Language Learners and Dictionary Users: Bibliographic Findings and Commentary (original) (raw)
Related papers
Monolingual and bilingual learners' dictionaries
Lexikos, 2010
When deciding on the best learners' dictionary for a specific user and a specific situation of usage one often has to make a choice between a monolingual and a bilingual learners' dictionary. This article discusses some aspects of the user-driven approach so prevalent in modernday lexicographic thought, focuses broadly on dictionary typology and takes a closer look at monolingual and bilingual learners' dictionaries. Some problems users experience when learning a new language, e.g. language distortion and problems related to the phenomenon of false friends, especially in closely related languages, are mentioned. It is indicated that a typological hybrid dictionary could assist certain users. The importance of an unambiguous identification of the relevant lexicographic functions is emphasised and the notions of function condensation and function merging are introduced. It is shown that the typological choice should be determined by a function-based approach to dictionary usage.
A case for bilingual learners' dictionaries
This article makes a case for bilingual learners' dictionaries. These dictionaries are very different from traditional bilingual dictionaries, being attuned to the productive needs of learners who are speakers of a specific L1. Although they have been around for some time now, teachers of English remain largely unaware of their benefits (or, possibly, their existence), continuing to promote the one-size-fits-all monolingual English learners' dictionaries (MELDs) as the best choice for their students. As practising lexicographers, we cannot fail to appreciate the excellence of the leading MELDs, but, as we try to show, there are important respects in which even the best monolingual dictionary cannot assist a foreign language learner. We also explain why bilingualized dictionaries (adaptations of MELDs) are not a viable alternative to custom-designed bilingual learners' dictionaries when it comes to helping students speak or write in English. Our arguments are illustrated by sample entries taken from dictionaries for speakers of Japanese, Polish, and Portuguese learning English; some more examples of bilingual learners' dictionaries for speakers of different languages are given in the Appendix. Dictionaries play a vital role in language learning and teaching, not least because they promote learner autonomy. Since asking the (human) teacher is not always an option, a well-chosen dictionary may well be the next best thing when it comes to tackling lexical problems encountered in the process of language learning. The ability to solve such problems quickly is generally believed to be the primary advantage of using dictionaries. Surveys show that when selecting their dictionaries, learners tend to rely on the recommendations of their teachers, who more often than not recommend monolingual English learners' dictionaries (MELDs) (for example Béjoint 1981; Ryu 2006). Yet teachers of English have often been confused about the actual strengths and weaknesses of the different types of dictionaries available. For quite some time, the dominant orthodoxy was to push learners to use monolingual dictionaries as early as possible, in an attempt to entirely eliminate their L1 from the learning process, a view which has increasingly been questioned (Hall and Cook 2012; Augustyn 2013), and for good reasons.
Dictionary use by English language learners
Language Teaching, 2014
Research into dictionary use does not have a long history. Although publishers recognised in the 1960s that ‘dictionaries should be designed with a special set of users in mind’ (Householder 1967: 279) there were extremely few empirical user studies before the 1980s – Welker's most recent survey (2010) lists only six. The subsequent surge of interest in this field was fuelled by big changes to dictionary content and design in the 1980s and 1990s, changes that were particularly evident in dictionaries for learners of English as a foreign language, conventionally known as ‘learners’ dictionaries’. In the space of a few years the Oxford advanced learner's dictionary, generally considered to be the earliest advanced learners’ dictionary (first published under a different title in 1942, with subsequent editions in 1948, 1963, 1974 and 1989) was joined by two new competitors: the Longman dictionary of contemporary English (first edition 1978, second edition 1987) and the COBUILD E...
Dictionaries as aids for language learning
Research has consistently shown that a few thousand word families can be enough to understand most written or spoken text (e.g. Nation, 2006; Van Zeeland & Schmitt, 2013). The implication is that these frequent items need to be learned – and to be learned thoroughly. However, diminishing returns set in, and accessible tools are required for the many tens of thousands of other items. Dictionaries are among the most widely-used tools for foreign and second (L2) language learning, and can help with both frequent and infrequent items. This chapter begins with a discussion of dictionaries themselves in relation to L2 use, and the main issues affecting their development over the last few decades in particular. These include the increasing use of empirical data, especially in the form of corpora, and the appearance of monolingual learner dictionaries in addition to bilingual and other dictionary types. It then moves on to a discussion of research into how dictionaries are used by non-native speakers (NNSs), especially as a reference resource for encoding and decoding, but also their impact on language learning itself. 1. Introduction: Historical overview and major issues As will have become clear in this Handbook, dictionaries have a long and varied history. In essence, their intention is to inform people unsure of the meanings or uses of 'words', such people often being non-native speakers (NNSs). From antiquity, word repositories included ad hoc collections of translations intended to help with commerce and conquest; from the Middle Ages, the margin glosses produced by monks gave rise to more principled collections for deciphering religious texts in Latin, Greek and other classical languages. The Enlightenment saw the development of dictionaries for native speakers (NSs), thus giving rise to a preoccupation with 'good usage', a trend which was only questioned in the 20 th century with a more descriptive approach to lexicography, which has particular implications for learners and other NNSs. The first part of this chapter looks at recent (i.e. 20 th and 21 st century) developments in the design, compilation and use of various types of dictionaries and associated resources for and by NNSs. The second part moves on to research conducted on dictionary use and how this informs lexicography as well as informing good practice for dictionary use by teachers, learners and other users.
Assessing the effectiveness of monolingual, bilingual and 'biligualised' dictionaries
The Modern Language Journal 81/2: 189-196., 1997
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Dictionaries for learners of English
2016
The dictionary has long been a highly regarded resource in language education. A recent study suggests that (digital) dictionaries are still the single most valued tool for additional language learners. Dictionaries support learner autonomy, substituting for the human teacher in addressing 'local' lexical problems. They assist language learners in reading, writing, and (didactic) translation. The role of dictionaries in language teaching has been duly recognized by this journal, as evidenced by the recent publication of a Research Timeline feature (Nesi 2014) presenting an overview of groundbreaking empirical studies on dictionary use by learners of English. The number of follow-up email queries reaching me directly (due to a large proportion of citations therein of work conducted at my institution), requesting access to the articles or asking for clarification on design details, have inspired the present report on more recent research on dictionaries in English language learning (as Nesi's overview ends with studies published in 2012).
2002
Abstract The paper presents a selection of results from a study investigating dictionary use by 712 Polish learners of English representing a variety of FL competence levels and backgrounds. Data from Learner Survey, experiment, and Teacher Survey are brought in to test hypotheses relating to a variety of aspects of dictionary use. Here two aspects have been selected for presentation. First, frequency with which learners seek different types of information in their dictionaries is analyzed.