Information collection & exchange

 
 Using a learner's dictionary 
Although language learners are often too dependent on them, dictionaries are underutilized resources 
available to language learners. Even most teachers may not be aware of how helpful dictionaries can be. 
Thinking of all-English desk dictionaries which they may have for their own use, they may rightly assume 
that such native-speaker reference works are too difficult for their students. On the other hand, they may 
imagine. 
of proficiency are designed to supply not just 
any other types of information especially useful to the 
have had bad experiences with certain bilingual dictionaries (especially the short, pocket-sized variety) 
where meanings are given in terms of single-word translations from one language to the other. And of 
course, for some pairs of languages it is not even possible to find bilingual dictionaries. 
Learner's dictionaries are a different sort of reference, however, and in the last decade or so some truly fine 
works have been published for learners of English. (In particular, it is worth looking over the wide range of 
dictionaries and related teaching materials published by Longman and by Oxford University Press.) 
Dictionaries for beginners avoid the definition problem by using pictures or photographs. Together with their 
supporting workbooks, they offer an excellent way to help learners build a basic vocabulary. Moreover, the 
pictures and photographs show everyday scenes which might be difficult for learners from quite different 
cultural environments to
Dictionaries for students at intermediate and advanced levels 
pelling, pronunciation, and meaning of words, but m
s
second language learner. Let's take verbs as an example. Here are some questions which the student may 
have about a particular verb. 
• In the past tense and past participle forms, is the verb regular or irregular? If irregular, what are the 
forms? 
• When you add "-ing" to the verb, do you drop the final e (compare "dying" and "dyeing")? Do you double 
the final consonant ("travelling" or "traveling")? 
• Is the verb always used with an object, never used with an object, sometimes used with an object and 
sometimes without? (We can say "The price includes breakfast" but not "The price includes." We say 
"The license expired" but not "The license expired the time." A verb like "read," however, may be used 
either with or without an object: "I always read the newspaper" and "I always read before going to sleep.") 
• What kinds of constructions can follow the verb? A preposition? Which one? ("That depends on the 
weather.") Is the verb followed by an infinitive ("The guests decided to stay.")? By an "-ing" form ("I enjoy 
listening to music.")? By a "that"-clause ("She insists that we help her.")? 
lus adverb or preposition and having a different meaning 
• For phrasal verbs (verbs composed of a verb p
from the verb on its own, e.g.: "call on," "call off," "blow up," "run over," "turn out") may the two parts of 
the phrase be separated? (We say "call on them" but "call it off.") 
• What is the difference in the meaning and use of "say' and "tell," ''borrow" and "lend"? 
In addition to providing information on the spelling, pronunciation, meaning, and grammatical characteristics 
of a word, learners' dictionaries also give help in choosing the correct word from related alternatives. The 
student reads, for example that "kid" is informal and would thus not be appropriate to use in a school essay. 
A student who is more familiar with the British English "notice board" finds out that the American term is 
"bulletin board." Another student who is trying to choose between the similar words "alone" and "lonely," 
learns that while "alone" is a relatively neutral term, "lonely" has a connotation of sadness. Students can also 
find words which are significantly different in meaning but which may be confused because of superficial 
similarities of form, e.g., "homework" and "housework." Most entries include example sentences, which not 
only help to explain the meaning of the head word, but also show collocations in which the word occurs. 

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Perhaps most important of all, learners' dictionaries use a limited and carefully chosen defining vocabulary. 
The Longman Dictionary of American English, for example, uses only 2000 commonly occurring English 
ords to give its definitions and examples. 
Of course, this marvelous storehouse of information will be of no use at all unless you teach your students 
e 
ictionaries are 
asily available to them to be used when needed. You can introduce the various reference features of the 
elling and 
pronunciation
ents how 
to use alphab
g you for 
spellings, the
consult the dictionary. Although this may seem inefficient at first, as students gain 
th
All of this has a double payoff. Students take a few more steps toward becoming independent learners of the 
nguage, an
ts are not 
yet ready for 
ummary 
Reading plays a variety of roles in the learning and use of language. 
Literacy training is needed for students who are illiterate or semiliterate in their first language, or who 
s (signs, labels, instructions, brochures) serves to motivate students 
to read and to teach them useful life skills. 
ent skills, sometimes referred to as 
icroskills. Some microskills have to do with aspects of the language, such as:
matching spoken words and sentences with their written form 
ent 
picking out main ideas and supporting details 
ocabulary exercises are quite varied, with some of the most common types being: 
w
how to us
it independently as a reference and, moreover, see to it that at least several d
e
dictionary one by one and, after having introduced a feature, require the students to look up such information 
for themselves. 
Spelling is a good place to begin. You will have to teach the more common correspondences of sp
, at least for initial consonant and vowel sounds. You will also have to teach your stud
etical order if they are not already familiar with it. From that point on, instead of askin
y can 
experience
ey more quickly find what they need to know. 
la
d some of your time is freed so that you can focus on those areas where your studen
independence. 
 S
need to learn the writing system of English. 
Reading of everyday print message
Narrative and expressive texts help students make the transition to extended reading, where they must 
learn to cope with problems of unfamiliar content and new patterns of text organization. 
For academic and professional purposes, students must learn how to process expository texts to gather 
needed information. 
Reading is a behavior which is made up of a large number of compon
m
recognizing letters of the alphabet 
understanding sentence structure 
understanding vocabulary 
recognizing signals of text organization 
recognizing signals of logical relationships 
Other microskills have to do with processing the text in some way, such as: 
surveying a whole printed work (brochure, book) to determine its relevance 
scanning a text for specific information 
skimming a text to get the gist of its cont
evaluating a text for accuracy, completeness, point of view 
The exercises found in reading lessons aim at developing these microskills to the point where students can 
use them independently in their own reading tasks outside the language class. 
V
guessing the meanings of unfamiliar words 
synonyms and antonyms 
words in the same semantic field 

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common prefixes, roots, and suffixes 
collocations 
link words 
In addition one may find many practical exercises in the use of the dictionary.