40
Chapter Two
Dictionary Use Research
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 41
2.1. The Nature of Dictionary Use ........................................................................... 41
2.2. The Process of Dictionary Use .......................................................................... 42
2.3. Effective Dictionary Use ................................................................................... 44
2.4. Variety of Dictionary Use Topics ..................................................................... 48
2.5. Research on General Dictionary Use ................................................................ 50
2.6. Dictionary Use and Reading Comprehension ................................................... 56
Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 62
41
Chapter Two
Dictionary Use Research
Introduction
This chapter will first explain how the dictionary user, the lexicographer, and
the language interact so that a new dictionary is born. Then, an important section of
this chapter will be the detailed description of the process involved in dictionary use
and effective meaning retrieval. The types of dictionary use research will also be
outlined and a general review of the beginnings of this field of enquiry will be
presented. Later in this chapter, findings of previous dictionary use studies in the
areas that are pertinent to and addressed in the present study will be reviewed, with a
specific focus on the studies of dictionary use while reading
.
2
.
1
.
The Nature of Dictionary Design and Use
Dictionary use is a complicated process that deserves a thorough investigation
from different angles
.
As shown in Figure 3 on next page (Tono, 2001, p
.
12), the
user of a dictionary is the major element in this process
.
S/he is already conditioned
by the acquisition stages, learning difficulty, and L1 background
.
However, three other elements, namely the language, the lexicographer, and
the dictionary, are intertwined with one another
.
The lexicographer has to glean the
language data to design and compile the dictionary with the user’s expectations in
42
mind, while the latter gives feedback to the lexicographer either verbally or through
purchasing the final product, which is the dictionary
.
The aforementioned complex
relationship between all the stakeholders generates considerable research in various
areas.
Figure 3
.
Intricacy of dictionary design and use (Tono, 2001, p
.
12)
2
.
2
.
The Process of Dictionary Use
When we consider the interaction between the dictionary and its user, the
lookup process which lasts for barely a few minutes can be very complex (Béjoint,
2000; Nesi, 1999)
.
Research in the field suggests that using a dictionary constitutes an
advanced cognitive task, as it requires the readers to stop reading when they encounter
an unknown word, keep the context of the passage they are reading in mind while
43
they look up the word and select an appropriate dictionary meaning (Scholfield,
1982)
.
Therefore, searching through a dictionary may be the most difficult part when
learning another language
.
According to Hartmann (2001), seven stages are involved in the consultation
process
:
1.
The user realizes that there is a problem arising in the activity that s/he is
engaged in, and wants to solve it
.
2.
The user determines the problem word(s) which has/have to be looked up
.
3.
The user selects the most appropriate reference work
.
4.
The user searches for the appropriate headword in the macrostructure of the
reference work
.
5.
Having found the appropriate entry, the user locates the sought data in the
microstructure of the entry
.
6.
The user extracts the information from the entry
.
7.
The user integrates it into the context that prompted the reference process (pp
.
90-91)
.
A general description of the consultation process is illustrated in Figure 4 (Hartmann,
2001, p
.
91)
.
44
Figure 4
.
Components of the dictionary consultation process (Hartmann, 2001, p
.
91)
2
.
3
.
Effective Dictionary Use
As mentioned in the previous section, the process of using a dictionary is a
complex and tiring cognitive task
.
Scholfield (1982) suggested that looking up an
unknown word in a dictionary requires applying a given set of skills in a systematic
way
.
He discussed in detail the seven steps that EFL students should follow for
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