and the zero article, respectively.
In: Fabiszak, M. (ed.) Language and meaning. Cognitive and functional perspectives. pp. 63-89, 2007
In: For the Love of the Embedded Word in Society, Culture and Education (Philologica Wratislaviensia: Acta et Studia No 1), 2007
In: In: Corino, E.; Marello, C.; Onesti, C. (eds.) Atti del XII Congresso di Lessicografia, Torino, 6-9 settembre 2006. Allessandria: Edizioni dell'Orso, 857-863., 2006
In recent years, a new lexicographic defining practice has been gaining in popularity in monoling... more In recent years, a new lexicographic defining practice has been gaining in popularity in monolingual English learners' dictionaries, that of explaining the meaning of certain abstract nouns with the help of a single-clause n^ien-definition. The present study attempts to investigate the role of the definition of this format, placed in a complete microstracture, in conveying information on the part of speech of nominal headwords. To achieve this aim, tests were designed and ran on several groups of Polish learners of English at the intermediate level. Balanced parallel forms were employed, where single-clause wfen-definitions were contrasted with their closest analytical analogs in full dictionary entries. It was found that both the new and the classical definition formats resulted in comparably frequent correct POS identification of the headword nouns. This is in stark contrast to the results yielded by Lew and Dziemianko's research (in press), which has inspired the present analysis, where the definition formats were investigated in isolation from other components of the microstracture.
ReCALL
Today, people want to consult dictionaries of good quality, but they expect them to be available ... more Today, people want to consult dictionaries of good quality, but they expect them to be available online for free. For this reason, publishers need advertisements to cover the costs of producing and maintaining online dictionary content. This paper aims to investigate the role of advertisements in language reception, production, and learning following online dictionary consultation. It also undertakes to determine whether advertisements in an online dictionary affect the time needed for dictionary-based decoding and encoding. In the experiment, participants consulted one of the most prestigious dictionaries of English for foreign learners, OALD9 (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 9th edition). Two versions of the dictionary were employed in the study: one that includes advertisements and is available online free of charge, and its advertisement-free counterpart, OALD9 Premium. In the receptive task, the participants were requested to explain the meaning of new English words. In t...
ReCALL
The aim of the paper is to investigate the role of dictionary form (paper versus electronic) in l... more The aim of the paper is to investigate the role of dictionary form (paper versus electronic) in language reception, production and retention. The body of existing research does not give a clear answer as to which dictionary medium benefits users more. Divergent findings from many studies into the topic might stem from differences in research methodology (including the various tasks, participants and dictionaries used by different authors). Even a series of studies conducted by one researcher (Dziemianko, 2010, 2011, 2012b) leads to contradictory conclusions, possibly because of the use of paper and electronic versions of existing dictionaries, and the resulting problem with isolating dictionary form as a factor. To be able to argue with confidence that the results obtained follow from different dictionary formats, rather than presentation issues, research methodology should be improved. To successfully generalize about the significance of the medium for decoding, encoding and learni...
ASIALEX2011 Proceedings. Lexicography: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives. Kyoto: Asian Association for Lexicography, 92-101., 2011
The primary aim of the article is to compare the usefulness of paper and electronic versions of O... more The primary aim of the article is to compare the usefulness of paper and electronic versions of OALDCE7 (Wehmeier 2005) for language encoding, decoding and learning. It is explained why, in contrast to Dziemianko's (2010) findings concerning COBUILD6 (Sinclair 2008), but in keeping with her observations (Dziemianko 2011) with regard to LDOCE5 (Mayor 2009), the e-version of OALDCE7 proved to be no better for language reception, production and learning than the dictionary in book form. 1 An attempt is made to pinpoint the micro-and macrostructural design features which make e-COBUILD6 a better learning tool than e-OALDCE7 and e-LDOCE5. Recommendations concerning further research into the significance of the medium (paper vs. electronic) in the process of dictionary use conclude the study. The secondary aim which the paper attempts to achieve is to present the status of replication as a scientific research method and justify its use in lexicography.
In: Fjeld, Ruth, Vatvedt;Torjusen, Julie, Matilde (eds.) Proceedings of the 15th EURALEX International Congress. Oslo: Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies, University of Oslo, 997-1002., 2012
In our EURALEX 2006 contribution (Dziemianko and, we focused on the practice of defining certain ... more In our EURALEX 2006 contribution (Dziemianko and, we focused on the practice of defining certain abstract nouns by means of a when-clause, which seems to have gained much popularity in recent years in some major monolingual English learners' dictionaries. We tested the hypothesis that a definition of this format would fare worse than the classic analytical definition in terms of conveying information on the syntactic class of the lemma. Experiments with Polish high-intermediate and advanced learners of English provided strong empirical support for this hypothesis. However, the testing instruments employed in the 2006 study used a relatively restricted microstructure, with just headwords and definitions. In the present follow-up study, we attempt to verify the results using a more complete microstructure to assess the strength of the effect of single-clause whendefinitions on syntactic class identification in the presence of other potential indicators of syntactic class. Below we summarize the findings of the whole series of studies of this contentious defining format.
In: Proceedings of the 14th EURALEX International Congress, 2010
Monolingual English learners' dictionaries (MLDs) published in recent years have many features wh... more Monolingual English learners' dictionaries (MLDs) published in recent years have many features which make them better suited to the needs of the target user group. Among others, onomasiology has slipped into their design. Today, MLDs typically list synonyms and antonyms, or even offer synonym notes, where words close in meaning are compared and contrasted. On the other hand, thesauri have also changed. The year 2008 witnessed the publication of the Oxford Learner's Thesaurus: A Dictionary of Synonyms, which goes beyond clustering words close in meaning. It defines each synonym, exemplifies its usage, and even juxtaposes selected synonyms in special notes. The aim of the present study is to investigate the usefulness of the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English (7 th edition, OALDCE7) and the Oxford Learner's Thesaurus (OLT) for discriminating between synonyms. The paper is underpinned by empirical research, in which 73 advanced learners of English took part. In the experiment, words appropriate for given contexts had to be indicated in different synonym sets. The results reveal that neither dictionary significantly shortened the time needed to complete the task. Nonetheless, the use of OLT much more often resulted in successful synonym selection. Interestingly, synonym notes, present in both dictionaries, did not affect the subjects' choices. Besides, different information was usually referred to in the two dictionaries. In OALDCE7 the subjects paid attention most often to definitions, while in OLTto examples. The results of the supplementary questionnaire suggest that the students' familiarity with the two dictionary types could not have affected their performance. They were nonetheless more satisfied with their results when they had OLT at their disposal rather than OALDCE7. Yet, they were critical of the arrangement of synonyms in the OLT synonym clusters, where the alphabetical order, rather than frequency, would be a better solution.
In: Proceedings of the 13th EURALEX International Congress EURALEX 2008, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 1243-1251., 2008
The aim of the present paper is to assess the user-friendliness of noun and verb coding systems i... more The aim of the present paper is to assess the user-friendliness of noun and verb coding systems in pedagogical dictionaries of English, measured by the frequency with which relevant information properly used in a productive task is located in codes. The influence of the following independent variables on the user-friendliness of codes is studied: the degree of syntactic congruity between Polish lexical items and English headwords, the form of codes, the grammatical category of headwords and the level of dictionary users' proficiency in English. To investigate the influence of the form of codes on their user-friendliness, codes in noun and verb entries were divided into mainstream-referring to formal categories, transparent and prevalent in pedagogical dictionaries, and alternative-which, used very sparingly in today's dictionaries, include reference to sentence functions-verbs-or many quite opaque symbols-
Two aspects of English syntax were chosen for closer analysis in the present paper, i.e., subject... more Two aspects of English syntax were chosen for closer analysis in the present paper, i.e., subjectverb concord involving collective nouns in the singular and the syntactic marking of noun reclassification from the category of uncountable nouns to that of countable ones with the help of the indefinite article. The study aims to find out which of them is more difficult for Polish learners of English and whether the degree of difficulty depends on the learners' proficiency in the foreign language. The discussion is based on the results yielded by an empirical study in which intermediate and advanced Polish students of English took part. The subjects had to complete partial English translations of Polish sentences with specific low-frequency English nouns which substituted true English equivalents of the Polish nouns shown in the sentences. The study reveals that marking subject-verb concord in the case of collective subject nouns was as difficult for the subjects as signaling the count-mass distinction by means of the indefinite article and the zero article, respectively.
In: Fabiszak, M. (ed.) Language and meaning. Cognitive and functional perspectives. pp. 63-89, 2007
In: For the Love of the Embedded Word in Society, Culture and Education (Philologica Wratislaviensia: Acta et Studia No 1), 2007
In: In: Corino, E.; Marello, C.; Onesti, C. (eds.) Atti del XII Congresso di Lessicografia, Torino, 6-9 settembre 2006. Allessandria: Edizioni dell'Orso, 857-863., 2006
In recent years, a new lexicographic defining practice has been gaining in popularity in monoling... more In recent years, a new lexicographic defining practice has been gaining in popularity in monolingual English learners' dictionaries, that of explaining the meaning of certain abstract nouns with the help of a single-clause n^ien-definition. The present study attempts to investigate the role of the definition of this format, placed in a complete microstracture, in conveying information on the part of speech of nominal headwords. To achieve this aim, tests were designed and ran on several groups of Polish learners of English at the intermediate level. Balanced parallel forms were employed, where single-clause wfen-definitions were contrasted with their closest analytical analogs in full dictionary entries. It was found that both the new and the classical definition formats resulted in comparably frequent correct POS identification of the headword nouns. This is in stark contrast to the results yielded by Lew and Dziemianko's research (in press), which has inspired the present analysis, where the definition formats were investigated in isolation from other components of the microstracture.