How to Use Dictionaries

7/27/2019 How to Use Dictionaries

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How to Use Dictionaries inEnglish Language Learning



Contents

Why dictionaries?1

Which one to choose?2

How to use it?3

Q&A4





Why dictionaries?

A craftsman who wishes to practice his craftwell must first sharpen his tools.

Dictionaries help us learn new words.

Dictionaries help us contextualize new vocabulary.

Dictionaries help us build learner autonomy.



Which dictionaryshould an Englishlanguage learner

choose?



Which one?

With so many dictionaries on the market,sometimes it is simply baffling for thelearner to choose one. Here are some thingsthat needed to be considered:

Types of dictionariesNative dictionaries vs. learner’s dictionaries Monolingual dictionaries vs. bilingual/bilingualized dictionaries



Types of dictionaries

Paper dictionariesTraditional; long-lasting and relatively cheap.Can be used as desk dictionaries.

Online/Computerized dictionariesThese dictionaries offer a vast amount of living examples, exercises and other

language activities; they are also easy to use with user-friendly search enginesand interface.Most of the online dictionaries are free.dictionary.cambridge.com; www.oed.com ; www.ldoceonline.com ; www.merriam-webstercollegiate.com ; www.dictionary.com

Palmtop dictionaries A big plus of palmtop dictionaries is that they hold a large amount of data in asmall space, sometimes several paper dictionaries.The biggest problem lies, paradoxically, in their ease of use. Many students treatthem as pocket translators rather than serious tools of study.

BACK

http://www.oed.com/

http://www.ldoceonline.com/

http://www.merriam-webstercollegiate.com/


http://www.dictionary.com/

http://www.dictionary.com/




http://www.ldoceonline.com/

http://www.oed.com/



Big&small

What’s thedifference betweena native languagedictionary and a

learner’s dictionary?



n . 1 a an umbelliferousplant, Daucus carota , witha tapering orange-coloured root. b this rootas a vegetable.

--The Conc ise Oxfo rd Dictio nary (COD9)

n o u n 1 [U, C] a long pointed

orange root vegetable.

--Oxfo rd Ad vanc ed Learner ’ s Dic t ionary (OALD6)

Example

Learner ’s dictionaryNative language dictionary



Native language dictionary

l spelling

l pronunciationl meaning

Learner ’s dictionaries

l spelling

l pronunciationl meaning

l grammar

l collocation

l register ( )

…



About learner ’s dictionaries

To make monolingual English dictionarieseasily accessible to foreign learners .

The first English learner ’s dictionary Th e New Method Engl ish Dic t ion ary was madeby Michael West in 1935.

Today most learner ’s dictionaries adopt acontrolled defining vocabulary of 2-3000words.





• Detailed grammatical information

•Attention to collocation

• Rich examples

• Information about word frequencies

• Explanatory notes

Features of learner ’s dictionaries

Examples



Detailed grammatical information

suggest [… ] v.tr. 1 ( often foll. by that + clause ) propose (a theory, plan, or hypothesis ) (suggested to them that they shoul d wait; suggested a different plan ).

--The Con cis e Oxf or d Dictio nary (COD9)



suggest [… ] verb 1 ~ sth (to sb) to put forward an idea or a plan for other people to think about SYN PROPOSE : [VN] M ay I suggest a white wine with this dish, Sir? A solution immediately suggested i tself to me (= I immediately thought of asolution ). [V (that )] I suggest (that ) we go out to eat. [V-ing ] I suggested going in my car. [VN that ] I t has been suggested that bright chi ldren take their exams early. ( BrE also ) I t has been suggested that br ight children should take their exams early.

--Oxfo rd Ad vanc ed Learner ’ s Dict io nary (OAL D6)

You cannot ‘suggest somebody something ’ :Can you suggest me a good dictionary?

HELP




1. a noun phrase,

2. a noun phrase plus a prepositional phrase to somebody (notsuggest somebody something ),

3. a that clause (with that being optional),

4. the – ing form of a verb phrase;

5. and that in a construction like ―It has been suggested that ... the word that is obligatory;

6. and that in British English there may be the modal auxiliaryshould in the verb phrase of the that clause, otherwise theverb is in its base form.

Suggest can be followed by




wind 1

1 [… ] strong/high winds The forecast is for strong winds and heavy rain. | gale/hurricaneforce winds [… ] The l igh t w ind ruffled the water .

rain1

1 [… ] heavy/torrential/pouring rain (=a lot of rain)There will be heavy rain in most parts of thecountry. | The l igh t ra in had stopped .

Long m an Dic t ionary o f Con temporary Eng l i sh (LDOCE4 2003)

Attention to collocation



have knowledge acquire/gain knowledge (= learn something)technical/scientific knowledge

in-depth knowledge detailed knowledge specialist knowledge (= knowledge about a particular subject)first-hand/personal knowledge (knowledge from experiencing

something for yourself) ...

You need spec ial i s t kno wledge to do this job. | [+ of ] His knowledge of ancient civilization is unrivalled. | [+ about ] the need to increaseknowledge about birth control | Many of the students did not have muchknow ledge of American history. | salesmen with good technical know ledge of what they are selling ...

Knowledge (LDOCE4)

Attention to collocation



Rich examples

LDOCE4 contains the largest number of examples — 155,000 in all. On itsCD-ROM there are 80,000 additionalexamples plus over a million corpussentences.



Information about word frequencies

LDOCE4 marks the first 3000 mostfrequently used words in speech andwriting in the form of

S1 S2 S3 W1 W2 W3



In Macm il lan Engl ish Dic t ion ary there are alsothree frequency bands, but they cover about7,300 words:

2300 very high frequency words

2360 high frequency words

2640 quite high frequency words.




COBUILD3 distinguishes five frequencybands totaling 14,600 words:

680 words 1040 words

1580 words

3200 words

8100 words





3000 talk about a wide range of everydaytopics and read simplified English books

7000 have a basic working knowledge of English

14000 as proficient as a good English-major

graduate

How manyEnglish

words do youhave?



Explanatory notes

LDOCE4

WORD CHOICE : call, phone, telephone, ring

In spoken English, it is usual to say that you call or

phone someone: He calls me almost every day. |Phone me when you get there.

In spoken British English, it is also very usual to saythat you ring someone: Have you rung Kim yet?

It is fairly formal and not very usual in spoken Englishto say that you telephone someone.

[... ]



LDOCE4

WORD FOCUS : words meaning CHEAP

reasonable not too expensive | economical usedabout cars, systems, or methods that do not cost a lotof money to use | be good value to be well worth theprice you pay | be a bargain to be very cheap

Explanatory notes





What’s the differencebetween bilingual

dictionaries andbilingualizeddictionaries?

A bilingual dictionary ( ) is one in which theheadwords are in one language and the definitionsin another language.

Bilingualized dictionaries ( ) are nativelanguage dictionaries with foreign languagetranslation.



(A New

Engl ish-Chinese Dic t ionary , 2000)

Bilingual dictionaries



Oxford Advanced Learner’sEnglish-Chinese Dictionary

, 1997

Bilingualized dictionaries



My advice (1)

Start by using a bilingualizedEnglish learner’s dictionaryand switch to the latest editionof a monolingual learner’s dictionary.

Which dictionary?



My advice (2)

Do install a computerizeddictionary on your PC.

Which dictionary?



My advice (3)

Better not to use pocket

dictionaries and palmtopelectronic dictionarieswithout examples. When youdo use palmtop dictionaries,treat them with the dignityand respect a thick paperdictionary deserves.

Which dictionary?





How to use dictionaries

Now you have made your pick of dictionaries! How touse them? Here are a few guidelines.

Read the guide to the dictionary and familiarize yourself with allthe symbols, abbreviations, and note markers. ( Turn to d ic t ionar ies fo r example .)When you look up a word in the dictionary, make sure you find thefollowing information: pronunciation, its meaning in the context,examples, and collocation.Consolidate what you’ve just learned by making a few sentencesof your own or by finishing the exercises provided.

Pay special attention to any notes attached – differences betweenAmE & BrE, usage notes, etc.If possible, try to extend your knowledge of the word – other major meanings, grammar notes, synonyms/antonyms, reflections, etc.



Let’s take “ suggest ”

as an example!



Everything about him suggested a carefullydressed authority.

Look up this word in :

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (4th edition, 2003,LDOCE4)Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2nd edition, 2003,CALD2)

And their respective computerized versions.







Documents

How to Use Dictionaries