(5) topical vocabulary from different disciplines.
How to use a dictionary
Dictionaries are organized alphabetically, so start with the first letter of the word that you are trying to find.
'Alliteration' is going to be in the first section of the dictionary under 'a'.
There will be lots of entries for each letter of the alphabet, so use the guide word at the top of the page to help you. The guide word tells you what the first or last word on that page of the dictionary is.
You
will need to look at the second letter of the word, and then the third,
and so on, in order to find it. It takes a little practice to find
words quickly.
You may need to scan several pages of the dictionary in order to find the word that you need. Scanning
is a way of reading quickly to find the information that you need. The
more you practice, the better you will get at finding words fast.
Word types
When you find your word, there may be an abbreviation next to it. Perhaps vb., n., or adj.
The introduction to your dictionary will tell you what they each mean
because every dictionary is different, but these are the most common and
may indicate that your word is a verb, a noun, or an adjective.
Different meanings
Some
words have multiple meanings. These will usually be numbered, and may
have an example of the way that the word can be used in a sentence.
Some
dictionaries may give even more information; perhaps about the origin
and history of a word, or some of its synonyms (words or phrases which
mean the same, or nearly the same).
Dictionary quiz
Test your knowledge on how to use a dictionary with this quick quiz.
How a dictionary helps
A good dictionary is not just a list of isolated words with their
meanings or translations. Indeed, it can be argued that a word in
isolation has no definite meaning: the meaning only becomes apparent
when the word is placed in context.
The job of the dictionary is to
place a word in each of its possible contexts and explain its meaning in
each case. In order to do this successfully, the dictionary needs to be
based on the analysis of words in real text and communication.
A dictionary can be used to look up the meaning of a word.
You can also use a dictionary to check the spelling of a word.
Dictionaries may also give other information about words, such as word type and word origin.
CD ROM Dictionary:
The CD-ROM offers :
• pronunciation guides (usually for both British and American
language)
• electronic writing tools
• quick find (clicking on a word in a text gives its definition) • picture dictionaries (mostly in color) • extra grammar and vocabulary exercises (to enhance learning) • vocabulary notes (an electronic version of a vocabulary diary) • wildcard functions (looking up words without knowing their exact spelling).
Dictionary features:
1-Corpus-based dictionaries
Thus, definitions
for a word are sequenced based on their frequency of use, and example
sentences in corpus-based dictionaries are authentic.
This sequencing
makes it easy for learners of English to focus first on frequent words
and meanings that will give them the most mileage.
2-Word frequency
Knowing
whether a word is used a lot ) or a little in overall written and spoken discourse is very helpful
information to English learners; that makes corpus-based dictionaries a
must for the ESL/EFL classroom.
Dictionary features:
1-Corpus-based dictionaries
Thus, definitions
for a word are sequenced based on their frequency of use, and example
sentences in corpus-based dictionaries are authentic.
This sequencing
makes it easy for learners of English to focus first on frequent words
and meanings that will give them the most mileage.
2-Word frequency
Knowing
whether a word is used a lot ) or a little in overall written and spoken discourse is very helpful
information to English learners; that makes corpus-based dictionaries a
must for the ESL/EFL classroom.
3-Collocations
With
the use of corpora, lexicographers identify collocations (word
combinations that normally go together) and incorporate them into
learner dictionaries.
4-Authentic examples
For
EFL learners another advantage of learner dictionaries over their
general-use counterparts is the abundance of example sentences. In
addition to definitions, learner dictionaries include “authentic examples to illustrate the use of words in context”.
5-Topical vocabulary
Another
useful element corpus-based learner dictionaries offer for
vocabulary
learning is the way they present topical vocabulary by
indicating how
the words relate semantically to different categories.
For example, in
the LDCE, students can see that the word
vocabulary belongs to the two
topical groups “Linguistics” and “Language.
” Other dictionaries provide
synonyms and semantic webs to indicate
different word usages and to
illustrate how a single word relates to
different concepts.
How children use a dictionary:
1-Find an appropriate dictionary. It is difficult for children to learn straight out of you favorite full-size Merriam Webster
dictionary,
so make sure you have a children's dictionary. It is best
if the
dictionary has pictures, color, clearly labeled headings, and
an
easy to read font.
2-Read with your child. Find a book that is slightly above their
reading level, and ask them to read it to you. When they
stumble
on a word the don't know, ask them what they think the meaning
is.
If they say 'I don't know', help them to use context clues first.
If
they still cannot work it out, then get the dictionary.
3-Explain to them what a dictionary is, and how it can be useful. Depending on the age of the child, say something like "This is a
dictionary. It is a helpful book we can use when we don't know the
meaning of a word or we don't know how to spell something."
4-To start teaching them how to use the dictionary, start by just
letting them look at it for a minute. When they start to get bored
of this, go back to the unfamiliar word
and ask if they think the dictionary can help them to find out what it
means.
Encourage them to say yes.
5-Next, explain that the dictionary goes by the alphabet.
Ask them what letter their word begins with, and then help
them to find
that letter in the dictionary. Then explain that
you have to find the
second letter of the word, and so on.
For example, if their word was reptile, help them find the
letter r.Then tell them to find the 're' section. Keep doing
this ('rep',
'rept', etc.) until they find the word.
6-Ask them to read you the definition. Now they know
what
the word means. Go back to the book, and keep reading,
until you
have found three words they need to look up.
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