162
which helps create deeper memory traces of looked up words
. Therefore, PD use may
help students learn meaning of words better, especially if they take notes, add
annotations or highlight looked up vocabulary and information on PD pages
. Indeed,
frequent PD use should
enhance spelling skills, writing, and vocabulary development
.
Closely related to increasing students’ motivation to read with access to a CD,
and in view of the large number of subjects who expressed their satisfaction with the
on-screen presentation of the reading passages employed in this study, another
suggestion would be that teachers give their students reading material
in computerized
format rather than as handouts
.
Teachers may survey their students’ attitudes towards computerized reading
material to see if they would feel comfortable and motivated to read them so often
. In
fact, this should not raise any objection as the vast majority of students tend to read
through digital media more frequently nowadays
. They browse the Internet on
smartphones and tablets, and read electronic newspapers and interact with friends’
comments and posts on social media for long hours
. However, there may be students
who would prefer to read texts on paper believing that it is
more convenient especially
when highlighting or underlying specific information in text
. Interestingly, many text-
processing and reading software allow readers to edit computerized text in a number
of ways including adding annotations, highlighting and underlining relevant
information (e
.g. Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat XI Pro, Foxit Reader, etc.).
165
This study also has implications on syllabus design
.
To the best of my
knowledge, despite the fact that EFL students have become increasingly dependent on
electronic reference materials, including CDs, dictionary use training that EFL
students take as part of their ‘Study Skills’ module is still restricted to PD use only
.
Teachers and syllabus designers should refine the existing dictionary skills component
so that it fits the new trends in language learning technologies and reference tools
.
In
particular, CD use training should be incorporated into the ‘Study Skills’ module,
whereas teachers and syllabus designers may devise the content of the CD training
course using relevant information in the User’s Guides or Help Files incorporated
within
the CDs themselves
.
Indeed,
there is a need that our students receive training in CD use, as having a
CD installed on one’s computer does not necessarily mean being able to use it
effectively
.
However, such training should be more practical than theoretical in that
students should be exposed to different titles and types of CDs so as to make them
familiar with the different layout features and search specifications in each CD
.
Appropriate training would help
students make the most of CDs
.
Moreover, and bearing in mind the growing need of our students to use
language learning technologies among them CDs, the department of English at
Constantine University should equip its language laboratories with CDs of different
titles and purposes like pronouncing dictionaries, collocations dictionaries and
thesauri, etc
.
More importantly, once these laboratories have been equipped with CDs