Abstract
This paper reported on a quasi-experimental study into the effectiveness of two types of entries – entries enhanced with cognitive linguistic insights (CL entries) and linearly ordered ...entries (LO entries) – in promoting L2 learners’ acquisition of English polysemes. Sixty-five college students majoring in English were divided into an experimental group (EG) and a reference group (RG). EG received the CL entries for lift and break in and RG were presented with the corresponding LO entries. Both groups were given twenty minutes to read the entries and to learn the twenty-seven senses. To examine the effectiveness of the two types of entries, an English-Chinese translation test was administered before the learning session (as Test 1), immediately after it (as Test 2) and two weeks later (as Test 3). The results showed that: (1) EG outperformed RG in the comprehension of the target senses on both Test 2 and Test 3. (2) The CL entries were more effective in promoting short-term retention than the LO entries, but had no advantage over the latter in long-term retention. (3) The CL entry for lift facilitated the learning of the target senses more than the LO entry did, but the CL entry for break in was no more effective than the LO entry in helping L2 learners acquire the target senses. The study suggests that the cognitive linguistic view can and should be further applied to treating polysemy in learner’s dictionaries, but the model for CL entries is not always recommendable and the knowledge gained from reading the CL entries needs consolidating.
Abstract
This paper reports on research into teachers' perceptions of the impact of using a bilingual learner's dictionary. The research, a perceptions of impact study conducted in South Africa from ...March 2016 to February 2019, investigates the perceptions of teachers on the impact of the dictionary on themselves as teachers, and their perceptions of the dictionary's impact on their pupils. The findings show that teachers perceived dictionary use to have positive impacts on both the language production and language reception skills of pupils in their L2, in line with other studies. However, they also show unexpected teacher perceptions of impacts on content subjects, L1, teaching itself, and attitudes and behaviours (here called the socio-emotional), especially with regard to learning or teaching. The paper situates this research in the literature on dictionary use for production and reception in language learning, and of impact evaluation, as well as highlighting relevant aspects of the South African education system, particularly the use of English as a language of learning and teaching from an early stage. The dictionary in this study was the Oxford Bilingual School Dictionary: isiXhosa and English (De Schryver and Reynolds 2014).
Abstract
This article reports on findings from interviews with students from the University of Ljubljana. The study is based on fourteen questions about participants’ habits of dictionary use, their ...look-up abilities, and their perceptions of the utility and quality of definitions and illustrative examples. Students were given nine contexts containing a clearly-marked common word used in an infrequent sense; they had to locate the relevant sense in the online Merriam–Webster Learner’s Dictionary (MWLD). A think-aloud method enabled the researchers to follow the students’ look-up process and record their problems as well as their suggestions on how to improve the content and presentation of information in the dictionary. Recommendations are provided on: the improvement of drop-down menus; the inclusion of the form(s) of a target word; illustrative examples; the use of italics, boldface, and colors as well as what types of information should be displayed or available if needed.
Driven by practical conundrums that users often face in maximizing (e-)dictionaries as a companion resource, this article revisits and redefines ecolexicography as a new paradigm that situates ...compilers and users in a relational dynamic. Drawing insights from ecolinguistics and cognitive studies, it appeals for rethinking the compiler–user relationship and placing dictionaries in a distributed cognitive system. A multidimensional framework of ecolexicography is proposed, consisting of a micro-level and a macro-level. To the micro-level, both symbolic and cognitive dimensions are added: (1) the dictionary can be symbolically viewed as a semantic and semiotic ecology; (2) dialogicality should be highlighted as an essential aspect of e-dictionary compilation/ design, and distributed cognition can be emancipatory for rethinking dictionary use. The macrolevel concerns the obligations of lexicographers as committed to three interrelated ecologies or ecosystems: language, socio-culture and nature. Transdisciplinary in nature, ecolexicography involves a holistic, systematic and integrative methodology to nourish lexicographical practice and research. Corpus-based Frame Analysis is introduced to identify ecologically destructive frames and ideologies so that the dictionary discourse could be reframed. The study upgrades our understanding of the ontological, epistemological and methodological aspects related to ecolexicography, serving as a call for philosophical reflections on metalexicography. It is also expected to create an opportunity for lexicographers to examine problems with (e-)dictionaries in a new light and dialogue about how to find solutions.
Restricted dictionaries are fully-fledged dictionaries and their contribution to lexicography should never be underestimated. Because restricted dictionaries often are neglected in lexicographic ...discussions this article emphasises the significance of their role as members of the lexicographic family. Within a comprehensive dictionary culture the focus should not only be on dictionaries dealing with languages for general purposes but also on dictionaries in which languages for special purposes are treated. This paper firstly offers some terminological clarity and distinguishes between subject field dictionaries and special field dictionaries. The user-perspective is then discussed before it is shown how aspects of a general theory of lexicography also prevail in these dictionaries. This applies among others to the subtypological classification as well as different lexicographic functions. Using a dictionary from each of the categories of subject field and special field dictionaries it is indicated how dictionary structures are employed and further developed in an innovative way. Attention is given to structures like the article structure and the frame structure and to a transtextual approach in monolingual dictionaries with a bilingual dimension. The focus in the discussion of the subject field dictionary is on different aspects of the macrostructure. An explanation is given of double-layered sublemmata and it is shown how integrated macrostructures are employed in this dictionary. It is indicated how this section of the lexicographic practice can enrich the field of metalexicography and dictionary research.
Los diccionarios monolingües de aprendizaje cumplen un importante papel como herramienta didáctica en el aprendizaje de ELE, pues proporcionan información variada sobre las unidades léxicas. Desde la ...lexicografía didáctica, estos diccionarios deben construirse a partir de características macroestructurales y microestructurales para satisfacer las necesidades de consulta de los destinatarios. Sin embargo, cabe preguntarse si lo establecido en la teoría se aplica en la práctica lexicográfica. El propósito de la investigación fue determinar el grado de aplicación de la teoría en la práctica, a partir del examen de diez diccionarios monolingües usados en el proceso de aprendizaje del léxico de ELE, basado en el análisis documental y fundamentado en la crítica lexicográfica. Como instrumento, se diseñó una matriz de análisis que fue validada por el juicio de expertos, cuyas valoraciones arrojaron un coeficiente de concordancia de Kendall de 0,135. Así, se pudo observar que, a pesar de que ninguno de los diccionarios incluye a cabalidad todos los lineamientos dados desde la teoría, algunos contienen diversos elementos que corresponden o se acercan a las pautas establecidas.
Eentalige aanleerderwoordeboeke is gerig op gebruikers wat 'n vreemde taal aanleer. Die fokus is op hulle behoeftes met betrekking tot die vreemde taal. Die moedertaal van 'n uiteenlopende groep ...gebruikers word egter nie in aanmerking geneem nie. Hierdie artikel wys daarop dat eentalige aanleerderwoordeboeke aangepas moet word, sodat die verskillende moedertale van verskillende gebruikers 'n invloed op die keuse van aanduiders en die aard van die leksikografiese bewerking sal hê. Daar word daarop gewys dat 'n generiese eentalige aanleerderwoordeboek nie moedertaalsprekers van verskillende tale bevredigend kan help met betrekking tot byvoorbeeld vals vriende, kultuurgebonde leksikale items en met die impak van taalbeïnvloeding en taalversteuring nie. Voorstelle word gemaak vir 'n model waarvolgens sowel gedrukte as aanlyn eentalige aanleerderwoordeboeke 'n sterker gebruikersgerigtheid kan toon. Vir aanlyn woordeboeke word voorgestel dat een databasis geskep moet word waaraan verskillende variante artikels onttrek kan word.
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An evaluation of Pharos Aanleerderwoordeboek vir skole/Learner's Dictionary for Schools and Longman-HAT Afrikaans Dictionary and Grammar for English Speakers in an Afrikaans language learning course ...at university level. Research shows that a well-chosen dictionary is the next best resource after the facilitator to enhance the language learning process. There are currently no monolingual or bilingual learner's dictionaries specifically targeting foreign learners who are learning Afrikaans at a tertiary level. Educators and facilitators must thus compensate by prescribing learner's dictionaries such as Pharos's Aanleerderwoordeboek vir skole/Learner's Dictionary for Schools and Longman-HAT's Afrikaans Dictionary and Grammar for English Speakers for these learners. In this article these two dictionaries are being evaluated empirically and qualitatively to determine if there is a need for the composition of a learner's dictionary which specifically targets foreign learners learning Afrikaans at a university level. These specific two learner's dictionaries are being evaluated because they are prescribed for foreign students respectively at, the University of Stellenbosch and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. The degree to which a certain dictionary succeeds in satisfying the lexicographical needs of a specific target group does not only depend on the lexicographer, but also on the target group itself. The current dictionary culture in South Africa is brought to light through reviewing the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS), which is currently being followed in the South African school system. On this basis, suggestions are made for formal dictionary education at tertiary level which includes general and specific dictionary education.
The localization of the English language in China has brought about a distinctive English variety which has come to be known as China English. Recently, several corpora of China English have been or ...are being built; these will help us to identify the established linguistic features of this variety, and should greatly facilitate the compilation of an English dictionary for Chinese learners of English who operate in Chinese cultural contexts and need to refer to China-specific concepts and phenomena. This paper briefly introduces China English corpora in terms of their principles, components and current status, and explores their potential application to lexicographi-cal projects in terms of lemma selection and inclusion, definition extraction, and glossing and labeling systems. Die korpora van China-Engels: Implikasies vir 'n EVT-woor-deboek vir Chinese aanleerders van Engels. Die lokalisering van die Engelse taal in China het 'n eiesoortige Engelse variëteit tot stand gebring wat as China-Engels bekend geword het. Onlangs is of word verskeie korpora van China-Engels saamgestel; dit sal ons help om die gevestigde taalkundige kenmerke van hierdie variëteit te identifiseer, en dit behoort die samestel-ling van 'n Engelse woordeboek vir Chinese aanleerders van Engels wat binne die Chinese kultu-rele kontekste optree en wat moet verwys na konsepte en verskynsels spesifiek tot China grootliks te vergemaklik. Hierdie artikel stel kortliks China-Engelse korpora bekend volgens hul beginsels, komponente en huidige status, en ondersoek hul moontlike toepassing op leksikografiese projekte rakende lemmaseleksie en -insluiting, die onttrekking van definisies en stelsels vir glossering en etikettering.
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