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Suggestions for Further Research
Since the current study is likely amongst the first of its kind in the Algerian
context, similar studies are needed to generate more understanding in this interesting
area of electronic dictionary use
.
Such studies may consider changing the setting,
population, or data collection methods
.
As the current study examined only a small sample of Algerian EFL students
studying in the same department at the same university, conducting similar research
with a bigger sample of learners of English with different backgrounds and from
different departments, universities and even high schools across the country may
exhibit patterns of dictionary use that are totally different from what the present study
has found, thereby drawing a more typical and reliable profile of Algerian learners of
English as users of CDs
.
In addition, instead of administering questionnaires to
students while being suspicious of them giving misleading responses, similar studies
may better consider surveying teachers’ attitudes towards their students using
electronic dictionaries in class, to find out whether they would have positive or
negative views on their use and to explore the reasons for any potential objections.
Teachers are in a better position to give accurate and insightful feedback as they are
supposed to be more knowledgeable in pedagogy and L2 teaching and learning
practices.
Moreover, while the present study employed a simple piece of monitoring
software and written log files to explore the subjects’ reading and lookup behaviour,
future studies may consider using specific screen-recording programs to video-tape
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the subjects’ behavior instantly as they interact with the reading passages and the CD
on the computer screen, and without them even being aware that their activity on the
computer screen is being recorded
.
In fact, numerous desktop-recording programs have appeared on the Internet
recently, such as Camstudio, FastStone Capture, Mirillis Action!, etc
.
(Figures 33 &
34)
.
These computer programs make it possible to record all the activities performed
on a computer screen including speech from microphone or sound from computer
speakers, mouse movements and clicks; and save all the activities into high-quality
video files in WMV, AVI, or MP4 formats for later playback and review
.
Figure 33
.
‘FastStone Capture’ screen-recorder
177
Figure 34
.
‘Mirillis Action!’ screen-recorder
Indeed, analysis of subjects’ video-taped CD lookup behaviour while reading
may exhibit lookup strategies still uncovered in the present study
.
For instance, future
studies may consider analyzing the patterns that subjects follow when they toggle
between the CD and the reading passage’ windows on the computer screen, which
178
may help explore any specific patterns of interaction between the two activities (i
.
e
.
reading and CD lookup)
.
Similarly, analysis of subjects’ mouse cursor movement and activity over the
reading passage and search results in the CD search window may also reveal hidden
patterns of CD lookup strategies that the present study could not uncover, like how
the subjects end up looking up a given word, what part of an entry they read in the
search results, how long do they spend looking up a given word, and what extra
features they consult in a CD, etc
.
Unfortunately, I did not know that such screen-recording software would exist
until more than one full year after the data for this study were collected; otherwise, I
would have used a computer desktop-recorder instead to videotape my subjects’
reading and CD lookup activity, which would have absolutely enriched the analysis
and discussion in this thesis
.
Moreover, future studies may replicate this study to investigate the effects of
using some CD features on other aspects of L2 learning like writing and speaking. For
instance,
f
urther studies may consider analyzing the quality of students’ written
production as a result of using specific CD tools like ‘SUPERwrite’ in Cambridge
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, and ‘iWriter’ in Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary
.
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The Cambridge SUPERwrite is a small, specially-designed version of its
dictionary which shows the user only the dictionary’s most important information for
writing such as Extra Examples, Common Learner Errors, Collocations, Verb
Endings, and SMART thesaurus (Figure 35)
.
As such, this tool is suggested to help
students choose the right word and avoid the mistakes that many learners make while
writing
.
Interestingly, the small size of the SUPERwrite window makes it so
convenient and easy to move around while the user is writing on the computer
.
Figure 35
.
SUPERwrite tool in Cambridge Advanced Lerner's Dictionary
Likewise, the Oxford iWriter (Figure 36 on next page) is an interactive tool
that is suggested to help students write more effectively in English
.
It provides models
of fourteen different types of writing as well as the key features of each
.
This tool also
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