53
the dictionary more often than the less proficient students did
.
This study also
suggested that many students did not make full use of bilingualized dictionaries
.
The previously mentioned studies surveyed L2 learners’ general patterns of
using conventional printed dictionaries
.
These studies showed that
:
(a) most L2
learners, among them advanced learners, used dictionaries; (b) although they mostly
used dictionaries to learn the meaning of words , L2 learners also used dictionaries to
check further information like spelling, pronunciation, and synonyms; (c) L2 learners
used dictionaries mainly during the reading and writing tasks; (d) bilingual
dictionaries were used for L2 learning more frequently than monolingual ones; (e)
learners who had wide vocabulary used monolingual dictionaries more often than
those whose vocabulary was limited; and (f) some L2 learners did not make the most
of their dictionaries as they were not skilled enough in dictionary use.
2.5.2. Studies on Portable Electronic Dictionary Use
With the advent of technology and the breakthroughs in language learning
technologies, PEDs have become available and widely used by L2 learners.
Therefore, a few studies have been carried out on their use (Nesi, 1999; Tang, 1997;
Taylor & Chan, 1994)
.
Taylor and Chan (1994) surveyed 424 students in Hong Kong
to identify their general patterns of using PEDs
.
In addition, 12 teachers were
interviewed about their students’ use of PEDs
.
Taylor and Chan found out that 80 %
of the students reported using PEDs, of which the vast majority were bilingual
54
Chinese and English dictionaries
.
The students who did not use PEDs reported that
they did not use them because they were of poor quality (43%) and unaffordable
(35%)
.
All the respondents said that they used PEDs to find the meaning of English
words, their spelling (60%), Chinese equivalents (44%), English equivalents (34%),
parts of speech (30%), synonyms (27%), and antonyms (22%)
.
Twenty-eight percent
of the respondents said they used their PEDs more frequently than PDs, whereas 46%
reported they used PDs more frequently
.
Whereas the respondents considered PEDs advantageous because of their
portability, ease and speed of search, and the availability of sound, they also thought
that they had some limitations such as the conciseness and inaccuracy of information,
the lack of examples, and the insufficient number of entries
.
More than that, most of
the teachers who were interviewed showed their concerns over the quality of PEDs,
and some of them thought that relying on PEDs too much would have a negative
impact on the students’ learning performance, as they might discourage them from
using context to guess the meaning of words
.
Eventually, all the teachers preferred
that their students use PDs
.
Similarly, Nesi (1999) surveyed dictionary use of international students
attending a British university
.
She found that only ten students, mostly from Asian
countries, had a PED
.
All of the ten students said they liked using their PEDs for
reasons like portability, ease of use, availability of sound, the variety of search routes,
55
and the possibility of being linked to other computer applications
.
However, the
students reported a few shortcomings in their PEDs like the limited number of
headwords, insufficient grammatical, pragmatic, and collocational information
.
In Tang’s (1997) study, 254 Chinese EFL students as well as 20 teachers were
surveyed
.
However, Tang’s study was different from the ones mentioned earlier in
that she used other data collection methods alongside questionnaires like
observations, assignments, vocabulary notebooks, and handouts
.
Moreover,
interviews were carried out with the teachers to explore their attitudes towards their
students’ use of PEDs
.
Tang found that the majority of the students (87%) had PEDs
and used them mainly while reading and writing
.
The students perceived their PEDs
useful due to their portability, speed of search, availability of sound, and the provision
of their L1 equivalents
.
Contrary to their students’ views, the teachers exhibited
concerns about PEDs’ use regardless of their potential benefits
.
Despite the highlighted shortcomings regarding their quality, the studies
discussed previously seem to suggest PEDs as convenient aids that L2 learners should
use to boost their vocabulary development, considering the significant benefits that
they offer
.
As a matter of fact, the quality of PEDs has improved in a remarkable way
as a result of the rapid progress that is being made in L2 learning technologies
.
Thus,
we cannot come to a definite conclusion vis-à-vis the weaknesses and drawbacks that
PEDs might have
.
56
Overall, the studies which have been reviewed in this section were all
questionnaire surveys that contributed in one way or another to the understanding of
L2 learners’ general patterns of dictionary use
.
However, using questionnaire
technique to elicit data may provide less accurate information because the
questionnaire’ questions are always asked outside the context of actual dictionary use
(Harvey & Yuill, 1997; Nesi, 2002)
.
Interestingly, Tang (1997) seems to have slightly
overcome this problem through combining a questionnaire survey with other research
methods to obtain more reliable information
.
The research reviewed in the next section will hopefully yield more accurate
data by studying learners’ use of dictionaries while being engaged in a particular
reading task
.
2
.
6
.
Dictionary Use and Reading Comprehension
Although L2 learners use dictionaries in the four language skills, they use
them predominantly while reading (Béjoint, 1981; Chon, 2008)
.
Several studies
examined learners’ use of dictionaries when they are engaged in a particular reading
activity and regarded the dictionary using act as “a very private matter, occurring as
the need arises, and often behind closed doors” (Nesi, 2002, p
.
1)
.
Many of the studies
which investigated dictionary use during reading were carried out either by using
experimental design or computer monitoring, and at times combining the two
methods.
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