THE USE OF THE DICTIONARY AS A TEACHING / LEARNING RESOURCE

PRESENTERS: GIOVANNI DURAN C. ALBERTO RODRIGUEZ L.

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CONTENT
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES ACTIVITIES IMPLICATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS REFERENCES

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ADVANTAGES
1.Trained learners in the use of the dictionary can effectively continue to make progress in their learning beyond the classroom. 2. The knowledge of the user will be increased, along with his/her vocabulary. 3. The bilingual dictionary enables the students to understand the meaning of the words quickly and almost effortlessly. . 4. Dictionaries (Dicts) help generate text and is a resource for vocabulary acquisition.
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5. Dicts can help students develop a more natural command of English.

6. Dicts can serve as a focus for communication and classroom interaction. 7. Dicts can serve as a means of exploring personal preferences in learning styles.

8. Dicts provide an extra source of information in the classroom and variety to lessons. (feature boxes, study pages, picture pages). 9. Being able to use dictionaries develop autonomy and confidence in the learner.
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10. Dicts are a handy resource for researching different meanings. 11. Dicts naturally generate a great deal of thinking about meaning.

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DISADVANTAGES
1. Learners may tend to overuse the dictionary. 2. Being the dictionary a special kind of reference source, it will require some learner training before they can be used effectively. 3. Most dictionaries do not specify if an expression is in current use. 4. Untrained user of dictionaries may encounter the following drawbacks.
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 Unfamiliarity of the layout Unawareness of the phonemic script Getting the right meaning of a word according to the context Waste of time

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ACTIVITIES IN THE CLASSROOM

1. Compounds Give learners a word which forms the first part of many compounds e.g. shop, traffic, fire and ask them to see how many compounds they can find in the dictionary. 2. Word families Ask learners to look up two or three verbs and find several derivatives for each. E.g. success (n.), successful (adj,), succeed (v.)
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3. Mimes In small groups learners concentrate on two pages of the dictionary for 10 minutes. Taking turns each group mimes as many words as possible from the ones they chose. Audience shout out the words.
4. Headwords and definition Set learners the task of identifying which of different headwords matches a given definition. 5. Problematic words Set translation tasks in which students have to find the right equivalent of words with multiple meanings in both L1 and L2. E.g. play, way, ring.
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6. Word chains Ask students (in pairs) to choose an entry to produce as long a chain as possible in ten minutes. Only words related in some meaningful way with the preceding word. At the end pairs explain the chain. 7. Spelling guessing In a listening activity the teacher pauses the tape for unknown words. Students work out the spelling, check it and look up the meaning in the dictionary. 8. Narrowing unknown word list.
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9. Exploring different dictionaries characteristics 10. Dictionary questionnaire Make up a questionnaire about the elements in a dictionary to introduce its use. 11. Finding the complete phrase meaning. Give students a list of common phrases they may not know. Learners will need to search through the entries to find the complete phrase.

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12. Dictionary race Give learners a list of words and their definitions. In groups students look up words and match them with definitions. Teacher checks answers. The group with the complete correct matching is the winner.

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13. Focus on phonology Teacher writes key words for the lesson on the board. In groups learners look up pronunciation in their dictionaries. Teacher pronounces the words in two ways: correct and incorrect. Taking turns learners try to guess the right phonemic spelling. If correct, they get a point; if not, next group can take a chance. In the feedback stage, the teacher drills pronunciation and answer any questions.
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IMPLICATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR USING THE DICTIONARY IN THE CLASSROOM SETTING

1. Teacher should advise on the suitable dictionary according to learners level. 2. Teacher should develop students confidence as dictionary users by exploiting it as a source of interaction. 3. Training in the use of the dictionary may let learners become more independent and selfsufficient in their learning process.
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4. By exposing students to a good deal of language data included in a dictionary, they will gain experience and explore the language as a system. 5. Learners should be encouraged to use dictionaries during class time and at home as a way of promoting learning and autonomy. 6. Teacher should make use of introductory pages and study sections to help students find out whats available.

7. Referencing skills are a vital part of learner training and teaching dictionary skills should not be a one-off lesson or activity, but an ongoing process of working together with students as and when vocabulary issues crop up.
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8. Teachers should not assume that learners, especially at low levels, know how to use a dictionary; it is always useful to train them in its use whenever it is necessary.

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REFERENCES
Oxford Univesity Press. How to use dictionaries with learners.

Wright; Jonathan. Dictionaries. Resource Books for Teachers series.

Thombury, Scott. Using dictionaries. Pearson Education. Oxford Univesity Press. How learners dictionaries can help students develop a more natural command of English. www.oup. com/teachersclub/articles/dictionaries_natural. Hayton, Tom. Using dictionaries. www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/resources/dictionary

YLE Teaching Resource. Using dictionaries. www.cambridgeesol.org/teach/yle2007activities

Why your students overuse their dictionaries. www.usingenglish.com/teachers/articles
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THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION

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